Alumni & Friends. The Early Years..

Transcription

1 Fall 2013 Volume 3, Issue 3 North Hollywood High Alumni Officers President Carol Ajar Tipton S 70 PO Box 474 Sunland, CA catipton@sbcglobal.net Treasurer Gail Huber Coyle St. Clair Avenue N. Hollywood, CA Editor Teresa Venegas Cook Crooked Stick Road Jerome, ID tmariacook@gmail.com Membership Director Bill Coburn campcoburn@sbcglobal.net Visit us online at Highlights Reunions 2 Notes 4 Alumni News 5 Memory Lane 7 Treasurer s Rpt. 8 Editors Corner 8 Dues Form 9 Alumni & Friends The Early Years.. North Hollywood, the area where so many of us grew up, went to school, and have many fond memories of, was originally established by the Lankershim Ranch Land and Water Company in Many of us still call this and the surrounding area home. But how many of us realize the area was first named "Toluca"? The area was renamed "Lankershim" in 1896 before finally being named "North Hollywood" in The area was still called Lankershim when some of our oldest active Alumni were born. Four of them were in attendance at our annual All Class Reunion in June this year. We thought you might like to meet them, if you don t already know them. The oldest of these youngsters, Anne Briscoe Laughlin, was born in Ft. Worth, TX in 1915 and moved to Oxford, MS after her father passed away when she was only five months old. She had three brothers. Her family moved to CA in 1926 when she was 11, and she attended Lankershim Grammar School for 1 year before beginning junior high and high school at Lankershim High School. Lankershim High School was opened in 1927 and was renamed North Hollywood High L-R Pauline Thrasher Gates 39, Carl Cullen 36 and Anne Briscoe Laughlin 32 School after Anne s first year in attendance. While in high school, Anne played baseball, basketball and field hockey. There were 92 students in her summer of 1932 graduating class. Anne married T. Jackson Laughlin, MD in 1941 and they had two children, a boy and a girl. After a long illness, she attended LAVC, received her AA (continued on. pg.3) Computers for the NHHS Library and Research Center John Hamrick, the new Teacher Librarian (Research Teacher) is asking for our help restoring the computer lab. The lab has only 10 working computers (off warranty) and is in need of at least 20 more. Mr. Hamrick says that NHHS has one of the best book collections ever assembled in the district, but without a computer lab as part of the Library and Research Center, some standard academic skills are un-teachable. Once the lab is restored, it will be the only open computer lab in the school. Without this open lab, the overall instructional program is impeded, and this is especially unfair to students who do not have computers or web-access at home. Mr. Hamrick is asking for donations to help restore the computer lab. Donations of LCD monitors, keyboards, mice and used CPU s (less than 6 years old) are welcome. A wiped hard drive is not a problem. If you know of a business that is about to upgrade their computers and might be willing to donate a set of the same make and model, that would be ideal. Older XP based PC s are adequate for the (continued on pg. 3)

2 Reunions Save These Dates! North Hollywood High - Alumni News Page 2 of NHHS Annual Picnic is June 29 th, 11:00am to 3:00pm in the Quad on Campus, we hope to see you there! Alumni Luncheon Club meets at noon on the first Wednesday of every ODD month (except when a holiday interferes). Plan to join us on November 6 th 2013, or sometime next year. We will be meeting on 1/8, 3/5, 5/7, 7/2, 9/3 and 11/5 of We have people from the Class of 32, 39, the 40 s, 50 s and 70 s attending regularly. We meet at the Burbank Holiday Inn in the People s Choice Restaurant located at 150 E. Angeleno Avenue, Burbank, CA 91502, telephone (818) , at NOON. Choose your own meal from the menu (separate checks). This is a social gathering and all classes are welcome. RSVP to Richard Dick Mutaw 41 at (818) or e- mail dmutaw@hotmail.com. We hope to see you there! 2013 Annual Picnic L. The Quad has a new look! R. Allen Weiss Sounds of Music and some of the vintage cars 1944 Bill Coburn S 44 would like to hear from any members of the winter and summer classes of 1944 who would be interested in a luncheon or dinner next June to observe the 70 th anniversary of their graduation. Folks from other nearby classes are welcome to join them. You can contact Bill by phone at (818) , at campcoburn@sbcglobal.net or regular mail to Landale Street, North Hollywood, CA Vince Piazza would like to hear from any members of the class of 50 who are interested in attending a 65 year reunion to be held the last weekend in June, You can contact Vince by at vspcav@gmail.com or by phone at (818) Year Reunion will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2014 from 6 to 10pm at Santa Clarita Lanes located at Soledad Canyon Road, Saugus, CA 91350, telephone (661) The event will be hosted by Tom, Laurie, Steve, and Randy. An informal letter was sent out over the summer, and invitations will be going out around October 1st, so look for yours to arrive. Please pass this information on to any classmates you are in touch with who may not have their correct information in the Class database. In the meantime, you can contact Tom Cristi at the above number for more information, or him at scl4usc@aol.com Year Reunion plans are being made and we hope to hold a weekend event on the last weekend in June, If you are interested in helping with the planning, please contact Carol Ajar Tipton 70 by catipton@sbcglobal.net, phone (818) or at PO Box 474, Sunland, CA Year Reunion will be held on June 7, 2014, starting at 6:30pm at the Sheraton Universal, hosted by the Class of 74 Reunion Committee. You can sign up online at telephone (661) , or for more information, contact Dori Fitch at (714) or dorifhome@gmail.com.

3 Page 3 of 10 North Hollywood High Alumni News The Early Years, continued degree, then went to UCLA and received her BA in 1960, followed by an MA in While working on her Masters, the head of the LAVC Evening Division asked her to teach Required English. She taught at LAVC for thirteen and a half years. After receiving her Master s degree, she taught days at UCLA, and added Psychology 20 and Reading Improvement to the courses she taught. She stopped teaching at UCLA when she had to undergo cancer treatment over 40 years ago, but continued to teach at LAVC evenings until her husband s retirement in She really missed her teaching, but she spent a lot of her time volunteering at Saint Joseph Hospital in Burbank up until about a year and a half ago. While teaching at LAVC, Anne was interviewed by students for the Valley College Scepter magazine twice; the articles appeared six years apart. Carl Cullen was born in Los Angeles in 1917, had three siblings and attended Lankershim Grammar School before attending NHHS. He enjoyed fishing and football in high school and is still a fisherman. Carl graduated in 1936; there were 89 students in his winter graduating class. He married and has three boys. He is a tile contractor and still lives in the house he built one block from NHHS. L-R Joe Douglass and his lifelong friend Ian Mack Mackintosh at graduation Joe Douglass was born in 1919 in Los Angeles and had one brother. He attended O Melveny in San Fernando for elementary school, Le Conte in Hollywood for junior high and then went to NHHS. He graduated in the winter of 1938 with 83 other students. Joe is a retired engineer and a widower; he was a solitary hiker when he was younger. Over 30 years ago, Joe started a weekly hike through Topanga State Park with a group of hikers from his Sierra Club group. They meet every Tuesday morning in Tarzana and end with breakfast at Gelson s bakery. The youngest in the group is 59 and the oldest, not counting Joe, are in their 80 s. About a dozen show up each week. They have weathered illness and death, and have become an indispensable social outlet; they know they can count on the others for support, no matter what. Joe led the hikes until the summer of 2011, when he had surgery that led to serious complications. He s doing well now, and still meets with the group he calls his Tuesday Morning Irregulars. Some of them don t really like to hike but come for the camaraderie and the breakfast. He taught them to enjoy the journey. Joe also hikes on Wednesday and Thursday, bikes on Friday, weather permitting, and motorcycles on Sunday if he has someone to ride along with him. He misses being able to do as much as he used to. The youngest in the group, Pauline Thrasher Gates, was born in 1921 in Lankershim, attended Lankershim Grammar School and then NHHS. She had three brothers and a sister. While at NHHS, she enjoyed baseball, archery, a capella choir and French club. She took piano lessons when she was 12 but never expanded the lessons. Pauline graduated in the summer of 1939 along with about 200 other students. She married when she was 24 and had two wonderful children, a boy and a girl. She moved to Salem, OR in 1990, and returned to the San Fernando Valley in 2005 after her husband died. With a twinkle in her eyes, she says And here I am! Anne and Pauline often join other Alumni at the Holiday Inn for lunch on the first Wednesday of every odd month (see Reunions for more information). It would be nice if you joined them one day, and got to meet them and some of the other Alumni who attend the luncheon; we have regulars who attend from the 30 s, 40 s, 50 s and 70 s. They all hope to see you there one day soon! ~ Arlene Wheeless Strang Computers, continued lab. Mr. Hamrick has a small truck and will gladly pick up donated items. Monetary donations earmarked for computers would be appreciated as well. Basic PC stations can be purchased for as little as $400 per bundle, and even less if they opt for refurbished items. We would like to have this project completed as quickly as possible, so if you have any equipment you can donate, please contact Mr. Hamrick at jahmrick99@gmail.com or (818) as soon as possible. He invites alumni to drop by the NHHS Library and Research Center any time. The library is open from 7:15am until 6:00pm school days. Volunteers are also welcome.

4 North Hollywood High - Alumni News Page 4 of 10 Notes of Interest. ANNUAL MEETING: Due to scheduling conflicts this year s annual meeting had to be postponed. It is now scheduled for October 26, 2013 at the home of Bill Coburn, Landale Street, North Hollywood, CA You can contact Arlene Wheeless Strang at (805) for additional information ANNUAL PICNIC: A big thank you to Allen Weiss 55 and his band Sounds of Music for providing us with their fabulous music at the annual picnic this year. Big thanks also go to Coach Ken Harris and Andrew Lepore, also graduates of NHHS, and the entire boys Basketball program as well as the students from Future Farmers of America who helped with the food and setup at the annual event. They all truly enjoyed meeting and talking with the alumni in attendance. And finally, a big thank you to all who braved the heat and attended the event, it was great to see all of you! WHY BINGVILLE? Year after year, attendees of the Alumni Annual Picnic ask why North Hollywood High was (and still occasionally is) called Bingville. I was always unable to give a definite answer, though I was sure it was named after Bing Crosby, star of movies, radio, TV and records. I knew that, early-on, he would sometimes come and sit in the back of the auditorium and listen when students were practicing for school operettas. Bing Crosby Recently I was reading some old issues of The Arcade. The April 29, 1999 issue states that at the time of the famous Great Depression, Bing Crosby bought football tickets for students who could not afford to buy them. In response to this magnanimous gesture the students decided to name the campus Bingville. The paper gave no source for this information, but I ll keep my eyes open for more on this subject. Gail Coyle 49 FABULOUS FORTIES REUNION: Doug Davis 47 is looking for photos from the Fabulous Forties Reunion that was held at the Pasadena Hilton in His orchestra provided music for the event which had close to 2000 Alumni in attendance. You can photos to Doug at dougnsunny@gmail.com or mail to 554 Park Ave., Tyrone, PA Thank you! VOLUNTEERS: The Alumni Assn. desperately needs your help. Up until about 8-10 years ago, the Alumni Assn. membership was made up only of graduates from the founding classes of the 30 s, 40 s and 50 s, and most of the officers are still members of those founding classes. These people are now in their 80 s and 90 s, and ready to retire once again. We do not need a lot of your time, usually only a few hours every couple months, but we do need it! We are looking for someone to take over for the Newsletter Editor, Treasurer and to help the Membership Director with our database as well as other things, such as reunion news and input from your class for the Alumni newsletter. Please contact Alumni Assn. President Carol Ajar Tipton 70 at catipton@sbcglobal.net or (818) for more information. Doug Davis 47 at the first Annual Picnic YEARBOOKS: We have had inquiries about obtaining copies of old yearbooks. NHHS sometimes has copies in the Student Store and there are some companies who offer reprints. You can search online or at Amazon.com to see if your class year is available. DUES, DONATION AND PICNIC FORM: This form is now a permanent part of our Alumni Newsletter. People like to make donations when they are able to throughout the year, and new members need to pay dues. If you have already paid your dues for the year, and you send us another check for them, we may (continued on next page)

5 Page 5 of 10 North Hollywood High Alumni News Notes of Interest, continued consider it a donation and thank you for your generosity! LOST & FOUND: Richard Hein 50 is looking for Mary Lee Everson Holmes 50. Your help is appreciated! Alumni News 1942 Ralphine Ralphie Beech Wilcox left us on May 13, She was born in Lankershim in She was active in Rainbow Girls. She met and later married Richard (Dick) Wilcox and moved to Sacramento in 1947 after he was discharged from the Navy. She was a volunteer with the Ground Observer Corps from 1952 until 1959; the need for volunteer skywatchers ended when NORAD was established. She worked as a bookkeeper for Wells Fargo in the late 50 s and early 60 s, then went to work for Sacramento County in 1967 as a Data Entry Operator until she retired in Shortly after retiring, Ralphie met papa Dale ; they had 16 years together, and spent much of their time travelling in their motor coach throughout the US, Canada, Alaska and Mexico. She went on her first cruise to celebrate her 80 th birthday. She loved football, and at 88, her knowledge was unprecedented; she knew everything about the NFL and almost never missed her games on Sunday, sometimes watching 3 games in a day. And, of course, there were Monday and Thursday nights too. She also loved horse shows, baseball and softball games, and next to family, her greatest love were her animals Jim Coombs died in May of this year. He was a pilot for United Airlines for over 30 years, and a Navy pilot as well. He was married to Dea Beardslee 44 for almost 60 years. Jim was in Escuderos, HI-Y, Scholarship Society and was a Varsity and Bee letterman in football and track Don Snow writes that his wife, Diane, recently passed. He keeps busy teaching family history classes. Out of high school, he attended UCLA for 2 years and was in the Navy for 2 years. Then he received two Bachelor s degrees from the University of Utah; one in mathematics and one in mechanical engineering. Following this he earned two Master s degrees and a Doctoral degree from Stanford. Don worked for Stanford Computation Center and Lockheed Missiles, was a research associate at University of Minnesota for two years and taught at University of Colorado for three years. He has been a visiting professor in Peru and the University of Waterloo in Canada. Don has written dozens of articles for professional publications and has given more than 100 speeches across the country. William Bill Richard King, DDS, passed away on May 13, 2013 in Westminster, CA following a long struggle with post-polio syndrome. Bill played varsity football, was senior class president, and played saxophone. He graduated from the USC School of Dentistry in 1957 and served as a Captain in the US Army Dental Corps in France for the following two years. He ran a successful practice in Fullerton and Placentia until his retirement in He was very active in the OCDS. He was a member of the Board of Directors and also on the OCDS Ethics Committee and the CDA Judicial Counsel for many years, and served as Chairman of both. He attained Life Member status in the ADA and was a Fellow of the American College of Dentists. Bill was active in the local church community, was one of the founding members of the Mariners Church in Newport Beach, and an elder at Grace Fellowship Church in Costa Mesa. He also enjoyed snow skiing, waterskiing and sailing Jack Langford writes of the passing of Hugh B. Hawley, Jr. 50 and how small this world we live in really is. Jack lost track of Hugh after high school, but saw his obituary in the local paper; Hugh was in a community about 12 miles from where Jack has been living since They both played football at NHHS, and Jack wishes they had known how close they were to each other. Hugh passed away April 21, He joined the Marines after high school, and married in He moved his family to Phoenix in 1958 and started a career in law enforcement. Vince Piazza and Bill Ferris 49 had dinner with Burt Dillard 50 in Prescott, AZ on June 2 nd of this year. They were celebrating Burt s 81 st birthday. Wayne Clifford Brown passed away recently. He lived in Oxnard and was active in the Air Museum there. William Bill Richard King L-R Burt Dillard 50, Vince Piazza 50 and Bill Ferris 49

6 North Hollywood High - Alumni News Page 6 of 10 More Alumni News 1951 Linda Wilson called to tell us that her mother, Barbara Brommer Freshwater has passed. Several years ago, when Barbara received the news that she had breast cancer, her daughter gave her a great birthday party. Linda invited all of Barbara s classmates that she could find. She had a fantastic turnout for a fantastic party. Donations in Barbara s name may be made to Humboldt Area Foundation (Humboldt Breast Health Project) at 373 Indianola Rd., Bayside, CA or Barbara had a sister, Margaret and brother, Richard. Fran Reynolds writes that she attended UCLA after NHHS and then CSUN for her MA. She moved with her family to Missouri in 1972 and has been there ever since. She lives in Columbia, a small college town, home of the University of Missouri. She received her Doctorate there in Language Arts Education. After teaching high school English and history for 26 years, she retired to teach ESL part time at the University. Her high school teachers, Miss Garabedian and Mr. Gilmore were very influential in her choice of professions; they were great teachers. Fran has three grown children and 9 grandchildren. She enjoys reading the newsletter and making connections with her California roots, and hopes to make it to the next reunion Marv Allison shared an from Phil Forester with us. Phil spent his career teaching English at Santa Rosa Junior College. He retired in 2006, but still teaches part time on the campus in Petaluma and Santa Rosa. He and his wife have a son, Sean. After many years at the Florence Academy of Art, Sean started his own art school in Oakland, the Golden Gate Atelier Paul Levitt, a professor of English at the University of CO, sent us a copy of his latest book review from the Washington Post dated December The book, Stalin s Barber is reported to be an irreverent epic that carries a family through one of the most terrible eras in recent history, Joseph Stalin s Russia of the 1930 s. The book captures Stalin s madness that led to mass starvation, show trials and the summary execution of thousands and yet maintains an undercurrent of absurdist humor. The book is said to be an entirely original, entirely remarkable work of the imagination. Stalin s Barber is published by Taylor Trade Harvey Harris MD recently moved to DuPont, WA to work at Madigan Army Medical Center (Adolescent Clinic) through this year. Susan Plumb Hart writes that although she is unable to join us for the picnic, she enjoys connecting with the newsletter and appreciates everyone s input and hard work. The husband of Sandy Zevel Ginsburg, Art Ginsburg, founder of Art s Deli, a Studio City landmark since 1957, has passed away. Many NHHS alumni will fondly remember the great food and hospitality that Art shared with us all. Sydney Balbes is missing two dear friends from NHHS, Douglas Doug Allen Griffin 57 (listed in the last Memory Lane) and Denny Schemp 56. The three friends were all members of the NHHS Band throughout high school. Doug was a music major and played trumpet. Denny played clarinet and Sydney played saxophone. Sydney graduated from Woodbury University in He teaches media, TV and movies at Woodbury in the Communications Dept. He also worked for Alfred Hitchcock, starting while he was still at NHHS in 1954, and continued working there for years after graduating from Woodbury Robert B. Davis writes that he and his wife are retired in Claremont, CA. Robert attended Victory Blvd. Elementary School and Sun Valley Jr. High before attending NHHS. He graduated with the winter 57 class and immediately started at the University of Redlands. He graduated in 1961 and entered the Claremont School of Theology. In 1963 his first assignment for the Methodist Church was in Oxnard, to start a new church. That summer he knocked on 600 doors and had an attendance of 90 for his first Sunday. In 1988, after two other assignments, Robert was appointed the Superintendent of the Stalin s Barber by Paul Levitt 54 Art s Deli owner, Art Ginsburg, was married to Sandy Zevel Ginsburg 56

7 Page 7 of 10 North Hollywood High Alumni News Even more Alumni News Pasadena District of the United Methodist Church. His last assignment was to the church in Claremont, where he and his wife now volunteer. Douglas Doug W. Greene recently passed away. He was student body President. Tanya Bryant Weinberger writes from Sarasota, Yes, we have a lot of alligators in Florida! 1960 On June 8th, 17 members of the NHHS W'60 Class got together for lunch at the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica Candice Russell of Plantation, FL received a copy of our newsletter from Susan Rugge Townsley 65. After graduating from NHHS, Candice attended UCLA for her BA in English and received an MA in journalism from Pennsylvania State University. She is currently the editor of the Parklander, a monthly regional magazine in north Broward County, FL. After a long career in newspaper journalism, Candice is enjoying working in the magazine field and dealing with writers. Her 256 page, full color book Masterpieces of Haitian Art is being published this summer by Schiffer Books and is currently on pre-sale on Amazon.com. It is the first major overview of Haitian art in all media in the past 25 years. She is very proud of the book and hopes that the color, vitality and spirit of the Haitian people communicate to readers the importance of their culture. You can write to her at lulugatos@gmail.com Cheryl Gentry Maxwell writes that she is living up in the Bay area now, and hopes life has been good to all of you. Her son still lives in North Hollywood. She was at NHHS this past June to watch his son graduate, walking on the field just like we did, so many years ago. Peace, love and be happy! Tanya Bryant Weinberger and alligators in Sarasota, FL! Memory Lane 1941 Barbara Bluemm Bartlett from the picnic 1942 Harvey Wyatt Maxey per LA Times Ralphine Francis Beech Wilcox per daughter Kathleen Cleveland 1943 Jim Coombs per wife Dea Coombs 1944 Sofia Mendoza Garcia per Valley News 1948 William R. King per Bob Thayer 1949 Mary Chamberlain Thorne 1950 Phyllis Barsky Nelson from the picnic Wayne Clifford Brown per Walter Metcalf Edwin Eddie Freeman per Vince Piazza Dick Wahlrab per Ted Alexander Hugh B. Hawley, Jr. per Jack Langford 1951 Barbara Brommer Freshwater per daughter 1956 Denny Schamp per Sydney Balbes 1957 Leonard Davis Black per Roxane Stern Douglas Doug W. Greene per LA Times 1960 Gil Goodrich per Jim Clark 1965 Dennis Rick per his cousin Cathy Heckler Dobbs 66 Hugh B. Hawley, Jr. Take a walk with us down memory lane from 1941 to 1965.

8 North Hollywood High - Alumni News Page 8 of 10 Treasurer s Report Income Donations $19, Membership & Dues 6, Other Income (refund) Picnic 2, Total Income $29, Beginning balance 1/1/ , Income 29, Expenses -41, Ending balance 12/31/2012 $29, Expenses Accountant $ Fees & Charges Bank/PayPal Gifts to School 19, Scholarship Fund 10, Future Farmers Insurance Mailing 1, Picnic expense 1, Printing 1, Supplies Tax Tutoring 3, Website 1, Total Expenses $41, Editor s Corner by Teresa Cook Carol Ajar Tipton 70 here, filling in for our newsletter editor, Teresa Venegas Cook 50. I am sorry to have to tell you that Teresa is grieving the loss of her son, Stephen Alan Chacon; Ernie Chacon 49 is Stephen s father. Stephen was married to Candice Hanson Chacon 72. Stephen suffered a stroke around the middle of July. He took a turn for the worse and passed away on July 31. He was a cameraman for ABC 7 news here in Los Angeles and was well loved by all who knew him. Services were held on August 9 th. I know Teresa will be back with us, but I m not sure when. I ve been working with her on the newsletter for several years. If you can send your news to me or to both of us until she is back, we would appreciate it. You can me at catipton@sbcglobal.net, snail mail to PO Box 474, Sunland, CA 91041, telephone (818) Thank you all. I will do the best I can with what I get from you until Teresa returns. ~ Carol

9 Page 9 of 10 North Hollywood High Alumni News MEMBERSHIP DUES $12:00 Payable by April 1 st Please use this form when paying Dues or Donations by USMAIL Please print in capital letters, using Black or Blue Ink. See example below. Remember to give us your maiden name if you are using an address label and please cut apart where indicated. Please do not use staples when mailing. Thank you. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Female First Maiden Last / Married Name Class Address Male First Last Class Address Mailing Address Please cut here Please cut here To make a Donation: I want to donate to: Scholarships $ School needs $ In Honor or Website$ Memory Maintenance & Upgrades Please print your name and class First Maiden Name Last / Married Name Class Please cut here...please cut here Pay for the Annual $6:50 / Person: Always the last Sunday in June, 11 AM to 4 PM Name First Maiden Name Last / Married Name Class Spouse / Guests please print names for all name badges Make all checks payable to: NHHS Alumni Association and send to: Gail Coyle, 6047 St. Clair Ave., No. Hollywood, CA, Please include all forms with check. You can also choose to use the Pay Pal feature to pay your dues and donations online at rev. 3/10/2013

10 North Hollywood High School Alma Mater Near the valley s purple mountains In the golden tinted plain Near the Padre s sacred fountains Reaching to the sounding main Stands our noble Alma Mater, Stands the high school that we love: And our noblest aspirations Are inspired by Heaven above We will always love our high school As her sons and daughters should; And our fondest, noblest wishes Are for you, North Hollywood North Hollywood Alumni Association c/o Gail Huber Coyle 6047 St. Clair Ave North Hollywood, CA Alumni Name Street Address City, ST ZIP Code