News from our classmates

 

 

News Flash!!!

 

 Fred Garside did it!!

 

There was a well attended 60th reunion November 1st for 1948 MAD Classmates.  Thanks for the efforts of Fred Garside approximately 80 classmates attended. The 1st batch of pictures have been provided by Bruce Staller (in attendance for his brother Watson Carpenture).

 

 

 

From Sharon Spurgen-Sotelo:

 

We missed you (George) and your sweet wife at our M.A.D. reunion  for the class of 1948 on Nov. 1st. It was a smashing success! Thanks to Fred Garside and Bob Humble and their wives who got it all together in a very short time. The banquet room at the Santa Anita Golf Course Club House was a perfect location for the dinner/dance. The food was delicious. The music was terrific and very danceable! And of course it was great fun seeing our classmates again. One of the highlights of the evening for the guys was a reassembling of the 1947 Championship Football team with Winston Goller, Johnny Ochoa, Don Gallogly, Fred Garside, Bob Humble from the 48ers. We "girls" had much to share about families, grandchildren, some great grandchildren and keeping active in our Golden years!

 

Ralph and I just celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 4th, 2008. We are very thankful to still be "Young at Heart" with a multitude of happy memories to treasure and daily blessings to enjoy.

Till our 65th!

Blessings to you and yours!

Sharon

 

Picture of the "girls": Virginia Bower Nichols, Eileen Dunham Eckstrom, Joan Harter Raudenbush, and Sharon Spurgeon Sotelo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture of M.C. for the evening, Fred Garside, with Sharon (classmates since 6th grade at Holly Avenue, 7th & 8th at First Avenue School and M.A.D. high school)                                                                                

 

 

 

PICTURES FROM DONALD GALLOGLY:

 

Donald says the football team picture above reminded him how he and LeRoy Bovey went in together to buy a pair of cleated football shoes so they could save some hard earned money. They were close to the same size and LeRoy played B squad while Donald played Varsity.  Yea. They saved some money that they can’t remember how it got spent.

 

On the subject of shoes, if you attended our 60th reunion you might have noticed what good shape Donald is in – after a year of a dedicated gymnasium program. Talking about this he told me one of the advertised benefits is that when you get in good shape your shoes don’t wear out so fast, i.e. you quit dragging ‘em along and pick ‘em up as you walk. Makes good sense, so I signed up for a “Gold’s” gym program and ask a personal trainer if that was true, that I could expect my shoes to last longer if I got in good shape. This trainer swore it was true.

 

 

 

More pictures to come, so stay in touch.

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-         ~ ~ ~ To contact 1948 MAD Classmates ~ ~ ~

 

Click here for list of best-known addresses.

 

Click following to search further: http://www.Zabasearch.com

 
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GENE BUNCH & wife BARBARA stopped by Grand Junction October 3rd for a short visit with George & Vicki Harpole on their way east to Missouri and other parts of mid-western and western U.S.. 

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Picture, L to R: Mt. Garfield, 1984 Jeep Wagoneer, Barbara and Gene Bunch – backed up by Colorado River and Grand Mesa (flat top mt. ~11,000-ft high).

 

We toured the city from the airport (Walker Field) to the far south side along the base of the Monuments National Park (about 15-mi from one side of town to the other); and, then – along with wife Vicki – we had dinner at the Rockslide on Main St. where the sidewalks are adorned with statutes & strange art – like Pearl Street in Boulder.

 

We had a great visit (including paying honor to those great 1940 Fords – Gene’s great love, and my 1st car out of high school); and, visiting many of the Arcadia Holly Ave. and MAD memories from 1937 forward. I now know why Gene’s nickname is ButterHead. You can also get this story from Fred Garside.

 

 

Gene’s top brag now is about his 16-year old grandson bagging a 750-lb bull elk in Idaho.

 

 

If you can “top” this story be sure to e-mail Gene: genob40@email.com

 

Vicki & I truly enjoyed our visit with Gene & Barbara Bunch and are hoping they will be able to stop by again – as well as some of you guys that havn’t been to this great little town (~120,000) of Grand Junction (junction of the Colorado & Gunnison rivers) as of recent years, or ever.

 

 

Skippy Carmichael sent us a 10 most wanted list/pictures.

Does anybody know who these guys are, or their whereabouts?

 
 
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Ray Brownwood writes to Richard Bradburne (reprinted with permission):

 

I was going thru some old pictures and came across one of my old Fords. It reminded me of the day we (Ray & Richard Bradburne) drove up into the canyon north of Azusa with two other Model A's. I don't remember who they were but we were all kinda racing. We came around this curve that had a very wide dirt area. I think I was trying to pass one of the other cars and got off into the dirt a bit and spun around. You went flying out my right side door and amazingly were able to stay on your feet as you ran to stay alive. What a day. That was a great little car. I bought it when I was 14 for $65.00, had it four years and sold it for $65.00 the day I went into the Air Force. Hope all is well with you and Tillie. I'm getting by OK for now. My liver has expanded to more than four times normal and has occupied all of the space vacated when they removed the lower half of my right lung.

 

E-Mail address for Ray Brownwood: silverfox92111@yahoo.com

 

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To MADCatsAlumni Editor:

My brother-in-Law, Ray Brownwood ('48), recently wrote an interesting story to his family and friends about his WWII experience. I thought it might be of interest to his former classmates, especially those that served their country when he did. You might want to pass it on to the editors of the classes of '47and '48. I'm sure that many of our mates have had experiences that we would ALL would find of interest. When you read about the lives of our former students, it is no wonder we have been dubbed "the Greatest Generation."

Jim Regan                    

Click on following to read letter:

 A Story About Shemya, AK – by Raymond Brownwood
 

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   Click here for something different!!!  

 

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Never too late to have a good idea. Walt Palmer came up with such a good idea he’s turned his Reno, NV townhouse garage into a goldmine of productivity, and finds himself out of retirement mode. He has patents pending covering his basic idea of a flower pot holder. Original, and really neat. Hang it wherever you want.

 

 

Nursery orders have already started coming in. For more information email Walter: pennyslots@sbcglobal.net

 

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We hear from Skippy Carmichael every once in awhile, between his many trips to foreign countries.  You gotta believe this guy is the most internationally famous of our class via his Cornell University status as a Professor of Virology, Emeritus, e.g. Meeting and presentation commitments (all serious stuff) in Italy, Greece, Venezuela, on-and-on; but never forgets his MAD roots and classmates. (lec2@cornell.edu)

 

Dr. Skippy writes:

 

JAYSUS, GEORGE -

YOU SURE PICKED A PIC THAT SHOULD SEND THE TROOPS TO THE TRENCHES (last pic. Posted).  IT WAS THE ONLY HORSE THAT WOULD ACCEPT ME (Merry-go-round horse) .   WHEN WE WERE IN EGYPT 3 YEARS AGO, THE CAMEL-DRIVER REFUSED TO LET ME ON THE BEAST ON THE GROUNDS OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.  SO, I FIXED THE DAMNED CAMEL'S FOOT (STONE IN THE FOOTPAD NEAR THE TOES, INFECTED) AND THE DRIVER CHARGED ME 1 EGYPTIAN POUND FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF TOUCHING HIS FxxKxxG BEAST.

 

HERE'S A RECENT PHOTO FROM MATERA, ITALY - THE PLACE WHERE MEL GIBSON SHOT THAT BLOODY MOVIE "PASSION OF CHRIST":

 

 

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LeRoy Bovey carries a laptop and sends e-mails mostly from Florida, but also occasionally from Shanghai, China where his daughter Renee, stepson, and grandchild live.  LeRoy says he tried ridding a motor scooter in Shanghai traffic but got right-of-ways mixed up and lost out to a truck.  Good news was that emergency hospital treatment, including an MRI, only cost $50.  He had a broken rib and punctured lung, but lived to brag about how little it cost to do it in China.  We enjoyed a visit with LeRoy and wife Della last year after he attended a college reunion in Golden, CO (Colorado School of Mines).  Both he and Della looked good, and LeRoy is still the fun-loving guy we’ve always known. (leebovey@earthlink.net).  

 
 
 
 

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Nancy Lee Kelsey keeps in close touch with her many MAD girlfriends, travels to Flagstaff, AZ quite often where she has a grandchild, and made an Atlantic crossing on the “Queen Mary II” from England shortly before she (the ship) was retired.

 


Picture taken at Lake Tahoe business meeting, left to right, are: Marilyn Doering, Pat Foddrell, Billie Mae Auten, Carol McGlasson, Marilyn Brown (in front of picture), Nancy Lee, Virginia Bower, and Marian Hawkins.

 

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Donald Gallogly is still running his “Slip-&-Snip” machine shop in Sweet Home, Oregon but finds time to more carefully ride his motorcycle, and take wife Alice cruising the western parts of the U.S. and Mexico in their RV motor home. (president@slipnsnip.com)

 

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Johnny Ochoa sold his Hacienda in Mexico (I talked to him) and is now fully retired to Palm Desert – to concentrate on improving his golf game. (bajajgo@verizon.net)

 

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Bob Humble is still the busiest classmate we’ve got, keeping track of MAD’s athletic accomplishments of which you can follow by reading his written reports in the MADCatsAlumni’s Ponderings section. (RIH1930@verison.net)

 

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I talked to Walt Anderson December 12th, 2007. He’s a hard guy to catch between travels to Illinois and California visiting scattered members of his family.

 

 

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True story from ’48 classmate Yzzz (anonymous because of content), reads:

 

George: I remember one night we went to the bar you talked about, which was Chef's Inn, about two blocks E of Rosemead on the S side of Colorado. I think the piano player was named Lou Pepin, who could not read a note of music, but could play ANY tune you wanted to hear. After one or two drinks we picked up a couple broads who lived in S Pasadena. Xzzz (another of our classmates) got in the car with them and I was going to follow to their place. We went west on Colorado at about 1:30 am at about 85 mph all the way to Fair Oaks. Turned south and shortly there were RED lights behind us. They passed me to catch the other car. I turned off on a side street and stopped. A minute or so later I heard "get out of the car with your hands in the air". The cop had his gun drawn on me and scared the shit out of me.

 

He told me to follow him back to the other car. The cop there with the girls and Xzzz was a really nice guy and he told the other one that he was not going to write a ticket. Of course if they didn't get a ticket I wouldn't either. My cop was pissed. My memory is not so good, but I think we both got lucky that night. So the story goes on.  

MAD Classmate Yzzz

 

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- - -  PICTURES  - - -

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~  A FIRST AVENUE CLASS PICTURE    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Who do you know?)

 

 

(MORE PICTURES TO BE ADDED from WHAT YOU CAN SEND)

 

Send Pictures to: gharpole@wic.net