Monday Update

Monday Update
A weekly newsletter dedicated to those who
remember & celebrate Vallejo as it once was.
Vallejo
Apaches
St. Vincent
Hilltoppers
Hogan
Spartans
St. Patrick/St. Vincent
Bruins
July 27, 2015
The Monday Update is published weekly, on the
John Bunter Memorial Computer
by Harry Diavatis, who is solely responsible for its content.
Please send correspondence, photographs and archival information to
harrydiavatis@aol.com
The Monday Update is posted every Monday on www.VHS62.com
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Hello Classmates, Schoolmates and Friends:
In this edition: Jane Barlow ’60, Les Bates ‘58, Steve Bleamel ’62, Wes Brown ’62, Robert Cobb ’65, Ron Collins
’60, Steve Cotter ’62, Linda Dickinson-Bleamel HH65, Gayle Emerton-Rodriguez '62, Al Farr ’61, Howard
Fitzpatrick ’61, Dale Geraldson ’62, “Lizardo” Hardy-Gross ’64, Shirley Harris-Raddar ’61, Joe Illing ’61, Sharon
Kent-Harris ’62, David Macdonald ’56, Paul Newton HH64, Carmela Piccolo-Coakley ’68, Louis Popoloski ’60, Tami
Post-Lamb ’64, Nick Razes ’56, Brendan Riley '63, Suzie Schmutz ’59, Carol Schneider-Bourgerie '61,Ronda SellsG, Larry Wallace ’58, Linda Wallace-Orr-Misita '61, Dalt Williams ’51, Frank Wimberly ’61, and Helen Zundel-Willms
’58.
HH = Hogan HS SV = St. Vincent’s HS SP = St. Patrick’s HS FF = Former Faculty
G = Guest VJC = Vallejo JC SCC = Solano Community College
1
Year Only (ie: ’60) = Vallejo
High School
Index
Featured Article: Music, Music, Music .........................................................................2
This ‘n’ That ............................................................................................................... 32
The Mailbag .............................................................................................................. 34
Apache Review of Arts by John Parks ‘62 ................................................................. 41
On the Sidelines ........................................................................................................ 44
Paperback Writer....................................................................................................... 45
A Stroll Down History Lane........................................................................................ 50
Postcard Pals ............................................................................................................ 52
This Weeks Newbies ................................................................................................. 55
In Memoriam ............................................................................................................. 55
The Last Word ........................................................................................................... 57
MU Calendar of Upcoming Events ............................................................................ 59
Public Service Announcements ................................................................................. 60
Addendums ............................................................................................................... 66
The Fine Print ............................................................................................................ 73
Apaches Forever T-Shirt Order Form ........................................................................ 76
“All We Need is Music, Music, Music…”
I assume that you readers understand that
much of what is being written in this feature reflects my personal
interests point of view. That’s why I’ve asked you to share with us
thoughts about music, what it means to you and your music experiences. Volumes have been written about the music of our era and I
don’t pretend to compete with that. In fact much of the information in
this MU came from the internet. I’m just trying to get some of your
“juices flowing” and provide you with a little nostalgia. There are
some great musicians who have either not been mentioned or barely
mentioned. For this I apologize in advance, but there’s no reason for
you not to write in and name your favorites.
You will occasionally see a box with some lyrics… see if you can
guess the song and the artist that recorded it. The answers will be at
the end of the Music, Music, Music feature.
1 The lady then she covered me with roses
She blew my nose, and then she blew my mind…
2
The British Invasion
In 1964 a new up and coming group from Liverpool, England called
the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the rest, as they
say, is history. It was the beginning of Beatlemania and opened the
door for a number of other rock bands from the UK. The Beatles
began to receive U.S. radio air play in late 1963 and on the January
25, 1964 "I Want to Hold Your Hand" reached number one. On
February 9, 1964 the Beatles appeared on Sullivan and Nielsen
Ratings estimated that 45 percent of US television viewers that night
saw their appearance. The British Invasion was on.
During the next two years or so, Peter and Gordon, the Animals,
Manfred Mann, Petula Clark, Freddie and the Dreamers, Wayne
Fontana and the Mindbenders, Herman's Hermits, the Rolling
Stones, the Dave Clark Five, the Troggs, Donovan, and Lulu (in 1967),
would have one or more number one
Another English “Invader”, Dusty
singles in the US. Other Invasion acts
Springfield’s solo career began in
1963 with the pop hit, "I Only Want
included the Searchers, Chad & Jeremy,
to Be with You". She followed that
Gerry and the Pacemakers, Them (and
with "Wishin' and Hopin'" (1964), "I
later its lead singer, Van Morrison), Tom
Just Don't Know What to Do with
Jones, the Yardbirds the Spencer Davis
Myself" (1964), "You Don't Have to
Say You Love Me" (1966), and "Son
Group, the Who and numerous others.
of a Preacher Man" (1968). And, no,
its not my biography. LOL.
By the time the Beatles hit the air
waves, I was in Junior College and learning how to “party-hardy.” Up
until that time I was a model citizen that any parent could be proud of
but now I was partying with sex, rock ‘n’ roll, and booze. (No drugs
however. I managed to stay clear of those and I’m glad I did.)
2 Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
By the time that I accepted a football scholarship to attend Weber
State in Ogden, Utah it was Spring of 1965 and it was truly party time.
3
The native Utah girls didn’t drink or smoke, but that was about all
they didn’t do. LOL. Partying was the order of the day.
HD’s Top Ten Rock ‘n’ Roll Party Songs
Satisfaction, (Rolling Stones); Louie, Louie (The Kingsmen);
Gimme Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis Group); Gloria (Them); Land of
1,000 Dances (Wilson Pickett); Devil with a Blue Dress On (Mitch
Ryder and the Detroit Wheels); You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling
(Righteous Brothers); Mustang Sally (Wilson Pickett); Honky Tonk
Woman (Rolling Stones); and Born to Be Wild (Steppenwolf).
Actually, damn near anything by the Stones works for me. I think that
the Rolling Stones are the best rock ‘n’ roll band of all time. The
Beatles had a great song catalog but they didn’t have the rock verve
and energy of the Stones, who, amazingly are still touring.
While music certainly took a major turn in
Part of being a teenager was
1964, American artists were still performing
you were:
and some of them doing very well. One of
A) in love
B) wanting to be in love
my favorite songs in 1963 (see sidebar for
C) pining for a lost love
explanation) was “The End of the World” by
Skeeter Davis. This song did something no
You spent a great deal of time
other recording had done then, or since
being melancholy… At least
that was the story of my life.
then. It made its way into the Top Ten
of four of the nation’s music charts.
No. 2 on both the Billboard Country and Pop charts.
No. 4 on the Billboard R&B chart
No. 1 for four weeks on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Here are three American groups that were very LARGE during the
Sixties…
Franki Valli and The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons continued to have one big hit after another:
1964: Dawn (Go Away) #3; Ronnie #6; Rag Doll #1; Save It for Me #10
1965: Bye, Bye, Baby Goodbye #12; Let's Hang On! #3; Don't Think Twice #12
4
1966: Working My Way Back to You #9; Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me) #13;
I've Got You Under My Skin #9; Tell It to the Rain #10
1967: C'mon Marianne #9
Diana Ross and the Supremes
Over the next several years the Supremes had 12 Number 1 hits.
Their 1968 hit Love Child, which made it to Number one, seems
almost laughable given today’s standards (or lack thereof)…
Love
Love
Love
Love
child,
child,
child,
child,
never meant to be
(scorned by) society
always second best
different from the rest
Here are the Supremes Number One songs during the ‘60s.
1964: Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me,
Stop! In the Name of Love, Back in My Arms Again
1965: I Hear a Symphony
1966: You Can’t Hurry Love, You Keep Me Hanin’ On
1967: Love is Here and Now You’re Gone, The Happening
1968: Love Child
1969: Someday We’ll Be Together.
Diana Ross left the Supremes to venture off on her own. She made
her final appearance with the group at the Frontier Hotel in Las
Vegas on January 14, 1970.
The Beach Boys
This SoCal group remained popular through the sixties and beyond.
Here are some of their biggest hits.
1964: I Get Around; Fun, Fun, Fun; Don't Worry Baby; Dance, Dance, Dance;
Little Honda; Wendy
1965: The Little Girl I Once Knew; Do You Wanna Dance?; When I Grow Up
(To Be A Man); Barbara Ann; Help Me, Rhonda; California Girls;
1966: Good Vibrations; Sloop John B; Wouldn't It Be Nice;
1968: Do It Again (1968)
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The Novelty Songs
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed for it’s
comical effect. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the
1920s and 1930s but since we’re interested in music from the ‘50s
on, here are a few examples of Novelty songs from that era.
A very popular song in 1950 was “The Thing” by Phil Harris.
“Get out of here with that pum pum pum
Before I call a cop…”
Here are a few others you might remember:
They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa; Monster Mash; Charlie Brown; The
Purple People Eater; Alley Oop; Witch Doctor; **Yakety Yak; Hello Muddah, Hello
Faddah; Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor; Mr. Custer; The Flying Saucer
(Pts 1 & 2); Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini; Transfusion; Along
Came Jones; Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport; and Beep Beep (The Little Nash
Rambler).
**”Yakety Yak” by the Coasters became a #1 single in 1958 and is the
only novelty song included in the Songs of the Century
3
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
Discontent with the American lifestyle and Vietnam
As we meandered into the mid-‘60s many songs had lyrics with
a social commentary on status symbols, creature comforts, life
in suburbia and "keeping up with the Joneses" A few of those songs:
Pleasant Valley Sunday (Monkees), Nowhere Man (The Beatles) Society’s Child, At
Seventeen (Janis Ian) and Mother’s Little Helper (Rolling Stones), It’s My Life, We
Got to Get Out of this Place (The Animals); Teach Your Children (Crosby, Stills and
Nash).
6
As the war in Vietnam expanded more and more social unrest became
the order of the day. The music, of course, reflected this and many
songs were anti-war themed.
Eve of Destruction; Give Peace a Chance; One Tin Soldier; Where Have All the
Flowers Gone; Last Train to Clarksville; What’s Going On; Blowin’ in the Wind…
just to mention a few.
4 Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you
A Puzzling Song
Little Girl by the Syndicate of Sound June ’66. What were these guys
thinking? I mean they’re bragging about being constantly dumped on.
I don’t get it. LOL.
Hey, little girl, you don't have to hide nothin' no more
You didn't do nothin' that hadn't been done before
Little girl thought she wouldn't get caught, you see
She thought she'd get away with goin' out on me, yeah
Other girls did it, you didn't think of nothin' new
You went out on me, so other girls did it too…
Pushing the Envelope
Bob Dylan refuses to be defined as representing any particular group.
He has gone through many phases with his music and has been
influential in popular music and culture for more than five decades.
Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when his
songs chronicled social unrest, although Dylan repudiated suggestions from journalists that he was a spokesman for his generation. I
first heard him in around 1965 and didn’t get him. He has to grow on
you. (The same can be said for blues/pianist/poet Tom Waits) Dylan,
whether he cares for the title or not has become iconic for his songs
7
and lyrics. Many of his songs have been covered multiple times by a
variety of artists. Here are a few of the songs he contributed to the
decade of the Sixties: Blowin’ in the Wind; The Times They Are AChangin’; Like A Rolling Stone; Just Like a Woman; All Along the
Watchtower; Lay Lady Lay; and Rainy Day Woman (I would not feel so
all alone, everyone must get stoned…). Dylan continues to tour.
The Top 10 List from 1964 through 1969
Billboards top 10 of 1964
1. I Want To Hold Your Hand - Beatles
2. Can't Buy Me Love - Beatles
3. There! I've Said It Again - Bobby Vinton
4. Baby Love - Supremes
5. Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
6. House Of The Rising Sun - Animals
7. Chapel Of Love - Dixie Cups
8. I Feel Fine - Beatles
9. She Loves You - Beatles
10. I Get Around - Beach Boys
Billboards top 10 of 1967
1. To Sir With Love - Lulu
2. Daydream Believer - Monkees
3. Windy - Association
4. Ode To Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry
5. Somethin' Stupid - Nancy & Frank Sinatra
6. Groovin' - Young Rascals
7. The Letter - Box Tops
8. Light My Fire - Doors
9. Happy Together - Turtles
10. Hello Goodbye - Beatles
Billboards top 10 of 1965
1. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
2. Yesterday - Beatles
3. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A
Season) - Byrds
4. Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter Herman's Hermits
5. I Got You Babe - Sonny and Cher
6. Help! - Beatles
7. I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
8. You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling - Righteous
Brothers
9. Downtown - Petula Clark
10. This Diamond Ring - Gary Lewis & the
Playboys
Billboards top 10 of 1968
1. Hey Jude - Beatles
2. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
3. Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat
4. Honey - Bobby Goldsboro
5. People Got To Be Free - Rascals
6. (Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
7. This Guy's In Love With you - Herb Alpert
8. Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkle
9. Love Child - Diana Ross & the Supremes
10. Tighten Up - Archie Bell and the Drells
Billboards top 10 of 1966
1. I'm A Believer - Monkees
2. The ballad Of The Green Berets - SSgt Barry
Sadler
3. Winchester Cathedral - New Vaudville Band
4. (You're my) Soul And Inspiration Righteous Brothers
5. Monday, Monday - Mama's and the Papa's
6. We Can Work it Out - Beatles
7. Summer In The City - Lovin' Spoonful
8. Cherish - Association
9. You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
10. Wild Thing - Troggs
Billboards top 10 of 1969
1. Aquarious/Let The Sunshine In - 5th
Dimension
2. In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) Zager & Evans
3. Get Back - Beatles
4. Suger, Sugar - Archies
5. Hony Tonk Women - Rolling Stones
6. Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone
7. Dizzy - Tommy Roe
8. Wedding Bell Blues - 5th Dimension
9. I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations
8 10. Crimson And Clover - Tommy James and the
Shondells
There’s Trouble In Paradise
The Vietnam war, assasinations, Civil unrest, and the drug movement
combined to change music drastically. Woodstock, Altamont and the
Hippie movement were where it was all happening. Janis Joplin, the
Jefferson Airplane, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Donovan, and the
Doors were some of the top performers of the era along with the
Beatles who continued to be the driving force constantly evolving
until their break up in 1970. The Rolling Stones (the greatest rock ‘n’
roll band of all time, in my estimation) continue to be HUGE and have
been touring for 50 years. And of course the reigning King and Queen
of R & B was none other than the Godfather of Soul, James Brown and
Soul Sister No. One, Aretha Franklin.
Folk music developed an edgy sound and became part of the
American conscience during the turbulent ‘60s, with acts such as
Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Simon and
Garfunkel and many others.
5 My mother was a tailor she sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gamblin’ man down in New Orleans
Bubblegum Music
This was a rather short lived (mercifully) genre of pop music with an
upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and
teenagers. Here are some examples:
Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Chewy Chewy (Ohio Express); Simon Says, Red Light
(1910 Fruitgum Co.); Sugar Sugar (The Archie’s); ABC (Jackson 5); Dizzy (Tommy
Roe); Beach Baby (John Carter) and Hanky Panky (Tommy James & the
Shondells)
9
R & B in the Sixties
By the early 1960s, rhythm and blues had taken on more gospelinfluenced elements, as pioneered by artists such as The
Temptations, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, James Brown and Aretha
Franklin. It came to be known as soul music. The early and mid
1960s saw the rise of young white bands whose music was labelled
R&B or blue-eyed soul; such as The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones,
The Pretty Things, The Animals, Deep Purple, The Spencer Davis
Group and The Who. Those bands all played covers of songs by of
established black performers, in addition to their own material. Then
there were the smooth voices of Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Smokey
Robinson, Roy Hamilton, and Percy Sledge.
During my college days in Utah, among my many friends were the
black athletes and occasionally I would attend a party at one of the
homes they may have shared with three or four other guys they split
the rent with. I was usually one of the few white faces there but no
one seemed to mind, least of all me. That’s where I was introduced
to the “Hardest Working Man in Show Business”, James Brown and
“the Queen of Soul”, Aretha Franklin.
James Brown was the founding father of funk music and a major
figure of 20th-century popular music and dance, he is often referred to
as "The Godfather of Soul". In a career
that spanned six decades, Brown
influenced the development of several
music genres. Among his many hits
were: Papa's Got a Brand New Bag; I
Got You (I Feel Good); and It's a Man's
Man's Man's World.
James Brown & the
Flames at the Apollo.
10
Brown had problems with the IRS and also served 2 1/2 years in
prison for aggravated assault and other felonies. A long time antidrug advocate, he succumbed to the use of drugs later on in his life,
primarily PCP. Brown died in 2006.
Soul Sister Number One
Aretha Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with
songs such as Respect; (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman;
Chain of Fools; and "Think". These hits and more helped her to gain
the title The Queen of Soul by the end of the 1960s decade.
Aretha has won a total of 18 Grammys and is one of the best-selling
female artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records
worldwide. She was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
1987. She has the distinction of being the first female performer to
be inducted.
6 It makes me just feel like crying, baby
'Cause baby, something beautiful's dyin'
When God Closes a Door, he Opens a Window
The Incomparable Ray Charles, blind from the age of 7, first came
onto the music scene in the late 1940s. He attended school at
the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from
1937 to 1945, where he began to develop his musical talent and was
taught to play the classical piano music of Bach, Mozart and
Beethoven… but he preferred jazz and blues.
Late in 1954, Charles recorded his own composition "I Got a Woman";
the song became Charles' first number-one R&B hit in 1955, bringing
him to national prominence. With "Georgia on My Mind", his first hit
single for ABC-Paramount in 1960, Charles received national acclaim
and a Grammy Award. He followed that with another Grammy for Hit
11
the Road, Jack. The rest, as they say, is history. Other great songs
by brother Ray are:
What I Say; Georgia On My Mind; Born to Lose; Unchain My Heart; I Can’t Stop
Loving You; You Don’t Know Me; Busted; Take These Chains From My Heart; I Got
A Woman; and Crying Time.
With his lifelong friend Willie Nelson, Ray Charles recorded the No. 1
country duet "Seven Spanish Angels”, which is one of my favorites.
You can watch and listen to it here. It’s truly a classic with Ray and
Willie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ
I’ve provided the lyrics for you because I like this song so much.
He looked down into her brown eyes and said, Say a prayer for me
She threw her arms around him whispered, God will keep us free
They could hear the riders coming, he said, "This is my last fight
If they take me back to Texas they won't take me back alive"
There were seven Spanish angels at the altar of the sun
They were praying for the lovers in the valley of the guns
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels took another angel home
She reached down and picked the gun up that lay smokin' in his hand
She said, Father please forgive me I can't make it without my man
And she knew the gun was empty and she knew she couldn't win
But her final prayer was answered when the rifles fired again
There were seven Spanish angels at the altar of the sun
They were praying for the lovers in the valley of the guns
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels took another angel home
Ray Charles died in 2004 and the music world is all the sadder for it.
Remember Little Stevie Wonder?
Stevie Wonder, who has been blind since shortly after birth, was a
child prodigy, who became one of the most creative and loved musical performers of the late 20th century. He signed with Motown's
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Tamla label at the age of 11 and has continued to perform and record
for Motown.
In May 1963 as the album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius was
released, a single, "Fingertips", from the album, was also released in
May, and became a major hit. The song, featuring a confident and
enthusiastic Wonder returning for a spontaneous encore. You can
hear the bass player, call out "What key? What key?" Remember that?
Anyway, it was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when Wonder was
just 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. The
single was simultaneously No. 1 on the R&B chart, the first time that
had occurred. He scored several hits in the late ‘60s including:
I Was Made to Love Her; For Once in My Life; Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours;
My Cherie Amour; I Was Made to Love Her; Uptight (Everything's Alright); and
Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday.
Stevie Wonder (no longer “Little”) has released 23 studio albums,
three soundtrack albums, four live albums, 11 compilations, one box
set, and 98 singles. He continues to go strong.
7
Each time we meet, love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love
What would life be?
The Great R & B Groups
The Drifters, Shirelles, Supremes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles,
Martha and the Vandellas, The Four Tops, The Chiffons, Little Anthony
and the Imperials, Jr. Walker and the All Stars, The Temptations, the
Isley Bros, the list goes on and on... Although the Jackson 5 began in
the sixties, there big successes came in the next decade and beyond.
We’ll report on them in the next issue.
13
Here’s a list of my Top 20 favorite R & B classics from the ‘60s:
Georgia on My Mind; I Can't Stop Loving You (Ray Charles)
Save the Last Dance for Me; Under the Boardwalk (The Drifters)
Tonight's the Night; Will You Love Me Tomorrow; Foolish Little Girl;
One Fine Day (The Shirelles)
Daddy's Home (Shep & The Limeliters)
He's So Fine (The Chiffons)
Dancing in the Street (Martha & The Vandellas)
Baby I Need Your Loving (The Four Tops)
My Girl (The Temptations)
Make Me Your Baby (Barbara Lewis)
When a Man Loves a Woman (Percy Sledge)
Mustang Sally (Wilson Pickett)
Respect; Chain of Fools (Aretha Franklin)
Reflections (Diana Ross & The Supremes)
I Heard it through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Baby (Otis Redding)
The Festivals: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day
concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 in Monterey, California.
Crowd estimates for the festival have ranged from 25,000-90,000
people, who congregated in and around the festival grounds. The
festival is remembered for the first major American appearances
by: The Jimi Hendrix Experience; The Who; Ravi Shankar; the first
large-scale public performance of Janis Joplin; and the introduction
of Otis Redding to a large, predominantly white audience. Also
appearing were Country Joe and the Fish; The Mamas and the Papas;
Simon & Garfunkel; The Byrds; and the Jefferson Airplane.
Woodstock
Woodstock—was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3
Days of Peace & Music". It was held at a 600-acre dairy farm in the
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Catskills from August 15 to 18, 1969. During the sometimes rainy
weekend, 32 acts performed outdoors before an audience of 400,000
young people. It is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular
music history. Rolling Stone listed it as one of the 50 Moments That
Changed the History of Rock and Roll.
Creedence Clearwater Revival became the first act to sign a contract
for the event. "Once Creedence signed, everyone else jumped in line
and all the other big acts came on."
Among the other musicians who performed were: Joan Baez; Ravi
Shankar; Arlo Guthrie; Santana; Country Joe McDonald; Canned Heat;
Grateful Dead; Janis Joplin; The Who; Jefferson Airplane; Joe Cocker;
Blood, Sweat and Tears; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Sha Na Na;
Jimi Hendrix; and Sly and the Family Stone. It was very early on
Sunday morning (3:30 a.m.), when Sly & The Family Stone took the
stage. Given their late appearance Sly & The Family Stone were
remarkably fresh and powerful. Their Woodstock performance of 50
minutes is widely considered as one of their best performances.
Although the festival was remarkably peaceful given the number of
people and the conditions involved, there were two recorded fatalities: one from what was believed to be a heroin overdose, and another
caused in an accident when a tractor ran over an attendee sleeping in
a nearby hayfield.
Altamont: Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Murder
The massive, three-day Woodstock Music & Art Fair had proved that
hundreds of thousands of young people could gather peacefully even
in a seemingly chaotic environment rich with sex, drugs and rock and
roll. Four months later, on Dec. 6, 1969 in the northern California hills
60 miles east of San Francisco several thousand gathered at the
15
Altamont Speedway for a concert they hoped would be the equivalent
of Woodstock.
The Altamont concert was the brainchild of the Rolling Stones, who
hoped to cap off their U.S. tour in late 1969 with a concert that would
be the West Coast equivalent of Woodstock. Unlike Woodstock,
however, which was the result of months of careful planning by a
team of well-funded organizers, Altamont was a largely improvised
affair. Scheduled to appear were: Santana; the Jefferson Airplane;
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; and the Grateful Dead, all in support
of the headlining Stones. The event would also include, several dozen
members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang acting as informal
security staff in exchange for $500 worth of beer as a “gratuity.”
It was dark by the time the concert’s next-to-last act, the Grateful
Dead, was scheduled to appear. But the Dead had left the venue
entirely out of concern for their safety when they learned that
Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin had been knocked unconscious
by one of the Hells Angels in a melee during his band’s performance.
It was during the Rolling Stones’ set, however, that a 21-year-old Hells
Angel stabbed a gun-wielding Black teenager to death just 20 feet in
front of the stage where Mick Jagger
The Jefferson Airplane
was performing “Under My Thumb.”
Unaware of what had just occurred, the played at Altamont, thus
becoming the only band
Rolling Stones completed their set
to perform at all three of
without further incident, bringing an
the iconic rock festivals
end to a tumultuous day that also saw
of the 1960s—Altamont,
three accidental deaths and four live
Monterey, and Woodstock.
births.
8 Everybody’s doing a brand new dance now,
I know you’ll like it if you give it a chance now
16
Until Death Do Us Part
An incredible number of rock artists have succumbed to drugs over
the years. Just to name a few: Dinah Washington, Rudy Lewis of the
Drifters, Frankie Lymon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison,
Brian Cole of the Association, Elvis Presley, Keith Moon, Sid Vicious,
and more recently Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. There are
literally hundreds more. Pathetic and sad, isn’t it?
Those are the ones who died. How about the ones whose careers
were damaged beyond repair? Vallejo’s own, Sylvester “Sly” Stewart
of Sly and the Family Stone comes to mind. Sly and his group had
climbed the heights to fame and fortune, but his reputation for drugs
and the subsequent irresponsibility did him in. He appeared on the
Dick Cavett show stoned out of his mind and was barely coherent.
How sad to see such a great talent wasted.
For a few years, Sly and the Family Stone were on top of the world…
They recorded five Billboard Hot 100 hits which reached the top 10,
and four ground-breaking albums, which greatly influenced the sound
of American pop, soul, R&B, funk, and hip hop music.
During the early 1970s, Sly and the Family Stone transitioned into a
darker and less commercial funk sound that would prove as influential
as their early work before drug problems and interpersonal clashes
led to the group's dissolution in 1975. In 1987, Sly was arrested and
sentenced for cocaine use, after which he went into effective
retirement. Nevertheless, the band was inducted into the Rock ‘n’
Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Breaking Up is Hard to Do
I suppose that all good things must come to an end, but often we, the
consumers, as it were are really upset and disappointe by it and we
17
wonder “what in hell” happened.
Sonny and Cher’s career as a duo ended in 1975 following their
divorce. Sonny was left with the short end of the stick as Cher went
on to become HUGE in music and film. They did reunite once on
November 13, 1987 on the David Letterman Show when Letterman
persuaded them to sing “I Got You, Babe.” I happened to be watching
Letterman that night and It was truly a memorable moment.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel (1963-70) were one of the most
harmonious pair of singers this side of the Everly Brothers, who
actually had a great influence on them. They had tremendous hits
such as:
The Sounds of Silence; Bridge Over Troubled Water; Scarborough Fair; The Boxer;
Hazy Shade of Winter; Homeward Bound; I Am a Rock; and Mrs. Robinson.
They teamed up in 1981 for a reunion concert in Central Park, which
attracted more than 500,000 people, at that time the largest-ever
concert attendance. After the split-up Paul Simon went on to have a
great solo career… Art who?
When The Beatles broke up in 1970 (Yoko Ono didn’t help matters that
were already tense) we always hoped that they would reunite… and
then John Lennon was murdered in 1980. Well, okay, that at least left
three Beatles and maybe Julian Lennon could fill in… not to be.
George Harrison died in 2001 of lung cancer, along with our hopes for
a reunion.
The Monkees started out as a make believe TV series band (Mickey
Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Englishman Davy Jones.)
but eventually came into their own and became very successful until
Peter Tork resigned in 1969. During the short time they were together
they had some great hits including:
Last Train to Clarksville; I'm a Believer; A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You;
Pleasant Valley Sunday; and Daydream Believer."
18
Other notable breakups were: Abba; the Eagles; Led Zeppelin;
and The Supremes when Diana Ross decided to go solo.
9
Do my dreaming and my scheming lie awake and pray
Do my crying and my sighing laugh at yesterday
Remembering the Stations and the DJs
Where would we have been without our car radios and our favorite
music. If you were lucky you could tune in to XERB and catch the
Wolfman’s act… but if not, you still had the local stations that you
could switch back and forth to in order to not hear the commercials.
Remember?
KOBY (1550) was San Francisco's first
"Top 40" rock 'n roll station. And went on
the air in the fall of 1956. Bobby Beers, a
high-voiced soprano from Iowa became
their big morning gun along with Sunny
Jim Wayne, Ted Randal, Al Knight, Buddy
Hatton and others long forgotten. Because
it was the first in San Francisco, KOBY grabbed some great ratings
and was the talk of the town for about a year until KYA and then
KEWB jumped on the top 40 bandwagon. KOBY faded fast after that
and later became a classical music station.
In 1959 KGO went rock as 'the big K-GO,' pronounced 'Kay-Go.'
KLX was sold and became KEWB, and got first dibs on new records
Casey Kasem, Gary Owens, and "The Real" Don Steele, ll worked on
KEWB which dominated for a few years, then succumbed to
competition, from KYA and, in 1966, from KFRC,
19
It was May 1, 1958, when San Francisco's original 1260/KYA first
burst on the Bay Area scene with the greatest Top 40 music played
anywhere. Over the next quarter century, popular personalities like
Emperor Gene Nelson, Russ "The Moose" Syracuse, "Big Daddy" Tom
Donahue, Johnny Holliday, Tom Campbell, Chris Edwards, Bwana
Johnny, Mike Cleary, Gary Shaffer and Ed Hider helped elevate the
original 1260 KYA to legendary status.
From June 8, 1959, when KLX became KEWB, until September 1966,
when KEWB became KNEW, fans of Color Radio Channel 91 were able
to tune in some of the most notable voices in the history of radio —
Top 40 or otherwise — including Gary Owens, Casey Kasem, Don
MacKinnon, K.O. Beachin, Bobby Dale, Robert W. Morgan, Ron Lyons,
Chris Borden, Don Bowman, Ken Knox, Ron Reynolds, Ted Randal,
Michael Jackson and the one and only Real Don Steele.
During the 1960s through the 1980s, KDIA radio station was the
premier soul and funk station in the San Francisco Bay Area. The
station helped launch the careers of such musicians as Sly and the
Family Stone. Its tagline at that time was "KDIA, Lucky 13. I’m not
positive but I think that Sly was a deejay with KDIA around 1964-65.
10 I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone
Ain’t gonna do you wrong ‘cause I don’t wanna…
Give Me It Down to There…
When the Broadway rock musical “Hair,” hit the stage in 1968 it
changed the Broadway Musical forever and many of its songs became
very popular (Hair; Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In; Good Morning
Starshine). Up until that time the musical was a well-crafted play that
had a plot supported by music, lyrics, and dialogue, such as Oklahoma,
South Pacific, Music Man, Sound of Music, Fiddler On the Roof etc…
Hair, which Sally and I saw in San Francisco in ’68, had a strong anti20
establishment theme, glorification of drugs and some pretty raw
dialogue… but we loved it. In 1971 the Rock Opera Jesus Christ
Superstar was one of the top Broadway shows, followed by Godspell
and The Who’s Tommy.
Made for TV
The Monkees (1966-70) started as a TV show and eventually the guys
became legit and made many top selling records (discussed elsewhere)
The Archies, (1968-73) were a fictional rock band based on the comic
book Archie. They actually had a top hit with Sugar Sugar (#1 in 1969).
Here are the answers to the Music Quiz:
1. Honky Tonk Woman (Rolling Stones)
2. Are You Lonely Tonight (Elvis Presley)
3. A Horse With No Name (America)
4. Georgia on My Mind (Ray Charles)
5. House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)
6. You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling (Righteous Brothers)
7. Let It Be Me (The Everly Brothers)
8. The Locomotion (Little Eva)
9. In My Room (The Beach Boys)
10. Respect (Aretha Franklin)
There were so many great solo artists and groups in the sixties that
I’ve left out, so it’s up to you, our readers, to write in and tell us about
your favorites.
...
Here are this week’s responses to our Music, Music, Music feature…
From: Shirley Harris-Raddar ‘61
Amazing video of Jacob Tolliver singing and playing. We are spending a few days in Las
Vegas at the end of the month and I checked The Million Dollar Quartet website and was
disappointed to read that Jacob Tolliver is not starring as Jerry Lee Lewis. However we
are planning to take in the show. (Make sure you review it for the MU,
Shirley.)
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Love the comments from everyone about music and their memories. When I was serving
in the Foreign Service in Helsinki, Finland, (1965-1973) a Finnish couple invited me over
to watch a documentary called Woodstock. When Sly and The Family Stone appeared, I
told them I had attended Vallejo Junior High with a guy named Sylvester Stewart and HIS
nickname was Sly. Imagine my shock and surprise when I read the writer of their song
was, indeed, Sylvester Stewart. I was sort of "out of it" on popular music during those 7
years overseas.
My parents did not play a lot of music, but my father LOVED Spike Jones and we had
many of his 78's like Der Fuehrer's Face, You Always Hurt The One You Love,
Beetlebomb, Jones Laughing Record and my personal favorite, Pop Corn Sack.
"Don't take me out to the movies
I'd rather stay home and relax
I'll tell you the trouble with movies
It’s too darn many pop corn sacks!"
From: “Lizardo” Hardy-Gross ‘64
#1. Thank you for the marvelous recipe for the Greek salad! We had thirty folks n
there was a tablespoon left... seriously! I made meatballs in the crock pot and
everyone forgot about them, since they were in another area.
#2. Totally relished in your article, listing all those great music memories. My
goodness... I was always a dancing fool, and remember all of the oldies.
We were not allowed to watch Elvis, just Pat Boone... not my choice. Needless to
say no Ed Sullivan that night. Went to my friends, pretended to fall asleep, so she
called my mom and said she didn't want to wake me,. LOL liar, liar pants on fire .
Being a grad of '64 can honestly say we weren't too crazy about the Beatles song
"I Want to Hold Your Hand"... as you could not dance to it! So we stuck with Paul
Revere.
A dance I do not recall you mentioning was the Mashed Potatoes? I'll reread it.
Yep, I did mention the Mashed Potatoes dance. Glad you enjoyed the
Greek salad. Now that my tomatoes and cukes are coming into their
own, I’ll be enjoying it too.
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From: Sharon Kent-Harris ‘62
I love to read memories of our music. Funny how hearing an oldie can evoke sites,
smells and places. The Platters take me back to Hogan Jr. High cafeteria and the
jukebox dances in the morning. Pat Symonds was a great dancer. “Runaway” takes me
cruising with Lynda Bingham driving her brother's ‘49 Ford. “Rocking Robin” reminds me
of our first pomegranate routine in Jr High. “Sherry” takes me back to my dorm room in
nursing school. Thanks for the memories.
From: Nick Razes ‘56
Harry, I loved your Monday Update about the old
R&B and Rock & Roll. Here's a cool CD with a radio
broadcast from the Wolfman Jack. Actual broadcast
from XERB really cool. When I go cruisin’ with my old
classics. I play it.
Oh, Yeah, the Wolfman was the best.
Loved listening to him whenever I
could. He had a great cameo role in
the classic film American Graffiti.
The characters in that movie were so “right on.” That’s really a great
film and a springboard for many major film stars such as: Richard
Dreyfus, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Charles Martin Smith, Mackenzie
Phillips, Harrison Ford and Suzanne Somers as the elusive blonde in the
T-Bird. (Merilyn Lawrence-Rodgers ’63 always reminded me of her.)
From: Louis Popoloski ‘60
Listening to Rock’n’ Roll on my radio in my bedroom, I would hear my father, John, shout,
“Turn that G_ _ D _ _ _ SH _ _ OFF!” If I heard that phrase once I heard it hundreds of
times while living with him for about five years. Now that I am of that age, and I hear the
23
newest Hip Hop music, I say nothing but just ignore it, same with heavy metal music. I
guess I just refuse to be the man my father was to me. The music of today is just the
music of the time, and it will change, I hope for the better, whatever that will be.
I never listened to Country Western music, although I don’t mind listening to old Western
Music. Today the closest I come to Country Western is the music written and sung by
Jimmy Buffet. I do remember fondly Bill Haley and the Comets, “Rock around the Clock”
and “See you later Alligator” but the rest of his music such as “The Razzle Dazzle” and
“The Mambo Rock” sure were losers in my eyes, and ears.
Never mentioned in last weeks Monday Update were people like Harry Belafonte, Herb
Albert, Peter, Paul and Mary, and many of the folk singers. I am surprised! There was
this one composition, called “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” I must have bought five of the
same albums by this composer through my many years. He lived not far from here in
Conn. Now today, I just love to hear Latin Jazz with all of its horns. (Actually, Louie,
there was a short paragraph on the Folk Singers and there will be more
on them in this issue due to their prominence during the Vietnam war.)
There is this Jazz club in Woonsocket, something of a blue collar city, a “Mill Town” if you
will. Owned by this Chinese fellow, in an old bank, “Jazz and Egg Rolls” is his calling
card. Next to the bar is this huge round vault door where the musicians can change. I
love to hear a jazz xylophone and one night, an impromptu Latin band was put together
for this instructor from the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, who specializes in the
xylophone. It was a cold rainy and slushy night. Not many people came. In Rhode
Island, with a number of Jazz clubs, Jazz musicians in the Boston area not working
would travel down to RI and just sit in with other jazz bands and play. You would never
know what great jazz artist would be in town.
The Xylophonist was running late, he told the few of us that he had gotten a flat tire. Now
all the band members were in place and introducing each other to the xylophonist. All
were Latino’s from Mexico, Central American, South American and even Cuba. All except
this skinny pasty white kid about six foot six inch tall holding on to his sax, he was from
Middletown, RI. All the Latin players were speaking Spanish to one another, and the
pasty white kid not understanding a word of Spanish was not included in any of the
beginning conversations. How this youngster got into this place is beyond me. I don’t
think he was over seventeen years of age. Then there was this long table that had all the
local jazz musicians, the “Local Cats” as it were. They were all there to see this Latino
from Boston bang the living shit out of his Xylophone.
Now all set to play, the Boston Cat calls out a melody in Spanish, then turns to the Pasty
White Kid and in English ask if he knew this song, and the Kid shakes his head no, but
24
will join in after the first several bars of music, they play, and the Kid just stands there, so
out of place with these Latino’s I started to feel bad for the kid. Then the kids blows a few
soft notes to fill in, then a little more when he feels comfortable with the composition. By
the end of the composition, he is playing as a full member of the band, and the other
musicians keep looking at the kid with wonderment, “Where in hell did this kid come
from"! Next song, the kid doesn’t know either, but says the same thing, “I’ll join in
later”. Now all the local Cats are watching the kid, and the music is playing, giving each
member of the band a chance to show their stuff, the Kid Blows The Doors Off the place!
The Cats can’t believe their ears, they cheer they clap their hands, the members of the
band are all smiling to each other, the evening became a real happening! The Kid
became the featured player. The Professor on the xylophone, was good but played with
no heart, if you know what I mean. After the second piece, no more Spanish was spoken.
A most enjoyable evening… Jazz with egg rolls!
From: Howard Fitzpatrick ‘61
First, let me assure you from your question last week that it was NOT MaryAnn that I
couldn’t remember from the date to Sacramento. My first date with her was not until
summer of 63.
The first record I ever bought was See You Later Alligator about 1956. Later, I loved the
Motown music which made the highlight of a recent road trip for us… a visit to the
Motown Records studio. It has been kept entirely original and to see where all that music
was recorded, right down to the original mikes still hanging from the ceiling, was
thrilling. The complete and untold story with the side stories to add to it were worth the
trip. Even to the candy vending machine where they had to always be sure the second
knob from the right was the same candy bar brand so Stevie Wonder would get the one
he wanted when he dropped in his coins.
I had no idea that all that magic came out of a converted garage in an old house in a rundown neighborhood. If you ever have a day in Detroit, The Motown Museum is worth the
time.
From: Ron Collins ‘60
It is with the most empathetic embrace I have for the readers of the MU, their soulful
memories of songs and times, a collection of life experiences recalled for us all to read
and relive. We still have brothers and sisters out there who are like us, because we have
lived the life. For a moment it's easy, with a flicker of thought, to become the song
lyrics of "Smoke gets in my eyes... tears I cannot hide," when reading.
25
From: Al Farr ‘61
Geez, Harry, you've done a great job of reviving aging memories (including my
weathered one) to the maximum. Great to hear of Bob Paedon's memory of when we
were at Bay Terrace Elementary. He was roughly a year ahead of me with Mr. Fehler
our music teacher, but I clearly remember admiration for the uniquely mellow tone he
exhibited with his horn.
By the time I hit 7th grade at VJHS, R&R was just getting a foothold. My parents had a
fair collection of 78's, and I really did love the music. All of it then. Even Mario Lanza
doing "Tonight We Love". All the big bands were great to listen to. Just a few years ago
I took my late wife Liz and two of our older friends (they're in their late 80's) to the
Benaroya Hall here in Seattle to see the existing Glenn Miller Band. At least 2 or 3 of the
group are originals, but damn they put on one helluva show. Our guests were in tears (of
joy of course) twice during the performance.
As my trumpet playing continued through graduation in '61 I don't recall intensely disliking
anything, with the exception of a couple nonsense tunes like the one with a supposed
Indian theme caterwauling about going to see Little White Dove or something.
(Now you’ve done it, Al. You’ll have to
In addition to Running Bear,
answer to Lynda Bingham-Gregor ’62 as
there were many other Indian
themed songs such as: Apache
“Running Bear” is one of her all-time
(The Shadows – 1960) Indian
favorites.)
Giver (1910 Fruitgum Company At the time progressive jazz didn't appeal to me near
as much as the big bands, and certainly the uplifting
R&R.
1969), Indian Lake (The Cowsills 1968), and Cherokee Nation (Paul
Revere & the Raiders - 1971), just
to name a few you might recall.
Sometime in the 7th grade I came down with some-thing and had to stay home from
school. Wow, I got to listen to the radio ALL day long, what a treat. I remember the DJ
announcing a brand new tune by Ricky Nelson, "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It". Either my
dad, or someone in the family, said something like, "It's not only his bucket". The
accusations of his free basing cocaine (later disproven) subsequent to his tragic death
bothered me because I always had respect and admiration for him and his older brother
David. Ricky in later years when his singing career was stalling starred in a play, "How to
succeed In Business Without Really Trying.” Rudy Vallee was his costar (!) at the old
Circle Star Theatre in Redwood City in about 1971. I well remember him doing a concert
at the old Veteran's hall in about '59 or '60. I really wanted to go, but the admission was
$5.00, I believe and I was on the short end of the stick at the time. Huge disappointment.
(Hmmm… Ricky Nelson in Vallejo?... I don’t remember that. Do any of
you readers recall that? And if it occurred, did any of you attend?)
26
Sometime in about '59 or '60 there was an afternoon dance show called "The Ted Randal
show". (I believe it was called Dance Party.) on KPIX-TV I mailed for 6 or 8
tickets (they were free). To my amazement they came in the mail just two weeks later
and were for a specific date. I wasn't driving yet and none of my close friends were yet
either, so we had to rely on to parent types with two vehicles to take us to this event in
San Francisco. Kathy Carretti was my date, and what a sweet young lady and GREAT
dancer she was. One of my all-time favorite dance tunes was Percy Faith’s instrumental
"Summer Place", which was up there on the charts at that time (Actually Number 1
for nine weeks.) I was in heaven.
By the time I began my career in S.F. in '65 I still wasn't hip to progressive jazz that
much. Not that I disliked it, but like a fine liquor one develops a taste for it. Sometime in
the late ‘60s or so I ventured into a club just a block off Lombard at Fillmore. Vince
Guaraldi was the continuing featured artist there. He quickly spurred a level of
appreciation of "soft" jazz in me with "Cast Your Fate To the Wind", and many other
tunes, many of his own composition.
To say that we, as a generation, were blessed with the BEST music of at least 2 or 3
generations, would be understating it. I have little use for a lot of what is referred to as
"music" these days. In years past I often enjoyed certain music largely because of the
specific skills it took to create the sound, and maybe even liked it a little. Someone else
mentioned pulling up at a stoplight and catching an ear banging. It could be 110 degrees
out and up go my windows, AC full on and a CD of Roger Whitaker or Peter Paul & Mary,
maybe a little Elton John's Yellow brick Road ... anything that's more pleasing to the ears
than the ice pick in the forehead sounds from the neighboring car.
How lucky we are to have such a huge memory bank so full of really pleasant
memories. Yes, I well remember the Saturday nights in the girl's gym. Lots of great
times there..!
Once again, Harry, you've struck the nostalgia nerves of so many of us, and how
damned neat and fun it is to be able to share these memories through your excellently
executed forum..! Best to you and Sally.
P.S. Wash. state just broke their all time record for heat, lack of rain, etc., since the
records began in 1895. 130 years since we've been this dry. NO skiing in the
Cascades. More 90+ days than ever before. We've had no winter; things began to
blossom in February, unheard of. I'm beginning to pay attention to Jim Snoke's FB
published photos of multiple sightings of groups of "contrails" ... far different than ordinary
"vapor trails" We've made it through everything else; we'll make it through this. Thanks
again Harry ..!
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Brace yourself, Al… El Nino is coming soon and, if all reports are
accurate, you might want to return to the drought. LOL.
From: Helen Zundel-Willms ‘58
Your idea of focusing on music was brilliant as it connects us all.
My mother was very involved in the classical music scene in Vallejo, so I was raised with
lots of classical music and light opera tunes. I was a nut over movie musicals, so loved
songs from Oklahoma "Oh What a Beautiful Morning", South Pacific, Show Boat, etc.
My sister Kathe and I sang together for Church programs and service clubs … matching
dresses (long before the Lennons)! My earliest memory of pop music was Tony Bennett
and "Rags to Riches" early Jr. High. Like everyone else I loved early Rock & Roll like
Rock Around the Clock and all that stuff and certainly Elvis (who my mother acknowledged had a lovely voice), but everyone has covered that. Because I loved to dance, my
favorite music in High School and Jr. College was Frank Sinatra, (my favorite album was
"Swingin Affair") best music to "Swing" to. Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Tony
Bennett. Also a song that always stayed with me was "The Breeze and I" by Katarina
Valenti and anything by Nat King Cole.
Over the years, I've continued to enjoy many types of music, jazz, pop, show music,
ethnic music and some of the stuff my kids listened to, but I always kept my love of
classical. Because of this, I served over 30 years on the Marin Symphony Board of
Directors doing what I could to keep this form of music available to the Community. Music
has always been a major part of my life and I'm sure to most of us. I hear a tune and it
takes me right back to that time!
Helen, I didn’t cover classical music but, I too,
enjoy it on a limited basis. My father really liked
it and would put on an LP and sit in a comfortable
chair in his den, close his eyes, and just listen.
Occasionally I would peak in and see tears
coming down his cheeks because he was so
moved by the music. One of my very favorite
classical pieces is “Capriccio Italien” by Tchaikovsky. My father had a
Tchaikovsky album conducted by the famous Arturo Toscanini and it
was one of my favorites.
28
At the premiere of the Symphony,
Beethoven was almost totally deaf and
conducting an orchestra he could not
hear. When the audience applauded at
the end of the symphony—Beethoven
was several measures off and still conducting. Because of that, the contralto
Caroline Unger walked over and turned
Beethoven around to face the audience
and accept his accolades. The audience
gave him 5 standing ovations; there
were handkerchiefs in the air, hats,
raised hands, so that Beethoven, who
could not hear the applause, could at
least see the ovation gestures.”
I’m not very sophisticated when it
comes to classical music but I enjoy
the pieces that probably many of our
readers also like: Pachelbel's Canon
in D; Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata;
and particularly, his Symphony
Number 9 Ode to Joy.
You also mentioned “Light Opera.”
Many years ago I was introduced to
Gilbert and Sullivan by my dear friend
and former Vallejo High Drama
teacher, Howard McGlone. I’m very familiar with HMS Pinafore, The
Mikado and Pirates of Penzance. Great music with clever, witty lyrics…
usually spoofing the English upper class.
From: Les Bates ‘58
After reading over the many inputs on the subject of music in the fifties, I am amazed that
3 of my all-time favorite songs from that period were not mentioned by anyone, although
Little Anthony was mentioned. I couldn't get enough of "Over the Mountain" by Johnnie
and Joe and I played it over and over to learn the words. The other two songs were "The
End" by Earl Grant and "Tears on my Pillow" by Little Anthony and the Imperials. One
of these last two songs was always played as the last dance at the VHS Friday Night
dances. (No doubt about it, those were great songs. I’m sure there were
dozens of great songs not mentioned. Thanks for your input.)
NEW SUBJECT CARMELA - When our family first moved from Michigan to Vallejo, we
pulled a medium-sized trailer to California and lived in it for a few weeks in a trailer park
just SSW of Benicia Road alongside old U.S. 40. There was a small lake/pond just north
of the park. It sounds like Carmela's family park was up the road a bit toward the
Carquinez Bridge, but it is interesting to note that we were neighbors back when we were
4 years old.
From: Dalt Williams ‘51
Hi Harry... just wanted to say it was interesting seeing your take (and all the MU readers)
on the ‘50s and ‘60s music. It was a great time in our popular music history. But I'm
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afraid it went downhill from there.
Thanks Harry for asking me to jog my memory a bit about my high school music
experiences. In the late 40's George Herbert (Band Director at Franklin JHS) used to get
a request from Virl Swan (VHS Band Director) for the "loan" of his "ace" Sousaphone
player....me. I was playing with the VHS Band on many occasions (games, parades,
East-West game) as a 9th & 10th grader... WOW! When I was in high school, we formed
a "Dixieland" band and won a first prize on an early San Francisco television station. That
was the beginning of my interest in America's art form... JAZZ.
I did go to some dances, but my interests were in learning all I could about music and of
course courting my eventual bride Pat Mecredy. I also recall Virl Swan had me try out for
the All North Bay Honor Band (under the direction of Frank Mancini). I placed 2nd among
14 Sousaphone players.
The silly pop songs of the time known as "novelty" songs (Rag Mop, Mairzy Doats, Hut
Sut Song, The Thing) really didn't interest me musically. We did listen to some great
music of the late ‘40s on the radio ( the Lucky Strike Hit Parade 1935-1959), such tunes
as God Bless The Child (Billie Holiday), Take The A Train (Duke Ellington), Paper Doll
(Mills Bros.), Stormy Weather (Lena Horne), I'll Never Smile Again (Tommy Dorsey/Frank
Sinatra) to name a few.
Sometime I'll have to tell you about my musical experiences in the early 50's in the US
Army bands in Korea.
BTW, my group will be at the Sticky Rice Chinese Bistro and Bar, 5030 Business Center
Drive, Fairfield,CA on August 1 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. puttin' a modern twist on those
great tunes of the ‘30s and ‘40s (and few of those ‘50s tunes too). We pack 'em in there,
so reservations are advised, call (707)863-7500 for the best dining room seating.
Dalt, I look forward to hearing about your experiences in the Army bands.
From: Linda Wallace Orr Misita '61
Hi Harry, just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying the music portion of the
MU. Wow, it has brought back so many fun memories of days gone by. I had so many
favorites through the years. The Wayward Wind by Gogi Grant was probably one of my
first favorites, (Me too) and about that time was when I got interested in listening to
music.
30
As a very young girl, my parents used to have me sing Bell Bottom Trousers, Good Night
Irene and Mocking Bird Hill to all our friends and family.
Some of my favorite artists were and still are, Johnny Mathis, Al Green, The Supremes
(they were supreme), The Platters, Sam Cook, Fleetwood Mac, Isley Bros, and many
more including country western.
In the early 60's, Jerry (Orr) and I went to the Fairmont Hotel in SF to see Ella Fitzgerald
and Johnny Mathis. Both amazing performers.
I was fortunate enough to get to see Elvis Presley in the 70's before he puffed up. He
was even more handsome in person than on screen.
I have always like the big bad music and swing dancing. Also always watched Your Hit
Parade. Gisele MacKenzie was my fav.
You mentioned things I never knew about the innuendos in lyrics etc. Very interesting.
I also never knew Davy Crockett had a ballad as you also mentioned. Lol (It has over
20 verses and when I was a kid I probably knew most of them by heart.)
I think it would be great if we could organize a get together sometime for any of us that
would like to join in and be able to play the music that was popular from the 40's through
the 60's.
Harry, I'm so sorry your eye surgery didn't seem to help much. That's got to be a real
bummer. Is there a next step? (Yeah, there is a next step… a white cane and
sunglasses. LOL.)
I also wanted to mention that I think what Linda Etheridge-Rich '62 is doing for the animal
transport is such a meaningful gesture to help save the lives
of so many unwanted or uncared for animals. Thank you Linda, good job.
Congrats on yours and Sally's new grandson. We have a new addition to our family too,
a great grandson, Deven Donohue. He was born on July 1st and weighed in at 9.12 oz
and 22 inches long. He joins his three year old sister, Irelynn. (Congratulations!)
Blessings to all our classmates who are in pain or suffering in one way or
another. Healing thoughts are with you.
31
Well, I guess that's it for now. Thank you, Harry for all your time and efforts to bring us
all together in one way or another. You are the best.
Well, Linda, there does seem to be a certain amount of interest in
getting all of the MU folks together for a picnic. See what we’re
working on in the This ‘n’ That feature.
From: Carmela Piccolo-Coakley ‘58
Harry, I want to share a video with you. It really brings back all the feelings and
memories of those years when we danced slow to love songs, and before Rap, Cell
Phones, Computers and all the things that took away the past.
The song in the video is, Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In The Still Of The Night) by Ronnie
Milsap, but it says a lot across the screen in writing that is so reminiscent of our past.
This song is one of the best songs to slow dance, to sway, to feel your heart beat to the
music. I had to call Mike to come downstairs and dance with me!!
Check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YW9Ncx1gtw
Carm… thanks for reminding us of that great song. Just in case many
of our readers think all the great blind singers were black (Ray Charles,
Stevie Wonder, Blind Willie Johnson…) they might be surprised to learn
that Country singer Ronnie Milsap, who is white, is also blind (actually
so is Jose Feliciano). His song “Lost in the Fifties Tonight” won a
Grammy award in 1985, so I guess there was some good music after
the Seventies. LOL.
This ‘n’ that:
Monday Update Picnic at Blue Rock Springs
There’s seems to be a good deal of interest developing on the idea of
having a Monday Update picnic. I’m working on this with Steve Bleamel
who has some good ideas.
32
From: Steve Bleamel ‘62
H.D. A Monday Update Blue Rock Springs Picnic sounds good to Linda and I. I think I
can get 10 or 15 hot rods or classic cars to participate. My vote would be for Thursday,
Sept 24th. Da Juan Mon (Caducio) said he will be in Vallejo that weekend for Hogan
High’s Class of ‘65 FIFTY YEAR Reunion so maybe he and Jimmy Boyd might join us.
Also Judy Jacque-Miller HH65 will be staying with Linda and me that weekend so we
could bring her along. It sounds like fun and I hope you get a good turnout from all your
readers. Let me know if I can help.
I’m with you, Steve… no point in draggin’ our feet on this one ‘cause we
ain’t getting’ any younger! The idea of a picnic in September when all
the little kiddies are in school is a good one and we’ll have Blue Rock
Springs to ourselves on a weekday. Normally reunions are for a
specific group or era of people, so it’ll be fun to get together with folks
from several generations. Stay tuned for more info. Additional input
from our readers is welcomed.
...
Fishin’ with HD
When Adm. Joseph P. Rizza was the president of Cal State Maritime, I
served as his Public Information Officer for 11 years (in addition to my
duties as the Director of Athletics). I loved the guy and he did great
things for the college. As the PIO I had open access to him on a daily
basis. When Adm. Rizza decided he no longer wanted to talk about a
subject he would abruptly say “Next subject.”
The reason, Dear Reader, that I’m telling you all this is, in the event that
you should ask how my “fishing trip” to Salmon Lake went, my response
shall be “Next subject.”
However, I can tell you
that the scenery in that
part of the Sierras is
spectacular.
33
While we were in Calpine there was a thunder and lightning storm,
which Sally reveled in and when we left on Tuesday we ran into a
bigtime summer storm near Truckee with rain, hail, sleet, and lots of
wind. By the time we got down to Tahoe City it had abated.
Lake Tahoe has receded quite a bit as a result of the drought.
Two old acquaintances reminisced about the last time
they saw each other.
"Whatever happened to that gorgeous girl you were
dating?" one asked.
"Everything was going great until we went to my family
reunion," the other replied.
The first guy says, "What happened?"
The second guy retorts, "She met my rich uncle. Now
she's my aunt!"
Contributed by Steve Cotter ‘62
The Mail Bag
From: Gayle Emerton-Rodriguez '62
I just had to comment on the beautiful poem written
34
by the daughter of Bill Stewart. I can relate on so many levels, with all that she wrote. My
mother passed away some years ago from this devastating disease. I can still see her
vacant stare the day she stopped recognizing me. A heartbreaking experience. I pray for
the day that there is better treatment and
or a cure for this horrible disease.
On a lighter note, I like your idea of a picnic at BRS, Harry. I would be willing to help in
whatever way I can. Thanks for being all that you are.
...
From: Larry Wallace ‘58
After much deliberation and consideration, the VHS Class of ‘58 will hold the Annual
Class Picnic on September 12, 2015 at Blue Rock Springs in Vallejo. See flyer for details.
The flyer is available in the Reunion Events section of this MU.
...
From: Jane Barlow ‘60
Harry ~ I am so sorry the cataract surgery didn't go well. Sending prayers that there will
be improvement over time.
Thank you for your good work ~ I enjoy reading all about life back in the day!!
Thanks, Jane… hope your prayers are answered. LOL.
...
From: Suzie Schmutz ‘59
I know that several of you have given and I thank you! However, since my e-mail has
changed, I thought I had better send out another notice:
To my great Vallejo High School buddies, I am swimming my one mile swim again and I
need your help. This year I am swimming in honor of several of you with whom I
graduated from high school in 1959. If you don't like to give on line, let me know at this,
my new e-mail address and I will give you my home address. You can send me a check
there made out to the WCRC so you will get your tax deduction.
Please join me in supporting the 20th annual Swim A Mile for Women with
Cancer fundraiser, to be held October 3-4 at the Mills College Pool. Along with 600 other
swimmers, I've made the commitment to swim an entire mile to raise funds for the critical
work of the Women's Cancer Resource Center in Oakland, California.
35
Since 1986, WCRC has provided programs and a network of support and essential
resources for women with cancer and their families. Their programs include emergency
financial assistance, psychotherapy, in-home practical and emotional support,
cancer navigation, support groups, community health education and a wide range of
wellness classes.
The best thing about their services: they are offered free of charge, thanks to the
generosity of donors like you!
Please make a contribution to my swim
at http://www.wcrc.org/swim/profiles/swimmer/id/1740.
Here are some donation suggestions, but feel free to contribute as much as you like:
$36.00 = a dollar for every 50-yard lap!
$72.00 = a dollar for every 25-yard length!
$176.00 = ten cents for every yard!
All donations are 100% tax deductible. Make your donation
here: http://www.wcrc.org/swim/profiles/swimmer/id/1740
.
...
From: Carol Schneider-Bourgerie '61
Vacaville, CA
Yes, I would be interested in a picnic for the MU readers at Blue Rock Springs Park - or
any other form of gathering. I hope this works out and that the chosen date will be one
that I can attend. Just have name tags so we know to whom we are talking--I'll even
provide them if I have some idea on how many we'd need.
I wanted to let Joe Illing know that I have enjoyed his writings very much. I all of a
sudden realized that I knew who the "Raymond" was when he mentioned Ray's playing
the piano and being a college instructor. Ray lived down at the end of my street and I
use to go and sit on the curb across the street from his house (in front of Gary Fong's
home) and listen to Ray playing the piano. (Karen Sigler was another one I loved
listening to when she was practicing.)
Joe's story about his long employment (lol) at Sperry's Flour Mill also brought back
memories as my dad retired from there after 42 yrs. He was the Store Keeper, which
meant that he was in charge of all of the supplies that had to be ordered - I think. My dad
was already retired by the time Joe got there. I think I was around 13 years old when he
retired.
36
I think it was in John Parks' column that he asked if anyone knew of any "connections" to
our neighboring town of Crockett. I remember as a child that my much older brother,
Norm Schneider, played football for the Crockett Rockets. I think he also played for the
Vallejo JC team at the same time. He was so "into" football that when our older brother
Ray got married in 1950, Norm took off from his duties as one of the groomsmen
immediately after the ceremony at the First Christian Church so he wouldn't be late for a
game. Problem was that Norm had the rice in his car that was supposed to be tossed on
the newly married couple as they left the reception!! I also remember that my mom never
wanted to go watch Norm play as she didn't want to see him get hurt. She would,
however, listen to the games on the radio.
There were some good restaurants on the Crockett side of the water too. Can't
remember their names now. (Vera’s Villa Valona was certainly one of my
favorites with great Eye-talian food and endless minestrone.) I think that
the infamous "Juanita" had an eating establishment over there after she was run out of
several other local towns, like Sonoma, for allowing chickens, etc. to run free around the
dining room. I think she also walked around visiting at the tables with a parrot on her
shoulder. Also, former VJC Student Body President, Kevin McCall, also had a restaurant
over there - maybe a little farther down the river road in an area that went by another
name, but I can't remember that either. Gee, isn't it great to get old???
I'll be watching for more information on a "MU Readers' Picnic."
Carol, Juanita Musson had several restaurants and she moved around
for a variety of reasons. (Her first two restaurants in Sausalito burned
down.) In the early ‘70s she was in Vallejo for a while, first at the Casa
de Vallejo, and then down the street at a place that became Our Bar (I
think). When she left Vallejo she went to Port Costa and opened The
Warehouse restaurant.
Juanita was quite a large (and loud) woman who
always wore a muumuu and swore like a sailor.
She would often come up behind a male customer
and wrap her ample breasts around his ears… all
in jest of course. She often would not bring you
the food you ordered, but what she thought was
best for you… There was no point in arguing with
37
her because her motto was “Eat it or wear it!” As a Contra Costa Times
story put it, "Juanita's restaurants were a place where a penniless man
could be ordered to eat a free meal and movie stars could be
humiliated." Juanita died at age 87 in 2011. She was an extraordinary
person and a real colorful individual. I’m glad I got to know her a little.
I don’t believe the Kevin actually had a restaurant on the Crockett side,
but may have worked over there before he began his homeless shelter
in the Benicia Adobe. I got to know Kevin pretty well from the time he
was the Student Body prez at JC and even beyond. A few of us use to
party at his Adobe home. He was certainly an interesting and unique
individual who dedicated many years of his life towards The Adobe, a
halfway house for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Kevin’s gone
and his Adobe was sold, but the program he began is still around.
Kevin died in 1989 at the young age of 59 from emphysema.
...
From: Wes Brown ‘62
Since you're into cars I thought you might appreciate this item. This is the only AdamsFarwell automobile left in existence. They were made in Dubuque, Iowa between 18901913 and are really unique! The crankshaft is stationary while the engine spins ! It never
caught on, but it’s fun to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y0XbqHUAI-0?feature=player_detailpage
Actually, Wesley, I’m really not into cars all that much but I’ll bet
readers who are true car enthusiasts like Nick Razes ’56 and Steve
Bleamel ’62 will really get a kick out of this.
...
From: Brendan Riley '63
Hi, Harry-This is a straight-up pitch to old friends and classmates to help support the Vallejo Naval
and Historical Museum. The museum, located in the old City Hall at 734 Marin St., is a
real jewel. There are some great displays, numerous events, and research resources you
won't find anywhere else. I spent a lot of time at the museum doing Vallejo-related
research and now am on the board, trying to do what I can to help.
38
Here are links to the museum membership sign-up page and to the latest fund-raising
letter sent out by our board president, Kathy Hoffman. Also note the very moving exhibit,
"War Comes Home: The Legacy," currently on display until Aug. 15. To become a
member of the museum simply click on this link:
http://www.vallejomuseum.org/supportthemuseum.html
Information on how to donate can be found in the PSA section of this
MU.
...
From: Carmela Piccolo-Coakley ‘68
So, yes... although I hate to admit that the Greeks were very philosophical. They read a
lot of books. They studied, they taught, they did all that stuff. They had brains. And yes,
they danced, they sang, they acted, they did all the artsy stuff... which may account for
their "reputation". In Coakley's words, "A pain in the ass"! If you know what I mean! (No
I don’t know what you mean, Carm… explain it to me.)
The Romans/Italians, on the other hand, conquered all of Europe... including Greece!
That alone, tells how brilliant they were. (Okay the future Eye-talians conquered
all of Europe but have you ever heard of a Greek guy named Alexander
the Great? He conquered the entire known world.)
They might not have read much, probably didn't study anything and I'm pretty sure they
didn't get up and dance with each other. But they used what they were born with...
"Drive"! And don't forget, they were great "Lovers". Remember Romeo & Juliet?
Anthony and Cleopatra? (Give me a break… both of those were written by
and Englishman and were works of fancy. You should have mentioned
his historical play “Julius Caesar” because it shows you how insidious
and untrustworthy the Roman were. Et tu Brutus.) Carlo Ponti and Sophia
Lauren? (Who the hell is Sophia Lauren? Oh… you mean Loren.) Coakley
said, "Then there were the Greek lovers, George and Charlie".
I think I'll stop here before I get in trouble. (Too late!) I DO love Greeks, though. They
can cook almost as good as us!
...
39
From: Tami Post-Lamb ‘64
I have a question--a friend of ours (a dentist here in Olympia), has a son is attending the
Maritime Academy. This is his last year and they are trying to find a room for him to
rent. He is a great kid. Do you, or anyone you know, want to rent a bedroom to him for
this next year? It would be a little extra income and he is a kick. He has a side job as a
welder and cuts pieces out of railroad cars for a guy who makes little rooms out of
them. Let me know if anyone has interest.
Anyone who would be interested in renting this young man a room can
contact me and I’ll let Tami know.
...
Contributed by Paul Newton HH64
Only in America... would they make people who want to legally become American
citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of
dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the
country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens.
Oh… did you think that was a joke? Sorry, but it’s not.
40
The Apache Review of Arts
….“Did you say MARMALADE?”
By John Parks
THE INTERIOR --- of Vallejo's Carnegie Library, which almost
everyone wishes had been preserved.
WIN-WIN NEGOTIATIONS ----
MORE BRICKS! ---- This is the old train station down
in Fredericksburg that's now the home of an excellent
German restaurant, The Bavarian Chef. I had lunch
there with a friend recently and was very impressed
with everything about it.
AFTERWARD ---- I toured this colonial house about a mile
away which was the home of George Washington's sister,
Betty, and her husband, Fielding Lewis, a second son who
did very well in business. (He was a cousin, once removed,
to Meriwether Lewis.) Liked the arched entry framing the
home so took this photo.
The ceilings in this home are magnifycent! The base for the plaster is
crushed oyster shells.
On the way out of town I saw one of
41
those disappearing neighborhood markets, so
stopped to take this picture and get a Mello Yellow.
The owner told me it was the last one in
Fredericksburg.
Now I understand that there are two melodies playing,
one below the other, one easier to hear, the other
lower, steady, perhaps more faithful for being less heard
yet always present.
When all other things seem lively and real,
this one fades. Yet the notes of it
touch as gently as fingertips, as the sound
of the names laid over each child at birth.
I want to stay in that music without striving or cover.
If the truth of our lives is what it is playing,
the telling is so soft
that this mortal time, this irrevocable change,
becomes beautiful. I stop and stop again
to hear the second music.
I hear the children in the yard, a train, then birds.
All this is in it and will be gone.
I set my ear to it as I would to a heart.
“The Second Music” by Annie Lighthart
JAMES GRALTON ---- learned the shim-sham at the Savoy Ballroom in NYC and later
taught it to young friends at his hall back in rural Ireland. Who knew?
He was born in 1886, one of seven children, and reared on a 25 acre farm in County
Leitrim. Gralton emigrated to the U.S. 1909, but returned to fight in the Irish War of
Independence. In 1932 he came back again to look after his mother, and wound up
leading a socialist political movement in his area.
42
He ran a dance hall in Effrinagh where he arranged free
cultural / educational events and expounded his political
views. There were violent protests against the dances, led by
Catholic priests, which culminated in a shooting incident. In
February 1933, he was arrested, and later deported
to the U.S.A. on the basis that he was an alien, the only
Irishman ever deported from Ireland! This led to public
protests organized by the Irish Republican Army. He died in
New York in December 1945. This movie about him, partially
filmed in Drumsna near his birthplace, was selected for
competition at the 2014 Cannes Film
Festival. Recommended -- especially to readers with Irish
heritage.
THE SONG OF THE WEEK ---- is an instrumental,The In Crowd, by the Ramsey Lewis
Trio, recorded in 1964 at a jazz club that still exists, right here in DC, Bohemian Caverns.
As you see in the photo, it is built-out to actually resemble caverns.
This tune reached number 5 on the Hot 100
chart. Enjoy it once again right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsFS
T-7Hx-Y
AL FARR ---- You are correct about that
elementary school band teacher being Mr.
Fehler. He also taught band at Highland.
Much to my regret, I did not sign up to learn
an instrument from him, but several good
friends did, including Gene Allen who later
excelled on trumpet. In the ‘80s I lived two
doors away from Mr. Fehler and found him to be a very affable guy. A little known fact
about him: He served many years as head of music for the prestigious Bohemian Club,
and directed its orchestra that accompanied the musical plays members put on every
summer at Bohemian Grove. Harry, if he's not on your big list of special Vallejo music
talents I suggest you add him -- with a notation about his role with the Bohemian Club.
“This statement is a lie.”
“This statement is unprovable.”
John
jvp444@yahoo.com
43
...
After 35 years of marriage, a husband and wife went to a marriage
counselor.
When asked what the problem was, the wife went into a tirade
listing every problem they had ever had in the years they had been
married. On and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness,
loneliness, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of
unmet needs she had endured.
Finally, after allowing this for a sufficient length of time, the
therapist got up, walked around the desk and after asking the wife
to stand, he embraced and kissed her long and passionately as her
husband watched - with a raised eyebrow.
The woman shut up and quietly sat down in a daze.
The therapist turned to the husband and said, "This is what your
wife needs at least 3 times a week. Can you do this?"
"Well, I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but
on Tuesdays and Thursday I golf, and Fridays, I fish."
Contributed by David Macdonald ‘56
On the Sidelines
Professional athletes with Vallejo ties…
Jeff Gordon began 19th at the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard
at Indianapolis yesterday but wrecked early and that’s all she
wrote. Gordon got back out on the track eventually and was
scored 42nd in his final run at the Brickyard. The home boy is not
having a lot of luck this year. He drops down to 11th place in the Race to the Chase.
44
CC Sabathia (4-8, ERA 5.38) was worked over by the Minnesota Twins
on Saturday. In 5.2 innings of work he gave up 6 hits and 5 earned
runs. The Yankees however came back with 4 runs in the ninth to win
the game 8-5 and CC got another non-decision for his efforts.
...
Okay, Readers, send in that little short story, essay, poem, remembrance or whatever, you always
thought deserved to be published and we’ll use it in Paperback Writer..
“Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?”
Paperback Writer
How To Get A Great Job You Really Don’t Want, Part 3
MAKING THE LEAP FROM TELEPHONE POLES TO FREEDOM
By Joe Illing ‘61
“W
hat have you done to yourself now?” This thought kept running through
my skull like a soundbite infinitely looping.
I didn’t have to wait long to find just out what I’d done …
“Here’s another fine mess
you’ve gotten yourself into!”
When I met the honcho of Bell’s vast regional operations center
located in San Rafael, his first question echoed that of his colleague in Oakland, “What
brings you to PT&T?”
And as in Oakland, I couldn’t help myself, “What brings me here? Well, in a word,
opportunity! As part of the largest and best-run corporation in the world, PT&T has an
45
incredible future! And it’s making that future come true! Why in California alone it’s
investing over $25,000,000 this year … I want to be part of that!
Everything from then on was so much wasted breath. Hearing such talk (plagiarized from
his PT&T’s in-house magazines) coming out of the mouth a self-confident-to-a-fault 20
year old, he decided right then and there to hire me.
He truncated the interview and declared “You’re hired! And I’m going to start you out with
a promotion! Normally we have new hires wash trucks for a year or two, but you’ll be an
“installer/repairman” which, by the way, also means you’ll be getting a full year’s
promotion in pay.”
Holy Toledo! A promotion
before I even begin?
Wow! Driving back to Vallejo I felt shell-shocked! From giving a friend a ride
to Oakland a few weeks earlier and applying for a job to kill time while I waited, to
working for the phone company … well, it was all a bit unbelievable!
As I drove along Sears Point Road top-down in my treasured Austin Healy 100-6, I could
feel late summer in the wind and I almost felt good about everything … almost, but not
quite.
Installer/repairmen for Bell were a bit like aristocracy during those glory years of the trade
unions. The late fifties and early sixties saw unions wield unparalleled political power and
prestige, which translated into lucrative contracts for unionized workers, especially those
whose unions were endowed with the power to completely shut-down entire national
industries.
Thus, unions such as the United Auto Workers, United Steel Workers, International
Longshoremen’s Association, and Communications Workers of America enjoyed
especially lucrative wages and benefits.
Look for the union label
46
And I was stepping into this rarefied elite … I was to join these princes of organized
labor! I was made for life!
After two weeks of apprenticing I’d learned a variety of trouble shooting, installation and
repair techniques, none of which I found difficult … with the exception of climbing
telephone poles, for whenever I rose more than a couple of feet off Mother Earth I’d get
vertigo.
The day I found myself tightrope walking on a cable suspended over a busy street,
steadying myself by holding on to another large cable overhead I had to ask myself if this
was not completely insane!
I answered that it was … and then came the storm!
It was a big one, sweeping in off the Pacific with torrential rains and high winds! This
made all my fellow installer/repairmen lick their collective chops. This is what paid for
that motorboat! This is what put the kids through college! This was overtime heaven
paying double and occasionally triple time, not to mention meals and expenses.
Storms? The bigger the better!
However, I didn’t quite see it that way. After a few days of getting knocked around in the
dead of night by wind and rain and downed wires I had to admit that I couldn’t see myself
marrying Ma Bell for life!
And then my very own climbing gear arrived (a harness and the spikes used in climbing
naked poles). That was it! I was ready to get the hell out of Dodge … but I felt truly
conflicted about disappointing the guys who’d hired me, not to mention my union mentor
and all his mates. They’d been welcoming, generous and helpful to a man (they were all
men).
A high wire act!
47
And then, miracle of miracles, out of the blue I received a letter from S.S. Kresge and
Company’s corporate offices in Los Angeles directing me to report to their Larwin
Plaza facility the following Monday to begin my tenure in their management trainee
program.
“Wow! Perfect!” I thought, “Perfect. I can save face at PT&T and get out of there
honorably! Perfect!”
And it would have been perfect, but unfortunately it turned out to be a case of jumping
out of a kettle and into a frying pan!
I hated Kresge’s! It was almost as bad as sweeping out the basement of Sperry’s flour
mill. Spending an entire day inside a huge barn of a store was more than I could handle.
After an hour or so inside under the bluish fluorescent lighting I felt like screaming!
The day my manager put me in charge of notions and handed me a giant binder filled
with illustrations and descriptions of buttons, needles, pins, hooks and thimbles,
admonishing me to “Learn all of this by heart,” I knew notions, Kresge and I really weren’t
made for longevity.
After nearly two full weeks with only a couple of “sick days” I bid the company farewell,
sincerely thanking one and all for the great opportunity they’d afforded me, and
immediately headed back to my previous, debauched life of selling Kirby Vacuum
Cleaners door to door.
It wasn’t much, but it was mine, and it was freedom of a sort … sweet,
sweet FREEDOM!
Fate steps in
But those halcyon days of working for a week or so followed by living it
up for a few weeks … was rapidly coming to a close. Fate was to enter
my life in the form of the Solano County Selective Service Office, and I
was soon off on new adventures, the likes of which I had never, in my wildest dreams
foreseen!
THE END
We eagerly await Joe Illing’s next offering.
48
For The Child
C
hildren were all over the greater Sunda Islands of Indonesia, clinging to their
mothers at shops. Sometimes these shops were nothing more than an outdoor curtain division separating other vendors who were selling items of clothing
including western style shirts for the tourists. One afternoon in the steamy little port town
of Rantauprapat while wandering through the market, a commotion drew me to a female
tourist bargaining for a shirt. The tourist wanted only to pay three dollars. With native
garb and limited English, the shop keeper only knew the language of dollars while
holding up her five fingers for the tourist. Glancing furtively my way and back to her
customer, furrows began showing along the creases of her forehead, more out of
desperation to make a sale, but not wanting to give away merchandise that probably cost
her at least five American dollars for this shirt. And, there were few tourists around at the
time, more merchants than those with dollars to buy.
A little boy about age two was peeking from behind one of the racks of shirts. Held by his
young father, it appeared the whole family was waiting for this ordeal to be over. The
bargaining continued until the shop keeper relented and gave the shirt away for three
dollars. She was not happy and needed a kind face. As a tourist myself looking upon the
scene, wearing white shirt, beige shorts and sandals, she was feeling very disadvantaged, almost helpless, needing the money on a very slow day.
The shop keeper was aware another tourist had witnessed a typical foreign display of
power, and had won. Reaching into my pocket I pulled out two dollars and gave it to
them, something additional the other tourist could easily have paid for the shirt.
Then something unusual happened. Catching me by surprise, the father lifted the
child close to my face. He wanted me to bless his child by kissing his forehead.
Overwhelmed by this honor, I obliged to the surrounding smiles of both mother and father
and could only smile my appreciation for their trust and quick concern for their son's
future, when theirs was so tenuous, on that steamy, warm day at the market.
… Ron Collins ‘60
...
49
A Stroll Down History Lane…
A place to share your memories…
before they disappear forever.
From: Ronda Sells-G
Hi Harry! I have a Q for you....
I have a couple of what appears to be group photos of a high school class, of which my
great gramma (Havilah WILLIAMS) is one. I assume that she went to Vallejo HS in one
of its incarnations, but have no way of knowing.
My great gramma was born in January of 1893, so she would have been 17 years old in
1910. I don't know what a typical age for graduating might be, but I would guess
anywhere from 1910-1912 would be likeliest.
Havilah Williams is in the front row with the short tie, and dark blouse tucked into her skirt
The other (more formal with white dresses etc) is pasted on board making it too big for
my scanner and it isn't doing well in freehand photos. I'm going to have to take it to
Kinkos or something.
50
Do you have any suggestions? Whatever you can offer, no matter how small, would be
much appreciated.
Ronda, I checked the VHS database which goes all the way back to the
beginning oF the school in 1873. I searched for Havilah as well as
Williams and could find nothing. Are you absolutely sure that was her
maiden name? The database only includes those who graduated.
...
From: Robert Cobb ‘65
I've been enjoying the MU for a while and like being reminded by others of some
experiences prior to my leaving Vallejo in 1968: having Dr. Delphine Palm as my
pediatrician long into my adolescence; seeing the maroon and black Aston Martins,
always in tandem, as I biked around Vallejo, when it wasn't cool to be biking; living next
door to the Benne's (of camera shop ownership) when I was going to Curry School.
Other memories not mentioned by others include (you may notice a car-theme): seeing
School Supt. Paul Crabb driving his red and white Corvette, top-down, into the parking
lot at Cooper School; Ray Syufi's '57 Gold Cadillac Biarritz, frequently parked right in
front of the Rita theatre; experiencing the loss, particularly during elementary and junior
high, of friends moving away (most frequently to Napa); my first formal job as an ice
cream maker and soda jerk at Liled's; (mountain) biking around Lake Chabot before
there was anything out that way other than the Fairgrounds; learning from other's
behavior that one cannot unobtrusively eat corn nuts in class; participating in what was
likely the first "group" experience for the members of an impromptu Dixieland Quartette
that I believe had one public performance at an event at Cooper School (Carl Cornils,
Guy Arrostuto, myself, and one other (?) were members); working out and swimming at
Johnny Maury's Gym down the alley, across from the Main Post Office; taking the
"Vista"-route bus downtown to go to the long-gone Carnegie-donated library, where I did
research for school projects and had the opportunity to read all of their early-edition
Hardy Boys books.
That's enough mental snap-shots for now... don't want to facilitate anyone's memory
overload.
One other current topic: you suggested a possible MU picnic at Blue Rock Springs (an
interesting idea), which reminded me of the following, that I'm not sure all the VHS Class
of '65 knows about. Though it was on the back of the publicity flier send out to class
members, I almost missed it myself: On Sunday, August 16, "there will likely be an
51
informal get-together around noon at Blue Rock Springs"...in the past, for me, this has
been a high-point of the Reunion Weekend...low-key and a further opportunity to visit
with folks you might not have had the chance to talk with Friday or Saturday. I plan to be
there. So, if you are coming for the weekend, you may want to plan to stay through
Sunday.
The Hardy Boys… Damn, Robert, I LOVED the Hardy Boys and read
every one of their books that I could get my hands on. I was very
disappointed in the Disney TV series of The Hardy Boys… not the young
detectives I had envisioned at all. As an adult with children I bought
several more Hardy Boy adventures hoping that I could get my boys
interested in reading them… sadly not worth the effort. I still have the
books.
I might crash your picnic if your class decides to have one. Let me
know.
...
Postcard
Pals
From: Frank Wimberly ‘61
Reggie Gray ‘61, Fred Bruderlin ‘61 and my wife Deborah,
and I near the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa
Fe, New Mexico.
A large Apache Warrior
is watching over us.
It's a spectacular sculpture.
Fred, Reggie & Frank
52
Reggie, Frank & Deborah
...
From: Linda Dickinson-Bleamel HH65
Hi Harry!
I heard that you would like a picture of Steve and I together on our trip to Italy. Well I hate
to tell you this but I hate getting my picture taken and I really don't take a lot of people
pictures. I love to take pictures that I think are pretty and that kinda tell you what it is like
over there.
We have been fortunate enough to have been able to take this trip 3 times. Our good
friends Bill and Joan DeWolf's daughter, Jaime, married an Italian that she met when
she was studying in Florence. His name is Fabio and he is from a small island off the
northern coast of Sicily named Lipari. We get to stay at a home that he owns there and
we get to see the traditional life style. 90% of the food that Fabio's mom makes is from
her garden (I hate to say this) or her rabbit and chickens she raises.
Here is a typical dinners that starts about 10pm. That is Fabio
on the right in the whiteT shirt and some of his family having a
good time.
We stayed on Lipari for about a week and then we ( Steve & I,
Bill & Joan and Jamieand her oldest son Mateo took a 6 hour
ferry ride to Naples and spent the night there. Also stayed in
Sorrento for 3 nights and did a little sightseeing. Here are a few
pictures… so beautiful but a completely different life style.
Cute Ristorante in Lipari
Beautiful view from Capri
53
Pompeii
Amalfi Coast
Bill & Steve on Capri
jj
Just so beautiful …
54
Thanks for taking charge, MM. Sounds as if you guys had a great time.
...
This week’s Newbies
This week the Monday Update welcomes Nick Odell.
...
In Memoriam
Coleman “Coke” Morrison
Dec. 10, 1918 - June 12, 2015
Born in Napa, Coke moved to Vallejo at an early age, where he lived the
rest of his life.
He graduated from Vallejo High School at age 16 and went on to Marin
JC, then entered the Naval Apprentice School on Mare Island to become
a Rigger. He served in the Army during WWII as a crypto-grapher. After
the war, he earned a BA in Physical Education from UC
Santa Barbara and a secondary degree in Health Education
from Stanford.
He taught at Franklin Jr. High for eight years and then at Vallejo High
School where he taught math and was Dean of Boys and Vice Principal.
In 1986 he was elected to the Vallejo School Board and served one
term. He coached and officiated basketball, football, and baseball
throughout his career. After retiring in 1979, he continued to coach and
officiate basketball and football games and, also, coached golf at St.
Patrick's High School for eight years. He was inducted into the Vallejo
Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Coke enjoyed life to the fullest. He was a self-proclaimed 'sports-nut'. He loved all
sports, was a star basketball player through college, was an excellent golfer, and, in the
last several years, played Bocce ball. He was the oldest player in the Benicia Bocce
55
League for several years and even played the week prior to his death. He was a founding
member of the Blue Rock Springs Golf Club and was awarded a life time membership.
He also was a member of the Elks Club, SIRS, Sons of Italy, and Moose Lodge.
He loved to dance with his wife Imo and won several dancing competitions. He loved
being with his family and enjoyed many BBQ's at his son's with a martini in hand and
sports on TV!
He is survived by his son, Larry (Kelly) and grandson Matthew of Portland, OR; step
children, Jeri Davis of Benicia and Jim Marsh (Beth) of Yukon, OK; granddaughter,
Meaghan and daughter-in-law, Peggy of Benicia; four grandsons, Jimmy, Jeff, Wayne
and Edward. He is predeceased by son, Stanley; daughter, Melinda; his first wife, Dorthy
and wife, Imogene.
In lieu of flowers, the family wishes a donation to your favorite charity. Services will be
held on Friday, July 31, at 11 a.m., in the Rose Garden at the Skyview Memorial Lawn,
200 Rollingwood Drive, in Vallejo. Arrangements are under the direction and care of
Skyview Memorial Lawn
Coke Morrison was a great guy… may he rest in peace.
...
Mujibar was trying to get a job in India. The Comcast Personnel Manager
said, "Mujibar, you have passed all the tests, except one. It is a simple
test of your English language skills. Unless you pass it, you cannot qualify
for this job."
Mujibar said, "I am ready."
The manager said, "You must make a sentence using the words yellow, pink,
and Green."
Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, "Mister manager, I am ready."
The manager said, "Go ahead."
Mujibar said, "The telephone goes green, green, and I pink it up, and
say, ‘Yellow, this is Mujibar’."
Mujibar now works for Comcast. No doubt you have spoken to him.
56
The Last Word…
My ol’ buddy pal, Melvin F. Brooks Jr., took pity on my for not catching
any fish during my “fishing trip” (Next Subject please) and gave me
three nice sized trout he caught last Monday while fishing at Lake
Chabot with his grandson. I spread a little olive oil on them, added salt,
pepper, garlic powder and oregano, wrapped them in tin foil and stuck
them in my barbeque in indirect heat for 20 minutes. Man, were they
delicious. Melvin, I take back half of all the bad things I’ve ever said
about you.
...
Donna Wiggin-Barth ‘58 and hubby Jim will be in the area this week and
Sally and I will join them for lunch at noon at Truffle Berries. We’re
looking forward to return-ing their hospitality when we visited with
them in Sonora a while back.
...
Out of all the plants I have in my garden,
one of the prettiest is this white
eggplant.
...
Week 6: The Remodeling Saga
continues. The tile work took a few
days, the carpet layers did it all in one day, but the painter is still here
and is beginning his 6th week at our home. For those few MU readers
who are still in their late 50s and early 60s, let me tell you that by the
time you’re 70, you’re set in your ways and you don’t like to have your
daily routine interrupted or changed. It just starts the day off on the
wrong foot. I’ll sure be glad to get back to the “same ol’, same ol’.”
...
57
Last Thursday, grandson Spiro had an 11 a.m. flight out of S.F.O.
heading to Huntington Beach to spend a week with his Godparents
before returning to North Carolina. We left the house at 7:15 a.m. to
battle the traffic all the way down to the San Francisco Airport. It took
me an hour and 45 minutes to get their and only 45 minutes to come
back. Man, am I glad I don’t have to commute in order to make a living.
No wonder there are so many mentally ill people around.
I tell you one thing, I’m sure not equipped to raise kids anymore. Spiro
wore Sally and I out during his 16 day visit. I’d forgotten just what it’s
like to be around a 14 year old boy. Between having a house guest,
who had to be constantly reminded to pick up after himself, and having
the painter here so long that he’s practically a member of the family,
we’re plain worn out.
...
Sally and I paid a little visit to Carol Egidio-Murray’s yesterday for a
lovely afternoon and dinner. Bud, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s is
having a tough time of it and confined to a hospital bed and home with
hospice. Truly heart-breaking. It’s a reminder to be thankful for what
you have, because it won’t last forever…
… thanks for starting your Monday with me… hd
...
Woman: How many beers do you drink in a day?
Man: Usually about 3
Woman: How much do you pay per beer?
Man: $5.00 which includes a tip.
Woman: And how long have you been drinking?
Man: About 20 years, I suppose
Woman: So a beer costs $5 and you have 3 beers a day which puts your spending
each month at $450.In one year, it would be approximately $5400 … correct?
58
Man: Correct
Woman: If in 1 year you spend $5400, not accounting for inflation, the past 20
years puts your spending at $108,000, correct?
Man: Correct
Woman: Do you know that if you didn't drink so much beer, the money could have
been put into savings for the past 20 years, and you could have bought a Ferrari?
Man: Do you drink beer?
Woman: No
Man: Where's your Ferrari?
Contributed by Dale Geraldson ‘62
If your class is having an event within the next year let us know and we’ll keep it posted on the
Calendar.
MU Calendar of Upcoming Events
Date
Event
Place
August 8, 2015
Seventieth Birthday Party
Hogan/Vallejo Combined Class of ’63
Vallejo Yacht Club
VHS Class of ’65 Fifty Year Reunion
August 14, 2015 Warm up
Vallejo Yacht Club
August 15, 2015 Dinner / Dance
Zio Fraedo’s-Vallejo
Time
5:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
August 15th
VHS Class of 1968
65th Birthday Party Picnic
Blue Rock Springs
11 a.m.
Sept. 12, 2015
VHS Class of 1958
57 Class Reunion Picnic
Blue Rock Springs
11 a.m.
Oct. 3, 2015
VHS Class of ’55 Sixty Year Reunion
Reunion Dinner
Zio Fraedo’s-Vallejo
4:30 p.m.
Oct. 10, 2015
VHS Class of ’60 Fifty-Five Year Reunion
Reunion Dinner
Moose Lodge-Vallejo
TBA
Oct. 10, 2015
St. Vincent’s Class of ’65 Fifty Year Reunion
Reunion Dinner
TBA
TBA
th
59
Oct. 11, 2015
Brunch
Benicia TBA
TBA
...
Public Service Announcement
734 Marin St.
Vallejo, CA 94590
Dear Museum Supporter:
As we begin the 2015-2016 Fiscal Year the Board of Directors wants to move forward
with a number of much-needed improvements to our Museum and we need your help to
make it happen. Deferred maintenance has been the norm for the past few years given
the Museum’s budget challenges, but this year we want to reverse the trend. As a
Museum supporter I hope you agree that preserving our past is worthwhile and you will
be generous with your donation.
Building maintenance projects include replacing worn seating in the Heritage Chamber,
upgrading the kitchen, repairing the mural cracks caused by the earthquake in both the
Saginaw Room and the Staircase of Seapower, and cleaning and/or replacing carpet.
Exhibit Development – the Vallejo exhibits needs an update and we would like to have
exhibits on each of the cultures that has made Vallejo the most diverse city in the
country. Needed are glass display cases.
Also, the Museum’s large artifact collection needs assistance with the right kind of
preservation.
Should you choose to donate we’d like for you to choose what you want your donation to
be used for. The last category is Unrestricted which will help us balance the budget and
not have to dip into our reserve.
Thanks for your support.
Kathy Hoffman
Board President
60
Please mail your donation with this form to:
Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
734 Marin St.
Vallejo, CA 94590
Or to charge by phone to a credit card please call this number during normal business
hours: 707-643-0077
Yes, Kathy, I want to help. Please apply my donation to the following category
(You may select more than one category.)
 Maintenance Projects

Artifact Preservation
Exhibit Development
Start to Restore Museum Operating Hours
Unrestricted (help balance the budget)
In addition to my contribution I would like information on adding a bequest to my will.
I would like to sign up for monthly donations.
Please contact me.
Enclosed you will find my tax deductible check in the amount of $______________
OR
Please charge my credit card in the amount of: $_____________
Visa Master Card
Discover
American Express
_______________________________ _______________________________ ________________
Name (as it appears on card)
Card Number
Exp. Date
____________________________________
Name
________________________ ___________________ ____ __________
Street Address
City
State
_____________________________________
61
Zip
_________________________
Email
Phone
62
63
64
Mike Houston will be doing a bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles from
September 26 through October 3 to raise money for the fight against Arthritis. If you want
to support Mike’s endeavor, copy and paste this link to make a donation.
http://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1121403&supId
=398649231&extSiteType=1
Relay for Life
Tracy Royer, daughter of Brent and the late Roberta Johnson has entered to raise money
for the American Cancer Society in memory of her mom. They’ll be walking at St.
Patrick’s High School on August 1
To make a donation: Copy and paste this link into your web browser.
http://relay.acsevents.org/site/PageServer/?first_name_query=Tracy&pagename=re
lay_getinvolved_events&last_name_query=Royer&search_type=participant
When it opens you will see the name Tracy Royer and the word “donate” under her
name. Click on donate.
Do NOT click on Tracy Shroyer which is also listed on that page.
20th annual Swim A Mile for Women with Cancer
Suzy Schmutz ‘59 will once again swim this fundraiser, to be held October 3-4 at the Mills
College Pool. The purpose of the mile swim is to raise funds for the critical work of the
Women's Cancer Resource Center in Oakland, California.
Since 1986, WCRC has provided programs and a network of support and essential
resources for women with cancer and their families. Their programs include emergency
financial assistance, psychotherapy, in-home practical and emotional support,
cancer navigation, support groups, community health education and a wide range of
wellness classes. Their services are offered free of charge, thanks to the generosity of
donors like you!
Please make a tax deductible contribution to my swim Make your donation here:
http://www.wcrc.org/swim/profiles/swimmer/id/1740
65
ADDENDUM ONE:
Reunion and Event
Announcements(Send us your upcoming
events and/or reunions and we’ll post them here every week until your event.)
Saturday, August 8, 2015
66
67
The Vallejo High School Class of '58
Invites you to our
th
57 Class Reunion Picnic
When: Saturday, September 12, 2015
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 pm
Where: Blue Rock Springs in Vallejo
Bring a Picnic Lunch and a drink for yourself and
whoever comes with you. Beer & Wine is OK!
Picnic Chairs and Blankets advised.
Donation: $5 per person (Pay at display tables
when you come to Blue Rock Springs.)
Parking fee: $5 non Residence
($5 residence fee to be paid at gate)
Any questions call: Patti Hill (707) 557-2625
or Jerry Collins (707) 552-8587
68
A Blast to the Past…
Vallejo High School
Class of 1955
60 Year Class Reunion!
-SAVE THE DATEOctober 3, 2015
Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant
23 Harbor Way – Vallejo
Premium Buffet. Wide selection of food…$45
Starts at 4:30 p.m. Buffet at 6:30 p.m.
This reunion is for VISITING and REMEMBERING old times!
Invitations will be mailed in August
Loueen Messing-Schreiner
642-2740
...
ADDENDUM TWO: Missing Classmates
(Reunion committees: Send me your list if you want it posted here.)
St. Vincent’s High School
Class of 1965
Missing List
Richard Ahern
Cardinelli Barber
Carl Bowlby
Dennis Faria
Gregory Hollister
Patricia Keating (Shaw)
Bernadette Marshall (Webber)
Donna Miller (Fisher)
69
John O'Donnell
Renee Ramos (Best)
Kathleen Wolden (Einboden)
Send any info about the missing classmates to svfclassof65@gmail.com.
VALLEJO HIGH SCHOOL
LOST "CLASS OF '55" CLASSMATES AS of Jan, 2015
Key: Last known married name in (parentheses)
Marcia June Anderson
Charlotte (Armstrong) Pringle
Francis Fox Atoigue
Lillie Mae Beauchamp (King)
Leland Katherine Berkeley (Lupton)
Norma Ann Blair (Danley)
Dorothy Lee Brown
Edwin Ray Budd
Betty Marlene Burns (Lee)
Juana Dee Burton
James Byram
Judith V. Cain
Dennis Harrison Carriker
Edward Millard Clark
Helen Louise Cole
Leroy Rene Coleman
Betty Lou Crawford (Decker)
Barbara Jean Dale
Peggy Davis (Smith)
Phillip L. Davis
Carolyn C. Day
Alan Keith Decker
Sam Anthony Dimaio
Henrietta Dixon
Garry Linden Ellyson
George Oliver Elder
Odessa Emery
James Evans
Marilyn Ann Fitzgerald
Bradley Linden Forrest
Sula Jane Graham (Renz)
Michael Andrew Gregor
Dawn Dolly Grinestaff
Rosemary Grossi (Conn)
Ruth C. Hanson
Elizabeth Ann Harms
Douglas Ashley Hartshorn
Janet Kay Hawkins
Mary DeVoe Kirk (Parker)
Richard Albert Koch
Joyce Ann Krause (McCoy)
Marilyn Harbin Lott
Marlowe Martin
Doris Edith McClure
Arthur Lee McDaniel
Linda Sue McMillan
Richard Lee McNeely
Maxine Irene Miller (Hansen)
Merle Wayne Moody
Fait Frank Moore
Mary Lynn Moore
Judith Lenora Mouser
Harvey Russell Nelson
Barbara Elaine (Obenhaus) Stanfield
Janice Raye Page (Frazier)
Diana Mary Palmer (Hepner)
Mary Lou Parfet (Boyles)
Margee Paskel
Arlene Edna Passalacqua
Betty Gean Patterson
Dorrie Lynn Porter
Robert Pratt
David John Price
Leonila Jeanette Reyes
Gary M. Roberts
Dorothy Colleen Rutz (Anderson)
Patricia Ann Schnetzer
Rudolph F. School
Dale LeRoy Schwark
J.C. Shields
Dorcille Shockley
Marian Eloise Simmons
Rosalie Sowards (Arnold)
Billy Gene Stewart
Sonja Elaine Stimac
Clinton Morris Strohmeyer
70
Daisy Bell Hendrix
Patty Jean Hicks
Clara Anne Hilburn (Lockwood)
Jody Hilton (Johnson)
Helen Derry Hoag
Richard Warren Holl
Donna Jean Hollibaugh
Carolyn Janice Hughes
Myrtle Gwendolyn Hunt
Judith Ann Huston (Johnson)
Nancy Lee Johnson
Tressie Virginia Johnson
Oretha Elizabeth Rogers Jolly (Woodley)
Wilson D. Jones
Joseph E. Karg
Marion Joyce Kemp
Lawrence Allen Sump
Robert John Szemanski
Murry Nelson Taylor
Robert Chester Thompson
Virginia Ann Thornton (Mazzoni)
Francis Jean Van Camp (Glascock)
Maurice Delbert Vermillion
Samuel J. Villa
Everett William Wallace
Janice Lynn Walton (Allen)
Sandra Lee Wayne (Cournoyer)
Isobel Webber
Gary Lee Weber
Joseph Carlton Welch
Shirley Jean Welling
LaRae Marie Woodard
If you have any info regarding these
classmates or their whereabouts,
please contact:
Carolyn (Fleming) Pauley
846 Beechwood
Vallejo, CA 94591-5617
Ph: (707) 642-2848
or
Loueen (Messing) Schreiner
557 Jennings Avenue
Vallejo, CA 94591
Ph: (707) 642-2740
Email: loueenslove@yahoo.com
...
HOGAN HIGH CLASS OF 1965
MISSING CLASSMATES
Please contact Barry Fredenburg @ bgfredenburg@yahoo.com
Ailes, Dennis
Alexander, Sharon
Alvarado, Michael
Amsbaugh, Dolly
Asbe, Howard
Avery, Barbara
Barber, Fred
Baumann, David
Becky, John
Edmonds, Annabelle
Fawcett, William
Fears, Jeffrey
Guarin, Joseph
Harris, Norman
House, Duanna
Howe, Joan
Jensen, John
Johnson, Jesse
Koontz, Linda
Lewis, Isac
Linville, Robert
Marquez, Sally
Martin, Doug
McMurphy, Donna
McBride, Dan
McNairy, Thomas
Mitchell, Robbie
71
Roberts, Alice
Roberts, Ken
Rollins, Thomas
Salsedo, Pamela
Simon, Margaret
Southerland, Ronald
Tackmier, Lynn
Talley, Gwendolyn
Trefethen, Janice
Borowski, Janet
Bradeen, Susan
Bradhurst, Shirley
Cambe, Benito
Diaz, Thomas
Edgar, Shirley
Keith, Sandra
Kelly, James
Kelly, Judith
Kent, Helen
Kersting, Pamela
Kimzey, Linda
Murchison, Jerry
Neal, Denise
Nichols, Sharon
Oliveira, John
Padilla, Priscilla
Pulliam, Harry
Reedy, Carolyn
Wartburg, Patricia
Weber, Donald
Wilson, David
Wilson, Ellen
Zumwalt, Joseph
...
Vallejo High School
Class of 1965
Missing
05-07-15
Charlotte Augsback
Charles Austin
Terry Auten
Cheryl Baker
Donna Bennett
Cheryl Berg
Roger Berry
Lynn Bird
William C. Blackwood
Margie Bowman
Claudette Bozeman
Vicki Bracy Smith
Karen Bragg Haden
Beverly J. Brinkman
Richard Brooks
Connie Brower
Roy Brown
Rachel Brown Johnson
Jimmy Brummell
Esther Caballero
Betty Campbell
Cheri Campbell McDonnell
Collin Carlson
Rodney Carlson
Diana Carmody Bennett
Henried Castro
Michael Castro
Sandra Cavalliere
Junior Clayton
Helen Cole
Richard Coyne
Robert Crawford
James M. Cross
Cheryl Davenport
James L. Davis
Larry Davis
David DeYoung
Jesus Pascual Dominguez
Elaine Douthitt
Joe Duenas
Georgia Easterling
Bob Farris
Rosario Figueroa
Salvador Figueroa
Sharon Flanagan Mundahl
Patricia Flores
Glennis Franklin
Alma Gadberry
William Gerdes
Alan Gill
James Gillies
Richard Gilmer
Michael Gopaul
Wade Guice
Timothy Guinan
Marilyn Handy Harris
Rea Harmston Wilson
Kathy Harrell Gunter
72
Richard Harris
Gail Harris Wilkerson
Fred Hayden
John Hutson
George (Johnson) Leatham
Janice Johnson
Barbara Jones
Trudy Jones
Mary Lou Kamminga
James H. Kellner
Carolyn King
Sandra King
Bert Knudson
Linda Koepke
Gayle Kramer Hixon
Norman D. Larsen
Ann Lee
Alberto Lopez Larralde
Linda Loveless Miles
Peggy Lundblad Watts
Linda Madden
Ildefonso Makinano
Douglas Martin
Craig Massie
Sue Max
Paul McCollum
Suzanne McFarland Raymos
Claudia McMullin
Tim McNamara
Earlene Meadows Stall
Pamela Metsker
Linda Metzler Stevens
Glen Middling
Don Miller
Diana Molina
Carol Monroe
James M. Monroe
Lorraine Muchmore
Juanita Muncy
Barbara Nickolas
Bonnie O'Brien Pyle
Barbara Olson
Michael Padilla
Bonnie Petersen
Ronald Phelps
Deborah Pollnow
Donna Price Langley
Bill Pritchard
Linda Purdy Knudson
Joe Quesada
Rose Quilente Burke
Patricia Quinn
Julius Reed
Lawrence Richard
David Rinehart
Cinita Roberts
Harold A. Robinson
Crosby Roper
Karla Roxberg Rafael
Ramon Sablan
Dale Sackett
Jerry Schmersahl
Barbara Shepherd
Doris Shepherd
Lynn Smith
Ronald Snodgrass
Robert L. Stanton
Virginia Strube
Audrey Talley
John Taylor
Louis Taylor
John Thomasson
Perry Tomboc
Naomi Triesman
Larry Ulrich
Carol Valance
Denise VanDolson French
David R. Vick
Terry Vincent Maxwell
Mary Vining
Louise Waderich
Kenneth M. Wagner
Beverly Walston
Frank Watkins
Robert Weir
David Welch
Melvin Wells
Robert Whitfield
Darrell Whitley
Leon Wiley
Bernice Williams
Eileen Williams
Shirley Wilson
Joyce Wood Bryant
Rodney Woodruff
Faye Young Soring
Ronald Young
Sydney Young Porter
Nancy Zimbelman
Alejandra Zubiria
...
THE FINE PRINT
The Monday Update
Publisher/Editor: Harry Diavatis
Published: Weekly
First Edition: Oct. 26, 2004
Circulation: 1,350 subscribed
(est. readers 1500+)
The Monday Update was originally intended to serve as a newsletter for members of the VHS Class of ’62. Over a period of
time, members of companion classes (1960, ’61, ’63, and ’64) and from Hogan and St. Vincent’s, indicated an interest and
began participating. Today the Monday Update has a wide and varied range of readership ranging from 1937 and into the
new millenium. We also have several “guests” who have no direct affiliation with Vallejo, whatsoever, but are able to relate
to the era.. Anyone who has an interest in, or is nostalgic for, our era is welcomed to participate.
Back issues from as far back as 2007 are available on line at www.VHS62.com
To subscribe to the MU go to www.VHS62.com and click on the Link- Sign Up for Our Email Newsletter.”
There is no charge for accessing the Update… just the expectation that subscribers will periodically “contribute” something
to the overall effort, such as a personal update, archival pictures, news, memories, anecdotes, true confessions etc…
anything that may be somehow relevant or interesting to our readership as a whole.
73
The Editor reserved the right to print, delete, or edit contributions at his discretion and is solely responsible for the content of
the Update. If you send us an email and DO NOT want it published in the Update please be sure to state as much, and we
will respect your wishes. The MU respects your privacy. Personal information, including email addressess and phone
numbers, will not be given out without your permission.
The Monday Update is not financed by, nor does it necessarily reflect the opinions of: Vallejo High School; the VHS Class
of 1962; or the VHS ’62 Reunion Committee. (And it sure as hell doesn’t reflect the Vallejo School Board!)
...
The Official VHS Class of ’62 Web Site
http://www.classreport.org/usa/ca/vallejo/vhs/1962
Administrator: Bill Strong
Asst. Admin: Harry Diavatis
Class size:
Located:
433
Missing:
198
Deceased:
140
Total on File:
771
All members of the VHS Class of ’62 are listed on the site including Missing and Deceased classmates.
Members of VHS ’62 are asked to log on to the site, register, fill out a profile and send in a current
picture. Non class members may also participate and should log on as “guests.”
...
YEARBOOKS ON CD
Thanks to Bill Strong, many of the Yearbooks from Vallejo, Hogan, and St. Vincent’s are available on a
CD. (Also quite a few of the Junior High Schools.) The MU will be happy to send you a personal copy,
of your choice, on a CD for a free will donation. The average donation has been $35. You may order
up to five (5) yearbooks for the same donation.
Year
1929
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44-47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
VHS
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
HHS
SVHS
VJH
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
HJH
FJH
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
74
Sol JH
Springs JH
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72-74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
Total
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
41
1
1
13
6
11
5
8
Send your check to:
Harry Diavatis, 5087 Green Meadow Court, Fairfield, CA 94533
75
1
10
Apaches Forever
Commemorative Shirts
Order Form
(Limited Time Offer)
(Please print all information legibly.)
Name:__________________________________
The cost of each shirt is $20 which includes a
donation to The Last Apache Scholarship
Fund.
Street:__________________________________
City, State, Zip:___________________________
Email Address:___________________________
Phone Number:__________________________
Men’s Hanes Beefy T-Shirts: Please indicate the quantity of each shirt ordered
___Large
___XL
___2X
___3X
___ 4X
Total number of shirts _______ x $20 = $_______
Hanes Beefy-T
Women’s Hanes V-neck Shirts:
Please indicate the quantity of each shirt ordered
___Large
____XL
___2X
Total number of shirts ____ x $20 = $______
Additional donation to Scholarship Fund $_______
Hanes Women's
Nano-T® V-Neck
Total amount enclosed $_________
The shirts are white with 4-color art work. art work
depicting the great Apache warrior Cochise.
Make your check payable to: Harry Diavatis (in the memo line write “Apache Shirt.”
And mail to:
5087 Green Meadow Court
Fairfield, CA 94534
If you have questions, please email
or call : harrydiavatis@aol.com
or (707) 333-5793
Return this form with your
check payable to
Harry Diavatis
76
Harry Diavatis
5087 Green Meadow Ct.
Fairfield, CA 94534