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 13, 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
To receive a free subscription and have the Update sent directly to your
email address, Copy and Paste this Constant Contact link to sign in
http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=sgdgubfabandp=oiandm=11049
35062738andsit=488a8u8fbandf=86b2e114-7c49-4af9-8033-a44a643b7ea5
Hello Classmates, Schoolmates and Friends:
In this edition: Norm Anderson ’62, Jane Barlow ’60, Dave Clement SV60, Ron Collins ’60, Lynn
Combs HH68, Bob Conley SV61, Jerry Cook ‘58, Steve Cotter '62, Gino Disgrazzi ’55, Kathy DriscollOttarson '61, Glenn Dyson ’66, Linda Etheridge-Rich ’62, Al Farr ’61, John Fischer HH66, Howard
Fitzpatrick ’61, Carolyn Hewitt-Brown ’60, Brenda “BJ” Johnson-Green ’64, Dave Macdonald ’56, Don
McDermott '48, Dan Mini SV67, Larry Petrie ’60, Carmela Piccolo-Coakley ’58, Shirley PosedelSpadorcio ’64, Nick Razes ’56, Judy Romero-Herkins ’70, Michael Routh HH64, Tracy Royer-G, Teresa
Rucker-Karr ’63, Suzie Schmutz ’59, Dann Shively ’66, Charlie Spooner ’60, Linda Tholmer-Anderson
’62, and Kathy Thurman-Robin ’62.
HH = Hogan HS SV = St. Vincent’s HS SP = St. Patrick’s HS FF = Former Faculty
G = Guest VJC = Vallejo JC SCC =1 Solano Community College
Year Only (ie: ’60) = Vallejo High School
Index
Music, Music, Music Featured Article ..........................................................................2
This ‘n’ That ............................................................................................................... 12
The Mailbag .............................................................................................................. 13
Apache Review of Arts by John Parks ‘62 ................................................................. 25
On the Sidelines ........................................................................................................ 28
Paperback Writer....................................................................................................... 29
A Stroll Down History Lane........................................................................................ 36
This Weeks Newbies ................................................................................................. 38
In Memoriam ............................................................................................................. 39
The Last Word ........................................................................................................... 40
MU Calendar of Upcoming Events ............................................................................ 45
Public Service Announcements ................................................................................. 45
Addendums ............................................................................................................... 47
The Fine Print ............................................................................................................ 53
Apaches Forever T-Shirt Order Form ........................................................................ 56
Corrected and/or Clarified
From: Dan Mini SV67
Harry, You'll probably get 4 or 5 emails notifying you of a small, insignificant inaccuracy in the "Newby's"
section but Both Lathan Marsh and Rick Wilson were friends of mine and we all graduated in 1967.
Don't pin 5 more years onto Rick's age or you'll have a lawsuit on your hands (Rick is an attorney). Hello
to both of you out-of-town guys, I think of you two often!
BTW: ask Lathan about the time he was on the back of my brother's custom chopper with me and
caused us to tip over in the intersection in front of "The Village" on Tuolumne Street at 1:30 in the
morning!
Hmmm… as usual, Dan, I will only accept a teeny portion of the blame. I thought
the email was from my classmate “Rich” Wilson. It was an honest mistake since
“Rick” Wilson didn’t include his graduation year.
“All We Need is Music, Music, Music…”
The Early 1950’s (Pre-Rock ‘n’ Roll)
We continue our Music Feature with the era known as “Classic Pop.”
Teenagers in the early to mid-fifties (pre rock ‘n’ roll) listened and
danced to “Pop” and my music “IQ” began to develop during that era,
primarily because I had two older brothers who listened to it.
2
It seems to me that I first became truly “aware” of music in the fifth
grade. The first songs I really remember distinctly were “The Little
Shoemaker” by The Gaylords (shoes to set my feet a-dancing, dancing,
dancing, dancing all the day, shoes to set my feet a-dancing, dancing,
dancing all my cares away.) ; and then, of course, “The Naughty Lady of
Shady Lane” by the Ames Brothers. (So delectable, quite respectable,
and she's only nine days old…)
I remember hearing many of those early standards including the
decade's biggest hit, Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page. Other memorable
songs for me were: Mockin' Bird Hill; (How Much Is That) Doggie in the
Window; I Believe; No, Not Much; Standin' on the Corner; Round and
Round; Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes; Goodnight Irene; Love is a
Many Splendored Thing; and Catch a Falling Star.
Pop music dominated the charts for the first half of the decade. Vocal
classic pop replaced big band/swing at the end of World War II. 1940s
style Crooners vied with a new generation of big voiced singers.
Whereas big band/swing music placed the primary emphasis on the
orchestration, post-war/early 1950s era Pop focused on the song’s story
and/or the emotion being expressed. By the early 1950s, emotional
delivery had reached its height with writer-singer Johnnie Ray (Cry,
Walking My Baby Back Home, Just Walking in the Rain). Ray was "a
sensation in the 1950s, the heart-wrenching vocal delivery of 'Cry'
influenced many acts including Elvis and was the prime target for teen
hysteria in the pre-Presley days."
A few of the other major stars of the early
1950s, in addition to Sinatra, were Tony
Bennett, Kay Starr, Rosemary Clooney,
Dean Martin, Georgia Gibbs, Eddie Fisher,
Teresa Brewer, Doris Day, Guy Mitchell,
Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, Tennessee Ernie
3
Georgia Gibbs was
born Frieda Lipschitz,
in Worcester, Mass, the
youngest of four children
of Russian Jewish descent.
.
Ford, and vocal groups such as the Mills Bros, Four Aces, Chordettes,
Fontane Sisters, McGuire Sisters and the Ames Brothers.
The Top Songs of the early ‘50s…
1950
1 Good Night Irene (Gordon Jenkins/Weavers)
2 Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)
3. Third Man Themes (Aanton Karas)
4. Sam’s Song (Gary & Bing Crosby)
5. Simple Melody (Gary & Bing Crosby)
6. Music, Music, Music (Teresa Brewer)
7. Third Man Theme (Guy Lombardo)
8: Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy (Red Foley)
9. Harbor Lights (Sammy Kaye)
10. It isn’t Fair (Sammy Kaye & Don Cornell)
1953
1. Song from Moulin Rouge (Percy Faith)
2. Vaya Con Dios (Les Paul & Mary Ford)
3. Doggie In the Window (Patti Page)
4. I’m Walking Behind You (Eddie Fisher)
5. You, You, You (Ames Brothers)
6. Til I Waltz Again With You (Teresa Brewer)
7. April in Portugal (Les Baxter)
8. No Other Love (Perry Como)
9. Don’t Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes (Perry
Como)
10. I Believe (Frankie Laine)
1951
1. Too Young (Nat King Cole)
2. Because of You (Tony Bennett)
3. How High the Moon (Les Paul & Mary Ford)
4. Come On-a My House (Rosemary Clooney)
5. Be My Love (Mario Lanza)
6. On top of Old Smoky (Weavers)
7. Cold, Cold Heart (Tony Bennett)
8. If (Perry Como)
9. Loveliest Night of the Year (Mario Lanza)
10. Tennessee Waltz (Patti Page)
1952
1. Blue Tango (Leroy Anderson)
2. Wheel of Fortune (Kay Starr)
3. Cry (Johnnie Ray)
4. You Belong to Me (Jo Stafford)
5. Auf Wiederseh’n, Sweetheart (Vera Lynn)
6. Half As Much (Rosemary Clooney)
7. Wish You Were Here (Eddie Fisher)
8. I Went to Your Wedding (Patti Page)
9. Here in My Heart (Al Martino)
10. Delicato (Percy Faith)
1954
1. Little Things Mean a Lot (Kitty Kallen)
2. Wanted (Perry Como)
3. Hey There (Rosemary Clooney)
4. Sh-Boom (Crew Cuts)
5. Make Love to Me (Jo Stafford)
6. Oh! My Pa-pa (Eddie Fisher)
7. I get So Lonely (Four Knights)
8. Three Coins in the Fountain (Four Aces)
9. Secret Love (Doris Day)
10. Hernando’s Hideaway (Archie Bleyer)
1955
1. Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White (Perez
Prado)
2. Rock Around the Clock (Bill Haley & His
Comets)
3. The Yellow Rose of Texas (Mitch Miller)
4. Autumn Leaves (Roger Williams)
5. Unchained Melody (Les Baxter)
6. The Ballet of Davy Crockett (Bill Hayes)
7. Love is a Many Splendored Thing (Four Aces)
8. Sincerely (McGuire Sisters)
9. Ain’t That a Shame (Pat Boone)
10. Dance With Me Henry (Georgia Gibbs)
4
Give Credit to Where Credit is Due…
Precursors of the rock ‘n’ roll era, who actually blazed the path with
their R & B and “rockin’” style in the early to mid ‘50s, were: B.B. King
(the King of the Blues); Fats Domino; Chuck Berry; Little Richard; Big
Joe Turner; and Ray Charles. Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton sang
“Hound Dog”, three years before Elvis Presley popularized it with his
cover version.
I still cringe just thinking of Pat Boone
singing “Ain’t that A Shame”, and then later
in the ‘50s he had the audacity to cover Little
Richard’s “Long Tall Sally” and “Tutti Frutti”.
Shutter…
According to legend, Pat
Boone suggested the title
and lyrics be altered to
"Isn't That A Shame" to
make it more appealing to
a broader audience.
Little Richard, to this day,
remains one of my favorite
performers. He was bold,
audacious and ground breaking…
Your Hit Parade
This program began on radio in 1935 and in 1950 transitioned very
successfully to the new technology known as television. With the
advent and popularity of television in the early ‘50s it proved to be a
great venue to showcase Pop music and win over a huge audience.
The program arrived on NBC television in the summer of 1950
The seven top-rated songs of the week were presented in elaborate TV
production numbers requiring constant set and costume changes.
However, because the top songs sometimes stayed on the charts for
many weeks, it was necessary to continually find ways of devising a
new and different production number of the same song week after
week
5
On the TV series, vocalists Dorothy
Collins, Russell Arms, Snooky Lanson
and Gisèle MacKenzie were top-billed
during the show's peak years.
The show faded with the rise of rock and
roll when the performance became more
important than the song. It is said that big
band singer Snooky Lanson's weekly
attempts to perform Elvis Presley's "Hound
Dog" hit in 1956 hastened the end of the
series. While Your Hit Parade was unable
to deal with the rock revolution, the show's imaginative production
concepts had an obvious influence on the wave of music videos that
began in the decade that followed.
Classic pop declined in popularity as Rock and roll entered the
mainstream and became a major force in American record sales.
The Music Police…
Many of the early R & B songs contained sexual innuendo which wasn’t
always carefully masked. The term “rock” was actually a euphemism
for sex….
Etta James had a hit with "Work With Me Henry". In order to get pop
airplay the lyrics were changed to “Dance With Me Henry “ which
Georgia Gibbs recorded. BOTH ladies had huge hits.
Hank Ballard’s “Work With Me Annie” was huge. The
FCC tried to ban it because of its suggestive lyrics
(such as, “Annie, please don’t cheat / Give me all my
meat”)
The lead vocalist of The Four Jacks sings, “If you’re
tired of the thing you’ve got / Try my lovin’, it’s red
6
hot / I’ve got something strong and tan / I’m the last of the good, rocking
men.” The chorus chimes in with, “There’s one long foot for rockin’ in
the morning / Baby, please don’t cry / There’s one more foot for rockin’
in the evening / Then you’ll shout, ‘My! My!’” He’s clearly not singing
about sock hops or dancing.
Dinah Washington, one of the classiest and smoothest jazz and blues
singers of the 1950s, made this recording about her boyfriend, a
trombone player: “I need my daddy with that big long slidin’ thing! I
blow through here, then I work my fingers and my thumb / I slide it right
up, then I slide it back again / And I get a lot o’ wind, and then I slide it
back again / That is my daddy with that big long sliding thing, oh yeah!”
Dorothy Ellis recorded: “Drill, drill, drill, daddy… he drills night and day,
Set up your drill in the middle of my field… drill in the sun, drill in the
rain / If your drill gets rusty, grease it up again,” and “When one well
runs dry, we’ll use another hole…”
Oh, my!
Next Week: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Era Begins
...
We welcome, need and encourage your comments and thoughts about
the music of your era and what sort of an impact, if any, it had upon
you. Here are a few responses to our Music, Music, Music feature…
From: Steve Cotter '62
I have a little ditty memory of the past. Music can reflect in a person’s life; as well as,
follow you, as in this little tidbit about my sister and myself. I was born in 1944 and my
sister in 1948. My mom always put a little ribbon in my sister’s hair, and in fact, often
they would match her dresses. That is the year that the song "Buttons and Bows" was
popular. So, all of my parents friends (and some relatives too) use to call me "Button"
and of course my sister Annette was called "Bows". It stuck with us for a plus four or five
years. I have another nick-name also, but that is for another time!
7
From: Dann Shively ‘66
Hi Harry,
First of all, congratulations to you and your family on the arrival of the new grandbaby
and the million possibilities that lie ahead.
I'm sure you've opened a floodgate with your request for musical memories. I can't wait
to see what it brings.
Although I hit my teen years in 1959 music was always a part of my formative years.
My dad (VHS '38) started playing bass right out of high school and in the early '40's
joined the Joe Pallotta Orchestra. He continued with Joe and his brother Babe into the
1970's. There were always musicians of the big band style in and out of our house and
as long as I can remember, there was always the bass fiddle sitting in our hallway.
Didn't every house have one? So, because of him, I've always had a knowledge and
appreciation of older music.
But for me, it was Beach Boys and Beatles and all the rock and pop of the early
'60's. Locally there was nothing better than a Rangers Hall dance with the Paragons or
Torquays. It was a fun time indeed and surprisingly I never had the patience to learn an
instrument. Something I really regret today.
From: Howard Fitzpatrick ‘61
The last “big band” I saw live was “Dancin With Anson Weeks” in Sacramento about
1960. Several of us Vallejo guys and our dates enjoyed the evening very much and I
fondly remember it all these years later. I don’t remember who my date for the evening
was, but I do remember we all had a good time.
For your sake, I hope it wasn’t Mary Ann. LOL.
From: Al Farr ‘61
The piece of the MU that really "got to me" was the discussion re music of the 40's on
up. Many of those 'twixt '41 and '45 I remember largely because both my parents were
big appreciators of it all. Slightly more so with my dad, who was a trumpet player in his
younger days. Somehow I followed suit via a 5th grade music teacher whose name
escapes me (dammit)… could it have been Mr. Fehler…? I remember Bob Paedon was
in the same little class, a good trumpet player he was. I stuck with it through '61 at VHS,
and still have fantastic memories of bandmates like John Turk, Joel Compton, Bob
Radcliffe, Anita Broberg and so many others. We all benefited from the "best of the best"
8
with our instructors. Wilfred Yeaman at Vallejo Jr. High was a good story all by himself
which I'll touch on later. Virl Swan was simply a maestro of enormous talent. A gifted
musician himself he managed to get the very best out of us all. Followed by Frank
Bigoski conducting summer bands for three years and eventually wound up at Hogan. …
another super talent in his own right, and not only as a conductor. One warm summer
evening while practicing a great tune "Without a Song..." .... the entire band is just really
poised to pour it on .... Without warning Mr. Bigoski 's singing voice erupts in full
splendor. All of us were of course stunned, but managed to continue playing. When
finished he got a huge round of applause from us and particularly the gathering of
parents who were there as well. Great memories of all of them, the class acts they
were..!
Thank you again, Harry for providing the forum by which we can all roll around in
nostalgia, stay afloat with our old friends, etc., and, surely, your insertions as well. You
and Sally take care.
From: John Fischer HH66
Here's my story, it's sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town…
Dion... my very first 45 record that I purchased. Number one single in 1961.
In the mid 60's we had the best music ever: Elvis, the Beach Boys, Four Tops. the
Rolling Stones, the Righteous Brothers, Herman's Hermits, the Byrds, Gerry and the
Pacemakers, Johnny Rivers, the Yardbirds, Moody Blues, Dave Clark Five, the
Kinks...etc etc
Some people thought that “Run Around Sue” was about
Sue Aldriege ’64, the prettiest girl in school, but I never
thought it was about you, SueZQ, so don’t get mad at me.
From: Lynn Combs HH68
I remember the Coronado Club (2 locations), the Dream Bowl, Rudy’s Supper Club
and the Veterans Hall on Alabama Street as being venues for bands. Coronado was
mostly a bar and dancing, an old fashion roadhouse style place on the edge of town.
Rudy’s had an interesting reputation that was hinted at within the hearing of a minor. I
9
missed the Dream Bowl at its best, but I spent a lot of time at the Vet’s Building. Were
there more? What do others remember about these places?
I am one of 5 children. My dad always had a second (sometimes third) job, my mom
stayed at home after 1953, so it was a necessity and one they chose. When I was a kid
(10 or so), my dad bartended at events in Vallejo, and I remember hanging out backstage
at the Vet’s Building, watching. Sometimes we would climb the back stairs to the 3rd floor
and watch the bands [kids coming-to-work day is not new]. I remember dance bands,
and some early rock and roll. My grandparents lived a block away and if it was a name
band, dad would call us to come and meet them.
Does anyone else remember if James Brown or Little Richard played there? I have a
vague memory of James Brown, with flourish and a cape, with escorts and drama, on the
front stairs of the place.
From: Michael Routh HH64
The July 6 MU music discussion strikes
a “chord” with me! Some MU readers
may not know that the big band sound
is alive and well in many places. Last
week I was in Steamboat Springs with
family at our vacation home and had
the good fortune of sitting in the front
row to hear a sold-out Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy concert.
This photo is from that concert. They
are a 9-piece SoCal group that can
really play in the big-band style!
They’ve been together for 20+ years… same 9 guys… and continue to tour and draw
sold out crowds of all ages. I think they are in LA, San Diego, and Boston this month.
Here are two YouTube video links of them: (1) at Epcot in November 2013, and (2) the
“official” video of “You and Me and the Bottle Makes 3”, the song from the hilarious ‘96
movie “Swingers” that launched their career.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4C1F92NuBQ
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkmgafBRdos
10
As an aside, my father-in-law played trombone with the USO band in WWII…not a bad
gig if you could get it… so big band music is close to home for us.
From: Linda Tholmer-Anderson ‘62
I like the big band sounds. It is the only music my father listened to along with several
groups from the ‘40’s and ‘50’s. He loved a group called the Ink Spots. They were kind
of a precursor to The Platters. And let’s not forget Nat King Cole. He did not like the
rock era. He said it was too loud and had no class. LOL! Good thing he didn’t hear any
of the “music” of today. I like to listen to 50’s on 5 on XM Radio.
Me too, Linda. I have XM radio in my car and I listen to ‘50s, ‘60s and
occasionally ‘70s music. I don’t venture very far from those channels.
From: Kathy Thurman-Robin ‘62
I have to comment on the list of top hits during the ‘40s. I know all of them and love the
big bands. My mom loved to dance and, for a while, was a ballroom dance instructor at
Arthur Murray's Dance Studio. It was such a treat to watch my mom and dad glide
around the floor in perfect sync. I think I liked the Tango best.
My kids are often asked how they happen to know this music. Their answer is, they grew
up listening to it, just as I did. They, and my grandkids, consequently love all kinds of
music. I literally wore out my albums of Fiddler on the Roof, Nat King Cole, The
Harmonicats, Montevoni, Tom Jones, and a variety of ‘50s, ‘60s and more, while they
were growing up. When they were little, we'd dance around the house singing "What's
New Pussycat, Woa, woa...” Thanks for the memory. Think I'll go put on some Elvis.
From: Kathy Driscoll-Ottarson '61
Music, what thoughts it evokes. I think I got my love of music from my dad, to my mom it
was all just noise. I tried to play an instrument and that didn’t work, can’t sing, I am
probably close to tone deaf, but I am a champion listener. And music of all kinds.
I’m a daily lap swimmer, I swim a mile each morning at the high school pool, for me that’s
about 50 minutes and to make this time more enjoyable I have an underwater I-pod that
attaches to my goggles . It makes the time go so fast to swim while listening to all your
favorites.. A little Mills Brothers’ Paper Dolly, or Yellow bird, a lot of country and blue
grass, Beatles, Lavern Baker, all the old rock and roll and Rhythm and Blues. I must
11
have every recording Joan Baez ever made. Everything goes better with music. I do
wish I could sing, as I have always loved to perform. I really envy those Karaoke
singers.
...
This ‘n’ that:
Carmela’s Secret Exposed…
Ever wonder how a woman such as Carmela Piccolo-Coakley ‘58
maintains that youthful appearance despite her advanced age? Well
wonder no more.
New research suggests that certain women are genetically predisposed to look younger
than their age. The researchers gathered 350 women from four different ethnic groups—
African-American, Asian, Hispanic and Caucasian—with ages that spanned six decades.
Among these women were outliers, or “exceptional skin agers,” who looked significantly
younger than others in their age group.
All of us have genes that tell our skin cells to produce collagen and maintain an
antioxidant response. But in the outliers, those genes were significantly more active. In
other words, while most women start to produce less collagen or experience loss of
moisture at a certain point, the genes of these “super-agers” continue to behave as
though they’re 10 or even 20 years younger.
Another discovery: African-American women are twice as likely as Caucasian women to
be outliers.
Aha… that explains why Linda Tholmer-Anderson ‘62 manages to stay
so young looking.
...
Only 15 Apaches Forever shirts remain:
Mens: 1-large; 4-XL; 1-4XL
Womens: 5-L; 4-2XL
Before you send in your order, please email me to confirm
that I still have the size you want. harrydiavatis@aol.com
You can find the order form on page 56 of this MU.
12
Larry ‘60 and Molly ‘61
Post-Petrie at Jason’s
The Loft Wine Bar in
Benicia. I hope Jason
comped you to a glass
of wine for this great
publicity photo.
...
I don't need anger management.
I need people to stop pissing me off!
Contributed by Dave Macdonald ‘56
...
The Mail Bag
From: Suzie Schmutz ‘59
To my great friends: 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 in 1959. If you don't like
to give on line, let me know at my 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.
13
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.
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
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: Norm Anderson ‘62
Sorry, Harry, I don't want to burst your bubble but Linda Tholmer-Anderson ‘62 is right
about the weather (and how it relates to growing vegetables.) There used to be fruit
orchards back when I was a kid all down Green Valley Road.
Hey Stormin’ Norman, just because you
and Linda have the same last name and
graduated from VHS in the same class
doesn’t mean you have to take her side.
Norm bursts my bubble…
...
14
From: Judy Romero-Herkins ‘70
I am retired now so this is the first time I have been able to read the "Update" slowly and
with my cup of coffee on a Monday morning. Usually it was quickly on a Sunday night. I
like this way better!
Ain’t retirement grand, Judy?
...
In the last ARA column, John Parks
asked people to guess what year this
aerial picture of Vallejo was taken.
From: Lynn Combs HH68
My guess for the year: 1958. Location: Hwy
37 and 29
Reasoning: California Meadows is in place,
middle right, so 1950-60. No military
housing north of 37 - (Guadalcanal Village)
so after 1950. Old low bridge over river at
37/Mare Island - pre-1970
I was born in Vallejo in 1950. I lived in Federal Terrace from 1955 until 1962 (or
thereabouts). My Dad owned the Mobil Station at Highway 37 and Highway 29 and
Kenny (?) owned the garage next door. That location was next to the former Guadalcanal
Navy housing which was gone by the time I remember (streets were still visible though).
There was also an Air Field (Knights Landing?) but only as a ghost town in my memory.
From: Dann Shively ‘66
I think the aerial shot is from 1957 or ‘58. The view is looking south from about Highway
29 and American Canyon Rd. Lots of open space now all developed. At the very bottom
of the photo you can see part of the old Vallejo Speedway. Following Highway 29 south
you see the new (then) Rancho Vallejo and California Meadows subdivisions and the
cow fields between them. Notice the Federal Terrace housing development was already
gone except for the grammar school that became Vallejo Junior College. Also visible on
the far left, above center, is Lake Chabot and the eucalyptus trees along the two lane
road. We moved to California Meadows from Kentucky St. in 1958 and this is how I
15
remember the area at that time. The open fields, the Napa River and even the swampy
area provided hours of entertainment.
(No video games then) Great moment in time of Vallejo and good memories.
Kudo’s to both of you for great detective work. You make gumshoe Al
Farr ’61 look like a novice. LOL.
...
From: Brenda “BJ” Johnson-Green ‘64
Well, well, number 9 has arrived! A true blessing. Quite handsome and with a wonderful
head of hair. Vasili. I love the Greek names. I had been meaning to comment the last
couple of weeks and ask about when the arrival of the baby would be. Now I know. I
won't say that he is the last one though .
Our two babies will be the last of daughter and husband's tribe. You decide if this is too
personal: granddaughter Rhema told me, "Mom hasn't gotten fixed yet". She is our
infallible newspaper. Perhaps you might want to hire her.
As Art Linkletter would say: “Kids say the darndest things.”
From: Carolyn Hewitt-Brown ‘60
Congratulations to you and Sally on your new grandson, Vasili! You are so blessed with
all those grandchildren!
We just have one granddaughter, Lindsey, and her baby who is our great granddaughter,
Isabella Rose....they have both been such a blessing in our lives, especially now that we
live close to them in Texas...! We had Isabella for 2 days
last week and overnight; by the time she left, our home looked like a Tornado had
hit! Even though our home was a disaster from all the things that Isabella Rose "rearranged" our hearts were full of so much love for this little angel! Can't imagine what
you and Sally go through after all your grandchildren leave! May little Vasili have a long
and happy life!
From: Jane Barlow ‘60
Harry, congratulations on your youngest grandchild. I sure enjoy your weekly email.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Thanks, Jane… my pleasure.
...
16
From: Glenn Dyson ‘66
Harry, I just drove in to the house from a 3,200 mile round trip to Elko, NV. My 16 year
old son and I left Wednesday a.m. on the 1st and arrived in Halleck, NV (20 miles East of
Elko) at 5:00 p.m. the next day.
My son is actually going to spend the next 6 weeks there working on a cattle/hay ranch.
My dear friend and fraternity brother from Cal-Poly SLO, Dr. Brent Glaser DVM, is the
owner along with his brother (a Dentist) and another cousin. The ranch is so large it
defies imagination, just to say, they have approx. 33,000 acres titled and another
200,000 acres of BLM land that is leased. The land is sparse for cattle. My son will be
driving haying equipment, doing equipment repairs, ranch repairs, branding cattle, and
helping out as a vet assistant. He gets to live in a bunkhouse with 2 other boys, and eat
in the cook shack (the cook is an older Hispanic lady with a culinary rep for great
Mexican food). Big adventure for a 16 1/2 year old kid! I am both happy and envious of
him as when I grew up we did not have the resources to provide "adventures" like this.
Plus, he gets paid $80 a day for his efforts!
So... up to Elko in 2 days, stay in Elko for 3 days, drive home in 2 more days! My ass is
sore and I'm really tired! 3,200 miles in 6 days is too much for an old guy like me. We
should have flown, but I wanted to show my son the "countryside of the great west of
America"! I'm flying him home!
I hate to say it but the “countryside of the great west” to which you
exposed him pretty much sucks, starting with Texas and ending with
the Nevada desert. Having gone to school in Utah, I know the trip from
Vallejo to Salt Lake City, through Elko, so well I could do it blindfolded.
Nothing too much to look at anyway. I do understand about all that
driving however. Back in 1965 the trip would take about 14 hours…
now with I-80 I can get on the I-80 in Vallejo and not have to stop for a
signal light until I get to Ogden. Although I do stop once for gas in
Winnemucca. Anyway it’s now a 10.5 hour drive… and even that’s
getting too long.
...
From: Kathy Thurman-Robin ‘62
Hello. I want to say how sad I am to hear about Buddy Murray. My prayers go out to him,
Carol, and his family. He has always been a delightful, thoughtful and kind person, even
17
as far back as the 3rd grade. Harry, my children all remember "Dr. Murray" and basically
said the same thing, "What a nice guy" and they send their best.
Harry, congratulations on Vasili's arrival. Enjoy your visit with Spiro. May all of you have
a great day, every day, filled with love and laughter.
Thanks, Kathy.
...
I wrote to Shirley Spadorcio, a new reader, and asked for more info, since I didn’t
recognize the name.
From: Shirley Posedel-Spadorcio ‘64
Hi Harry,
I know you will remember me when I tell you my maiden name was Posedel.
To further update you, I've lived in a small community called Dallas, Oregon for the
past 10 years. I'm retired as well, as my husband Jerry from law enforcement. Jerry
and I have been married for 22 years. Jerry had 3 sons from a previous marriage and
now we have 6 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild together.
Back to why I'm now signed up to your newsletter, I was visiting by phone with my cousin
Bill McCaslin ‘63 and wife Sandy last week when they mentioned your wonderful
newsletter and told me I should signup. So thank you for including me on your mailing
list. I look forward to reading all about my former classmates.
P.S. I was so sad to read about Buddy Murray's condition. I had no idea he was that
ill, and my heart goes out to Carol.
Ahhh, the Posedel girls: I could never forget Sharon ‘62, Shirley ‘64 and
Eileen ‘64… all beautiful girls.
...
From: Charlie Spooner ‘60
Emily Rose Spooner was born yesterday at around 11:00 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz.
She is a beauty and nearly a twin to her big sister Samantha, though her hair and
complexion are lighter. Julie went into the hospital yesterday around 6:30 a.m. and
delivered at 11:00. Both mom and baby are doing well. Sami is going to meet Emily this
morning and we're all looking forward to the reaction. As for Matt, he is also doing well,
surrounded by three beautiful girls.
18
If anyone is counting, this makes 10 grandchildren, plus three great grands, for the Old
Chucker. Pictures to follow...
Much love,
Chuck / Charlie / Papa
Congratulations old boy… I’m still one up on you for grandchildren but
you got me with the three grands. LOL.
...
From: Linda Etheridge-Rich ‘62
I’m now sufficiently recovered from my foot/ankle surgery to return to one of my mostloved activities. A few classmates who are my Facebook friends are well aware of my
addiction to animal rescue transport driving, and have been for some time. So I figured it
was time to share with the rest of you.
For those of you wondering what in heck is rescue transport, it’s a pretty simple concept:
we move animals (mostly dogs but occasionally cats or other companion animals such as
bunnies) from locales where they would almost certainly be euthanized because the
shelters are overpopulated to locales where they are taken in by rescue organizations for
eventual adoption.
The group I drive for on a regular basis—twice a month on average—is located in
Quincy, IL, which is just across the Mississippi River from southeast Iowa and northeast
Missouri. They are transported in stages, which we refer to as “legs,” by cargo van from
Quincy to Springfield via Interstate 72. There, they are unloaded, walked, offered water,
and then reloaded into an assortment of minivans and SUVs. The next leg, this time via I55, will take them to Lexington, IL, a wide spot in the road that used to be U.S. 66. There,
the process is repeated and the routes branch out to Joliet and various Chicago suburbs:
Hinsdale, Downers Grove and Naperville, among others, where our down-on-their luck
orphans (strays and owner surrenders) will find veterinary care and foster pet-parents
who will prepare them for adoption.
In the three and a half years I’ve been doing this, I’ve transported dogs of all sizes,
breeds and ages: Chihuahuas to Great Pyrenees, puppies barely old enough to be away
from their moms (or in some cases, tiny whimpering furbabies still with their moms), and
slow-moving, gray-faced senior canine citizens. I drive on average 4000 miles per year
and transport about a hundred dogs, plus maybe a dozen cats. It’s one of the most
satisfying things I’ve ever done.
19
Because I live roughly between Springfield and
Joliet, I can drive either the second or third leg,
depending on what’s needed for any given
transport. Either way I’ll drive about 180 miles.
Here’s a picture of my hard-working Kia
Sorento, taken in Lexington by a fellow driver. I
had just arrived and was preparing to unload.
Note the tags attached to the each pup’s collar.
They indicate the animal’s transport ID number,
name (if it has one), breed if known (or best
guess), and receiving rescue. Each driver also
has a printed run sheet containing pertinent
information on all passengers.
This was a typical payload of five passengers. One big dog and one medium-sized dog
occupied the rearmost crates. Just forward of those two—not visible except for one
corner—were an intermediate and a small. The fifth passenger, either medium or small,
rode on my front passenger seat.
Transport is truly a lifeline for homeless pets. In the Quincy area,
the euthanasia rate has been cut from almost 100% to nearly
zero. If anyone has the opportunity to do it in their area, I hope
they’ll consider it. The cost is negligible—a few hours of time
and some gasoline—but the rewards are, for me at least,
incalculable.
Here are some puppies from a different transport. How stinkin’
cute are they?!
I think you and Sally must be joined at the hip because you are both so
into animals and their care.
...
The “saga” of Jerry Cook continues…
From: Jerry Cook ‘58
Hi Harry,
Well, I did not expect you to print all that on my general moves early on, although it may
help explain the out of the box adventurous nature of my life… its in the genes from my
forebearers, and is a part of my own family now too!
20
Here's more.. there's a lot more to it, including time surfing on Bali in '73, Guam in '76 to
'80, and Fiji in '90, with a period in Saudi Arabia in the middle of Guam time, as an
Architectural Planner. I body surfed with a Haut surfboard off Saudi Arabia, just small low
tide stuff. Talk about desperate. I skateboarded a lot in Dahran, and swam to keep fit.
A big thanks to Carmela for her excellent comment… there is no way I would be just
another nob on the log. I am right between Carm and you Harry, in a way… a very
close lady friend of mine is Greek and my eldest daughter is married to an
Eye-talian, Dino Rechichi, haha. Now there is 16 year old Chloe Rechichi who
loves to sing, and also does stage plays. No doubt she will have a career in the arts.
Exploring in nature and the arts was what was most important to my parents, and thats
what I follow too. I am the 9th painter in line on my fathers side, and my mother did
music and crafts, piano, singing, the hula and the banjo. My dad played the accordion.
Both were into lapidary together. We all explored for rare stones. Dad like gold the most,
haha. I have a bunch of California "diamonds" (from near the Mt Cobb area), and many
other rare stones, and obsidian arrowheads, and an old, well used, soapstone Hopi
"peace pipe" with a family connection, my grandfather Cook's second wife, Mina..(first
wife died young of cancer).
While my dad made and painted duck decoys, mother did pottery in the next room, as
their own thing. They gardened a lot together, fruit trees, etc, a bit like you, Harry, and of
course I still garden too.
Camping or exploring in nature was an every other or two weekend event for us, and we
had a second home at Clearlake that we spent a lot of time at too. The fireplace got
well used in winter, and summer was so hot, that staying near or in the lake every day
was standard.
Climate extremes, and much dryer air than the Bay Area. My brothers close friend, Mike
Justice ‘60, has his mother still living at the lake. Mike was a fast track man for VHS, a
wonderful person now in Oregon. Ron "Hot Wheels" Collins ‘60 knows him well, having
visited with him in recent times, same class of '60, and another great person, also my
brother's class.
It was great to read the story from Butch Dunkle '64, and to hear that others out of Vallejo
in that time went surfing too, back in the day. I was into sailing from '64-'66, but way into
surfing again here in Oz by early '66. I was surfing in Santa Cruz a bit before that, from
'58 to '63, while at San Jose State. I was on the Spartan swim team, and other surfers
were too, Mike Scroggins, Doug Haut, and Jim Foley.
21
Doug has been in biz a long time with a surfboard factory and shop in Santa Cruz... he
glassed the boards I shaped and painted myself that I still use, all 8 boards.
Jim Foley was a real leader in board design. He was riding a 7'-6" with an airliner like thin
tail fin, when everyone else was riding a 9 to 10 foot mal with a wide fin. They were
called "Foley Boards", much looser and freer to carve all over the wave face.
Scroggins lived at Pleasure Point, and was a very positive happy spirit. We were all
influenced by older SJS swimmers… Rich Donner, later in film biz, was one, and Peter
Ueberoth another, who was later the Baseball Commissioner for awhile.
We also rode those first skateboards out of an old piece of 2x4 and rusty nails that held
the rusty wheels on, at Steamer Lane, '59. I have a much better one now, for those
"surfs off" days.
Dale Velsey, Oneills, and Tommy the Greek..Greeks everywhere eh…haha…were the
surfboard builders in Santa Cruz then, and Oneill invented the wetsuit in that time. I had
an Oneill board when first getting to Australia. I still have an old first Oneill wetsuit, but
just a collector’s item now. The new ones are far better.
No leg ropes then..so boards were built heavy to take a beating on rocks, even with hard
glass nose and tail blocks, but kinda useless. Leg ropes changed all that and boards got
lighter. Sizes went down everywhere too, much later after Foley… about 1968-69.
Anyhow, a bit more here for our proud old
Apache tribe… ok, add the other Vallejo
high schools too, even Benicia readers.
The Kwaj stories by Carolyn VecchioBrown are fascinating… any surf there
Carolyn? Or would you glow in the dark
from that area..?
Cheers to each and every one of the MU
readers. Time to go pick up my paint brushes and get busy… surfing next week..
Jerry you wear me out just listening to you. Don’t know how you do all
that at your “advanced” age. LOL.
...
22
From: Nick Razes ‘56
I thought this was Gary Reese's old "chop top ’49
Plymouth" but it didn't have his Corvette taillights
or the cool Impala roof scoop. I sent him this
picture. It brought back many memories, sitting
around "Eat & Run" and "after midnight Appelton
spotlight runs". Those were the good old days.
...
From: Carmela Piccolo-Coakley ‘58
OH NOOOOO! Please tell me, IT CAN'T BE TRUE!!!
Oh, get over it, Carm, and quit
acting as if you didn’t know that
the entire area of “the toe of the
boot” wouldn’t even exist without the Greek influence which
continues to exist. Even today
there are parts of Calabria where
you can’t even get a cup of
coffee unless you order it in
Greek.
(Side note: Isn’t it funny how it
looks as if the Calabrean Greeks
are kicking the Sicilians in the
butt?!! LOL.)
...
From: Glenn Dyson ‘66
I have to ask, Harry, what do you think of the Greek economic situation? I think they have
dug themselves into a hole that they will never climb out of.
The truth is, Glenn, that I really don’t know much about it. I have
enough trouble trying to keep my “economic situation” under control
without worrying about what’s happening in Greece. That’s the most
23
honest answer I can give you. You’re the second person to ask me that
question.
...
From: Dave Clement SV60
Truer words are seldom spoken. The internet would
have driven many English teachers to drink, but that is
only if teaching the likes of us had not already
accomplished that already.
...
From: Tracy Royer-G
Thank you SO much for spreading the word about the
Relay for Life in last week's Monday Update. We've
gotten over $1,400 in donations so far. In fact, I've set
my new goal at $5,000. I'd also like to thank you and the others for the generous
donations. I know that it would mean so much to Mom. Much love and gratitude to you
all. Keep those donations coming!
Your welcome, Tracy. To contribute to any of our three current fundraisers go to the PSA
section of this MU for more info: Tracy’s American Cancer Society Relay for life, Mike
Houston’s Arthritis Bike Classic and Suzie Schmutz’ mile swim for the Women’s Cancer
Resource Center. All worthwhile causes… all worthy of your support.
...
HOW DO I TURN OFF CAPS LOCK? I ACCIDENTALLY
TURNED IT ON YESTERDAY AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO
TURN IT BACK OFF. ALL MY FRIENDS ARE MAD BECAUSE
THEY THINK I AM SHOUTING AT THEM OVER INTERNET.
PLEASE HELP!!!
24
The Apache Review of Arts
.... Life's journey is like driving down a road; you're
constantly making little corrections to stay on course.
By John Parks
MUSIC! ---- Thanks, Harry, for sharing your recollections and
feelings about popular music, and for inviting us to add ours. It's always been a
significant part of my life too, as is pretty obvious to readers of this column. Our dad was
a big fan of the big band sound; most of the LP's in our home were of that genre. As a
young man he went to hear many of them, even going as far as the Casino Ballroom on
Santa Catalina Island a couple of times to hear them. Our whole family watched the
"Your Hit Parade" show, where the top ten songs were performed, every week. Then the
Marcuse brothers across the street introduced me to rock-n-roll and blues music,
including the "Big Don Barksdale Show" on KWBR, later changed to KDIA. Much of that
music would later be classified as "Doo-Wop" and it's still a favorite. I think the songs of
many of those harmonizing groups, such as the Platters and the Imperials, will always be
played somewhere. Along the way I also found I liked Latin music. (The very first album
our Dad ever brought home in 1956 was "Cuban Moonlight" by the Stanley Black
Orchestra.) When Disco came along I liked that music too, and still do. I think the
BeeGees songs are great. Today my default choice is classical -- for it's calming effect. I
enjoy many kinds of music and respect the skills and creativity of all genres, whether I
choose to listen to them or not. Maestro, play on!
Vallejo, Benicia, and Napa Valley Railroad
Station in Vallejo in 1905.
credit John Osborne
FREE SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM! --- (They say the word “free” always gets the reader's
attention.) I'd driven by this place many times before finally stopping in for dinner one
25
evening. It's fast-casual where you place your order and wait to take the meal to your
table. They have a nice selection of meats and
sides at reasonable prices. My little 3 ounce brisket
hoagie with two sides was plenty. Later I looked
Dickey's up on line and learned it's a chain that
started in Dallas in 1941, became the largest
barbeque franchise, and in 2012, was named the
fastest growing restaurant chain in the country.
They have a “Barbecue, Boots & Badges
Foundation”, to benefit help law enforcement officers
and firefighters in need. I was a little stunned to find
my ice cream cone dessert was free.
Oh, what a weak sticker, you groan, as the batter pops
out to the infield. We’re propped
up in two beds—mine’s electric, with crib
sides, rented to ease eleven broken ribs —
watching the Red Sox, who are in the cellar
and dozing between Demerol and errors.
You yawn, the resident optimist
no family should lack, always stitching
a selvedge along the silver lining
—the luck of my unbroken pelvis—
so that when in a bizarre twist
they tie it up in the bottom of the ninth
you crow, they’re still alive and kicking!
We rouse as for the crisis of an old friend
and watch through extra innings to the end.
“Domesticity” by Maxine Kumin
WHAT WOULD MARIANO
GUADALUPE VALLEJO
THINK OF THIS? ----
26
POETS AND PRAYERS ---- Fairfax County's community center for the Reston area has
a very nice theater with about 300 seats. Recently I was there for “Poets & Prayers” –
largely because of my DNA test ten years ago. The results revealed that the surname of
my biological great-grandfather was Sutton. His son, who he may not have even known
existed, was eventually taken in by a childless couple, Charles and Arminda Parks, in the
hills of northern Georgia. My grandparents later relocated to Dunsmuir, California where
my dad was born.
I heard the esteemed jazz singer, Tierney Sutton,
was coming to town on her tour with the wellknown Turtle Island Quartet, appearing in nearby
Reston, and decided to go see them. Their
collaborated program was most excellent.
Tierney's voice is amazing! All very cool.
Afterward, in the lobby, I mentioned my Sutton
ancestor so she auto-graphed her “Paris
Sessions” CD I'd just purchased with “To John, my
cuz” -- a nice gesture, whether or not we share
some common ancestor. Here is Sutton and the
Quartet, in rehearsal. If they come to your area try
to see them; they're great.
Outside my neighborhood library recently I was impressed
with this Gimme a “V” cloud symmetry so I stopped to take
a picture with my phone – but just of one side of the
clouds:
One of the songs Sutton sang was “Both Sides
Now”, now also the ARA song of the week. Hear
the original Joni Mitchell version right here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Xm30heHms
“If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need.”
Cicero c.63 BC
John
jvp444@yahoo.com
Wow, I guess I’m set: I have a garden and a considerable library, albeit most of the
books are theatre related.
27
...
When Muldoon’s dog died, the old guy went to the parish priest and asked,
“Father, me dog is dead. Could ya’ be saying’ a mass for the poor creature?”
Father Patrick replied, “I’m afraid not; we cannot have services for an animal in
the church. But there are some Baptists down the lane, an there’s no tellin’
what they believe. Maybe they’ll do something for the creature.”
Muldoon said, “I’ll go right away Father. Do ya’ think $5,000 is enough to
donate to them for the service?”
Father Patrick exclaimed, “Sweet Mary, Mother of Jesus! Why didn’t ya tell me
the dog was Catholic?
Contributed by Gino Disgrazzi ‘55
On the Sidelines
Professional athletes with Vallejo ties…
Jeff Gordon finished 7th in last week’s rain delayed Coke Zero
400 in Daytona, Florida. It helped bring him back into the Top
10 in the Race for the Chase. On Saturday night he began in
third place for the Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway,
which is the only race track where he has never won and he was hoping to pull off a
victory but the most he could muster was a seventh place finish.
CC Sabathia (4-8, ERA 5.47) finally picked up his fourth win of the
season at the expense of the Oakland A’s, last Wednesday. He pitched
5.1 innings giving up 7 hits and 2 earned runs in the Yankees 5-4 win..
...
Tyler Cravy (0-2, ERA 3.0) took a tough-luck loss on Tuesday vs. the
Braves. The rookie right-hander made his second career start on
Tuesday, but took the loss in the 4-3 defeat to the Braves. Cravy
pitched well, going six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He
struck out three and walked one, but was unable to get the offensive
support to avoid the loss.
28
...
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 1
The Sorcerer’s Reluctant Apprentice
By Joe Illing ‘61
Sometimes “jobs for life” turn out
to be nothing more than fairy tales …
Sperry Flour Mill closed for good in 2004
“H
ey! I hear they’re hiring at Sperry Flour Mill!”
“Wow! Really? That’d be a great summer job! Once they hire you, you’ve
got a job for life!”
“God! I’d love to work there! It’s the best job you can get!”
“Yeah, plus you can get on with the union!”
“Yeah, but they only hire a couple of guys a year”
“True, but they pay a lot more than anybody else! It’s the best job you can get … period!”
“Hey! Let’s all go there and apply!”
“Yeah! Let’s go … right now!”
29
The site was on the east bank
of the Napa River near the
outflow of the great Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers
Next thing I knew, near the conclusion of my junior year, I
found myself crammed in a crowded hot rod with a bunch of fellow Vallejo Senior High
School “Apaches” heading to the Sperry Flour Mill Administrative Center.
Summer was right around the corner.
The flour mill wasn’t much to look at, but its location was nothing short of spectacular. It
sat next to the confluence of the Napa, San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers at the
northern reaches of San Francisco Bay.
Of course, back then nobody thought much about the setting. After all, the view directly
across the narrow river (properly called the Mare Island Strait at that stretch) wasn’t
exactly scenic. It was the site of a huge naval base …
many square miles of dull gray buildings, scaffoldings,
ships, submarines and dry docks.
Mare Island, a jumble of navy gray
Probably the only residents who truly appreciated the
place lived just downriver on a stretch called Sandy Beach, a congregation of old,
remodeled fishing shacks built on pilings and strung-out along the river at
its confluence with the Carquinez Strait.
Bohemians, misanthropes and artists of all stripes lived there, inspired
by the scenery and calmed by the music of the rippling water under
their beds at night.
Lower Georgia Street had pretty
much everything a sailor would want
Not far to the north lay the bars, tattoo parlors and whores of “lower
Georgia Street.” Over the years this infamous district welcomed in Mare
30
Island, and by doing so effectively kept them from away from the good townfolk of the
city.
In many ways it was an extremely beneficial arrangement. After all, lower Georgia
Street offered the sailors pretty much everything they were looking for … and if
trouble surfaced (not an uncommon occurrence) the burly boys from the Shore
Patrol could be counted on to handle it efficiently and expeditiously.
In many ways this strategy was pure genius … incarceration through attraction!
But all that changed a half century ago when the city’s leaders obtained federal urban
renewal money to rip-out the blight in exchange for a bright new, planned future.
Unfortunately the renewal effort completely demo’d all of Vallejo’s historic downtown,
thereby gutting its built heritage and, along with it, the heart of the city … which never
seemed to fully recover. In addition, the city lost the lucrative tax revenue the area’s
nefarious activities had poured into its coffers.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that decades later, when it found it couldn’t cover generous
pay and pension promises it’d made to its public safety unions, Vallejo went bankrupt!
Oh well, it was “free” money, wasn’t it?
In any event, at Sperry Flour Mill everything was hunky-dory in 1959 … and, it was true!
They were hiring for summer jobs!
I can’t say my enthusiasm for spending my entire summer vacation working in a flour
mill rose to the heights it did among my friends, but since I was there with them I figured,
“What the hell! I might as well fill out an application since I have to wait!”
I couldn’t quite match the
enthusiasm of my friends
By the time of my interview, I’d scribbled in virtually
every space on the form … the front and the back as well as
the margins … in response to questions about sports,
interests and hobbies.
31
I wrote detailed summaries of my personal readings in cultural anthropology; Western
philosophy; Mahayana Buddhism; Romantic, Roman and Beat poetry; classical Greek
comedy and tragedy; teleological mythology; linguistic theory; history and current
events. I discussed my involvement with classical music, photography, piano and kettle
drums (with the Vallejo Junior Symphony). I also mentioned my standing on the
Apache varsity golf and tennis teams.
While that may sound like a lot, it was simply a recapitulation of books I’d been reading in
addition to my school work during the year. The truth was, I simply loved both
learning and sports, and had an insatiable curiosity about, well … just about every-thing.
Consequently I read as many books as I could find on the subject of anything … which
nicely filled the time between golf, tennis, pounding on the piano and a
relentless hormone-driven pursuit of skirts!
In addition I lived in an era lacking today’s miracle technologies, such as the
internet, tweeting, texting, gaming, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix,
iPods, music videos and a confusing, infinite multi-verse of cable
TV channels that fill similar niche time
for modern teens.
It sure wasn’t a typical
miller’s resume
When called to my interview I entered an office occupied by an
executive in shirt-sleeves and tie. He’d slumped back in his leather desk chair while
waiting for his next interviewee, obviously wearied from his long day with young men
seeking a summer job and giving rote answers to boring questions.
He politely greeted me and motioned me to sit opposite him. I gave him my application
which he leaned back and started to read. But after no time at all he straightened up,
tilted his head to one side, and continued reading with an expression that could only be
described as intrigued.
I don’t think he actually believed any of it at first, but upon questioning he discovered that
I’d not only not dissembled or exaggerated but, if anything, I’d left a few things out. After
that we proceeded to have a rambling conversation and I found him both sophisticated and learned (manifestly out of place in a flour mill) which I’m sure brightened his
otherwise tiring day.
32
But, while my application gave him something of a surprise, he gave me a much bigger
surprise! To my horror, he hired me!
Sweeping the mill’s basement …
just like Mickey, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
A couple of weeks later I found myself standing alone in the
basement of a huge, multi-story flour mill with a broom,
ankle deep in grain. My job was to sweep the grain into
giant vacuum tubes affixed to the structural pillars of the
building to transport it back up for milling.
The basement, the size of a football field, was filled with a fine powdery dust that diffused
the bright sunlight slipping through tiny, grim basement windows. It all made me wonder
what the devil I was doing there while my buddies were enduring long days of golf and
other such hardships.
I soldiered on, and after about an hour of sweeping I finished one complete aisle. I looked
back and could see no difference between that aisle and all the others I had yet to
sweep! My God! I thought I was going to drown in grain! It was Mickey Mouse’s
nightmare as the sorcerer’s apprentice come to life!
It’s hard to accurately describe my emotions as I looked around me at that ocean of grain
… but it could be safely said “This wasn’t fun!”
At noon I stumbled into the lunch room. The men sat at the long tables with their lunch
buckets talking about the same things they apparently talked about all the time. They
seemed like affable, hard-working guys, but, to put it bluntly, I found the entire scene
incredibly disconcerting. I glanced at the clock … Holy Moses! another 4 hours of
sweeping to go!
I swept for the remainder of that day and another full day before I’d had enough. I
pleaded with my boss for a new assignment, explaining that my hay fever just couldn’t
take it anymore … which was partially true.
I live to hammer!
33
Next day I was assigned to box cars. This entailed nailing great sheets of cardboard over
the door openings of the cars so that grain could be carried
in them.
“Wow,” I thought, “That’s great! I love hammering!”
Ever since my earliest days I loved carpentry, especially hammering! But when the first
nail I struck crumpled like an accordion against the tight-grained oak of the box car, I
quickly reassessed all those romantic notions I had about the craft.
That night, after eight hours of trying to find weak points in the cars’ oak interiors into
which a steel nail could penetrate, I literally could not move my right arm. And with that I
had to question my entire relationship with this “great job” I’d landed.
Charity has its own rewards
I called in sick the next day, figuring I deserved at least one
day off after undergoing such agony … after which I tendered
my resignation.
I felt bad about it, especially because I’d let the fellow who hired me down. But then I
realized that my act was essentially charitable in nature in that my departure allowed
someone truly deserving to have that sweet job. In fact, whoever was the recipient of my
generous abdication probably retired just before Sperry closed the mill perma-nently in
2004.
And, as a peripheral benefit, my unselfish act of charity afforded me a leisurely summer
of golf, reading and drive-in dates … which, considering everything, seemed to me to
be more than fair!
——————–
Coming next! How To Get A Great Job You Really Don’t Want, Part 2 … BIG BUSINESS
AND BIGGER BUSINESS. Don’t miss it!
...
34
Lightning Plus
Two lightning storms on two continents got my attention. The first was in Oklahoma, the
second in old communist Yugoslavia.
Staying on my grandparents farm one summer vacation in the fifties, a lightning bolt
struck very near, lighting up the outside dark as if it were day, including my bedroom. My
grandfather loved to sleep outside on these hot, dank nights and I was pleasantly
surprised to see him the next morning still slightly sleepy-eyed.
Another lightning bolt struck, a beautiful 19 year old who accompanied me on my tour of
Europe after graduation from Sacramento State. We met before I left and she finished
her Sophomore semester that fall. I had already departed that April and was traveling for
two and a half months starting in England.
In June, meeting her plane in Amsterdam, we headed for Lake Lucerne in the Swiss
Alps, then on to Rome, Venice and Yugoslavia. There, camping next to a lake under a
big tree, lightning lit up the crackling sky with charges so heavy the only natural event to
match and surpass that skylight was the roaring thunder, so loud we had to cover our
ears.
Eating what food we could purchase at a nearby restaurant and store, our stay in
Yugoslavia was for twenty two days because money was running out. Marking
time, waiting for our plane out of Paris we finally hitchhiked from what is now Croatia
to Belgium, there purchasing the makings for sandwiches that lasted several days in
Paris. Fortunately for us while in Paris for eight days, we early on met an
American student who happened to be attending an all girls school at the University of
Maryland Extension campus. She invited us to her room for a few days, then we were
passed to another girl's dorm for our duration. As an all girls University, they had to
sneak us into their rooms. How nice. We were able to tour the old part of Paris,
see Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and view the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.
When we arrived back in the States at the Kennedy International Airport, we spent a day
in New York, then hitch hiked across the U.S. to Sonoma where my future Sister in law
lived. On the following December of 1971, I married this beautiful girl, then age twenty. I
was only twenty nine.
I think the lightning did it. Put something in my pants, like fire! But it was love.
…Ron Collins ‘60
...
35
A Stroll Down History Lane…
A place to share your memories…
before they disappear forever.
From: Teresa Rucker-Karr ‘63
Harry, looking for something else and
look what I found. I don’t have dates on
these pictures but I can identify everyone in boys night out pic.
L-R: Jim Lundblad, Jack
Bradley, Phil Jordan, Dennis
Yen, Jerry Karr HH63 and Bob
Ostrovski. I think they were on
a Key Club adventure. (All
VHS class of ’63 except for
Jerry)
Hogan presentation. I have
no idea what was happening
here.
Seated L-R: first person is
unknown, Barbara Hanson,
Linda Rickel, Jerry Karr.
Back row: first gentleman
unknown, Mr. Lee Y. Dean,
Principal and I don’t recognize
the gentleman at the podium.
You may want to put in
Monday Update for others to
stroll down memory lane.
36
From: Don McDermott '48
Hello Harry, I would like to make a comment in relation to the article that was presented
by Diane Freudenberg-Hoffman HH71 which included a Times Herald news article and a
photo of the Bay Terrace grammar school graduating class of 1942.
The photo brought back many memories for me because I had been a classmate of those
graduates. The reason I did not graduate with that class was because the class was split
up by the Vallejo school system to eliminate overcrowding.. As best that I can recall the
overcrowding was due to the huge increase of Mare Island shipyard workers that had
been hired because of the war with Japan. Probably half of our class, including myself,
were transferred across town to the McKinley grammar school. We were transported to
and from McKinley by a regular school bus every day.
I recognized many of the names of those students that were shown in the class photo. Of
course, since most all of us ended up going to the Mariano Guadalupe Junior High and
then Vallejo Senior High we were reunited and graduated together in 1948. Some of my
classmates who ended up at McKinley with me were Ashton Clute, Carl Swanson, Sidney
Stoltz, Jim Siefke, Carlos Mendoza and Donna Fowler. Upon graduating from McKinley
school the overcrowding continued at the junior high level and the students in some
classes were required to sit two to a desk plus there were two daily sessions: one morning
and another in the afternoon. Male teachers were not plentiful as many of the younger
men were off fighting in the war. I am fairly sure that a number of the women teachers
had been asked to come back from retirement to fill the urgent need for qualified teachers.
Needless to say those were very interesting days back then.
My best regards to you, Sally and to all of your faithful Monday Update readers.
As Bob Hope said to the troops: “Thanks for the memories…” But to
Jayne Mansfield, I think he said “Thanks for the mammaries…”
...
From: Al Farr ‘61
Wow Harry ... No doubt you struck many readers' nerves with tonight's MU, mine for
sure. I had no idea Al Seigler had been the principal at Bay Terrace, my elementary
alma mater. CarylAnn Perkins (Corder) and I came out of there in '55 along with Kristie
Aringdale, Joe Thompson, and so many others. Mr. Seigler was so admired and
respected, deservedly so. I can't recall him with anything but a smile on his face
whenever I ran into him, on or off campus. Often thought about his daughter Karen, and
hope all's ok with her.
37
...
This week’s Newbies
From: Bob Conley SV61
Hello Harry. It has been a long time. Remember me, Bob Conley from
232 Edgemont Ave. Bill Baker sent me a copy of your newsletter and I
would like to start receiving it if possible.
All is well with Sandy and I, married for 50 years this July 31 and living in Pleasant Hill.
Both of us are retired teachers and having the time of our life. Write if you get a chance.
Have you heard from Marlin Mauser?
Oh my God... Bob... old friend... so nice to hear from you. Congrats on
your fiftieth anniversary. That's wonderful... and quite unusual these
days. The last I knew, you were in the newspaper business. When did
you switch to teaching?
Yes, I'm still in touch with Marlin Mauser. He lives in Florida, has some
major health issues and also subscribes to the Monday Update. He'll be
pleased to hear that we've reconnected.
I'll never forget you taking me to the St. Mary's/USF basketball game
where a near riot almost ensued. That was quite an experience.
I have very fond memories of your mom and what a sweet loving woman
she was. It was like a second home to me.
Take care and lets get together soon for lunch or dinner.
Bob Responds…
I left newspapers in 1993 and spent the next 19 years teaching fifth grade in Concord.
Sandy is also a retired teacher.
38
We just returned (June 17th) from South America where we spent 5 days exploring the
Amazon River, five days in Machu Picchu and surrounding towns Cusco etc exploring
Inca Ruins, and then five days in Ecuador exploring the Galapagos Islands and Quito.
Sort of three vacations in one.
Yes, I would like to get together for lunch. We are leaving for Hawaii (Maui) for a week at
the end of this month. August sounds like a good time. I will keep you abreast of my
schedule. We have found that retirement is keeping us busy - how did we do all the
things we do and still work five or six days a week?
Glad to hear you are doing well. Will write more later. Thanks for keeping up with all the
folks from the Vallejo high schools. I know your efforts are really appreciated. Say hello to
Marlin for me.
...
In Memoriam
Coleman “Coke” Morrison
Dec 10, 1918-June 12, 2015
Long time Vallejo educator Coleman “Coke” Morrison passed away on
June 12 at the age of 96. He managed to stay active healthy almost all
the way to the
end and even played Bocce ball in the Benicia league the week before
with his daughter Jeri Marsh-Davis ’69.
He came to Vallejo High School
in 1959 in the Math Department.
Coke was predeceased by his wife Imogene and also his son Stan ’72.
He is survived by son Larry Morrison ’69, stepson Jim Marsh ’72 and
stepdaughter Jeri Marsh-Davis ’72.
39
Coke was our senior class advisor 1961 and ’62 and
attended our 50 year reunion in 2012 as a guest of
Pauline Dennis-Bunter. She
said “He could still “cut a rug on
the dance floor.””
He served as the Dean of Boys
at Vallejo High from 1963 until
1969 when he became the vice principal for
a year before returning to the Math Dept.
from 1971 to 1977
You’d have to describe Coke Morrison as a “man’s man.” He
was a great guy and he had a wonderful life. Our condolences
to his family.
...
The Last Word…
Daughter Wendy put this caption and photo on her
Facebook page: “The captain invited Steven back into
the cockpit. It was so awesome. Now Steven wants to be a
pilot.”
40
Sally and I drove to the Sacramento Airport last Tuesday and picked up
our 14 year old grandson Spiro who came out from Asheville, NC for a
visit.
He and Steven got acquainted via a little
game of basketball.
We’re enjoying our visit with Spiro. We’ve
been running here and there, trying to show
him the sights. We have trips planned to the
Monterey Acquarium, Lake Tahoe, Bodega
Bay , giant redwoods, Napa Valley etc. Last
Thursday we took him shopping for new clothes. In short, we just want
to spoil him a bit before sending him back to his mom and dad and 8
siblings.
On Friday we took a drive to show Spiro where we get our drinking
water… Lake Berryessa.
Berryessa seems to have
a lot of water but you can
see that it has lowered
quite a bit.
The “Glory Hole”
sits high and dry…
but there seems to be plenty of water
being released into Putah Creek…
41
Putah feeds serene
Lake Solano.
A peahen and her chicks near the lake.
Yesterday we drove to Armstrong Redwood
Park in Guerneville for a little picnic.
Here’s a view of the Coastal Range from
the top of Armstrong near Bullfrog Pond.
(Which was dry.)
Spiro climbs to the top of an uprooted
Redwood while grandma looks on.
We followed the Russian River to Jenner
and to Goat Rock Beach.
42
One of the beautiful views from Goat Rock Beach
On the way home we stopped at Bodega Bay to pick up some Salt Water
taffy. All in all a very pleasant day.
...
The turmoil continues… the painter is still painting and tomorrow the
new carpets get installed. Maybe in a week or so everything will be
finished and we can get our household back into some semblance of
what passes for normal. One can only hope…
...
Wendy is back from her week-long vacation to Michigan and is hard at
work. They’re starting to serve breakfast and lunch at Truffle Berries
with limited menus, for the time being. She’s trying trying to “dip her
toes” into that part of food service. We had breakfast there on Saturday and it was very good. If you’re in the area, give it a try and let me
know what you think.
...
Okay, so I’m selfish. I grew the grapes so why should I let the damn
birds eat them all? The dilemma is, if I pick them all at once I can’t
43
possibly eat them before they go bad. I could always give away a few,
but even then… Hey! I’ve got it. The answer is “raisins”… I’m going to
try my hand at turning the fresh grapes into dried raisins. That way I
can enjoy them for weeks to come and to hell with the Scrub Jays. HA.
DAMN, DAMN, DAMN… I wrote the above yesterday when there was an
abundance of grapes. I went out today to cut them and there was
NOTHING, NADA, ZIP left.
Remember what they looked
like last week in the MU?
Here’s what’s left… No raisins this year.
Thanks you #$%#$@ birds.
… and thank you for starting your Monday with me… hd
...
When wearing a bikini,women reveal 90% of their body...
men are so polite they only look at the covered parts.
...
44
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
Ausust 15, 2015 Dinner / Dance
Zio Fraedo’s-Vallejo
VHS Class of 1968 65the Birthday Party
Blue Rock Springs
Time
5:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
August 15th
Picnic
11 a.m.
Oct. 3, 2015
VHS Class of ’55 Sixty Year Reunion
Reunion Dinner
TBA
TBA
Oct. 10, 2015
VHS Class of ’60 Fifty-Five Year Reunion
Reunion Dinner
Moose Lodge-Vallejo
TBA
Oct. 10, 2015
Oct. 11, 2015
St. Vincent’s Class of ’65 Fifty Year Reunion
Reunion Dinner
TBA
Brunch
Benicia TBA
TBA
TBA
...
Public Service Announcement
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
45
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 contribution to my swim
All donations are 100% tax deductible. Make your donation here:
http://www.wcrc.org/swim/profiles/swimmer/id/1740
The Dalt Williams Quartet
46
with vocalist Frankye Kelly
Suisun City Waterfront Park
Sunday, July 19. 2015
3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Bring your lawn chairs, a picnic and enjoy the music.
The event is FREE to the public.
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
47
48
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
Carolyn Fleming-Pauley
642-2348
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)
49
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
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
50
Douglas Ashley Hartshorn
Janet Kay Hawkins
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
Sonja Elaine Stimac
Clinton Morris Strohmeyer
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
Edmonds, Annabelle
Fawcett, William
Fears, Jeffrey
Guarin, Joseph
Harris, Norman
House, Duanna
Howe, Joan
Koontz, Linda
Lewis, Isac
Linville, Robert
Marquez, Sally
Martin, Doug
McMurphy, Donna
McBride, Dan
51
Roberts, Alice
Roberts, Ken
Rollins, Thomas
Salsedo, Pamela
Simon, Margaret
Southerland, Ronald
Tackmier, Lynn
Baumann, David
Becky, John
Borowski, Janet
Bradeen, Susan
Bradhurst, Shirley
Cambe, Benito
Diaz, Thomas
Edgar, Shirley
Jensen, John
Johnson, Jesse
Keith, Sandra
Kelly, James
Kelly, Judith
Kent, Helen
Kersting, Pamela
Kimzey, Linda
McNairy, Thomas
Mitchell, Robbie
Murchison, Jerry
Neal, Denise
Nichols, Sharon
Oliveira, John
Padilla, Priscilla
Pulliam, Harry
Reedy, Carolyn
Talley, Gwendolyn
Trefethen, Janice
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
52
Timothy Guinan
Marilyn Handy Harris
Rea Harmston Wilson
Kathy Harrell Gunter
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.”
53
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.
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
VHS
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
HHS
SVHS
VJH
HJH
FJH
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
54
Sol JH
Springs JH
54
55
56
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
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
55
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
56
Harry Diavatis
5087 Green Meadow Ct.
Fairfield, CA 94534