E-mails (latest first)

Last update: 01/09/2012  

From Herman Brown, December 24, 2011:

Hi All,

From our home to your home:

We are wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season and a healthy New Year.

We had a great Thanksgiving with our little family (all 8 of us), and are looking forward for a repeat right after the first of the year.

Later, Herman and Cecelia.

PS. Here is a picture of us taken right after we received a pair of a handmade mushroom ornaments (Porcinis)

From Marilyn Lyon Hancock, August 22, 2010:

Hi Herman,

Here are some pictures from the gathering to celebrate Linda Peterson's life. Her sister Barbara hosted a dinner at Paul Martin's American Bistro
in El Segundo on August 14th. It was a very nice evening sharing our experiences with Linda over the years. You were missed. Kathy printed,
enlarged and framed the picture of you and Linda during the 50th week-end. Very cute! 

M

From Vince Fennell, July 7, 2010:

Herman, you are doing God's work. You have brought the MCHS Class of '57 back to life, and sustained its current existence and it will be to your eternal credit. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed your website and its treasure trove of photographs going back over 60 years in many cases. You have preserved forever the legacy of a bunch of kids thrown together a long time ago in a special place many of whom have remained close and that have a special bond, that I think is very rare in this world. God Bless You!

Love, Vince Fennell

From Gail Mungen Burnet, June 2, 2010

Thought you might like to see this. I had forgotten all about our publication, "Reflections". Fun to see the names of those of us who worked so hard on it.

This is from Terry Atherton Studebaker. She was in the class of '58. Reflections 1, Reflections 2

Gail B

From Jack Eastman, April 22, 2010

It's been a while since I howled into the wind and let all the folks, fugitives from Mira Costa (many of you languishing in the warm sun of tropical California, while I'm shoveling a bunch of cold white stuff!) escapees from the Griffith Observatory, various geology and astronomy clubs out there and everywhere.

All is going well with me, as I have said in the past, retirement is definitely agreeing with me. I take demonic pleasure in making that known when I run into, especially, X-bosses who are still submerged in that 4-letter word, "work".

I really enjoy the stuff that some of you send out this way, especially the humor. Keep it coming! Ya gotta have a sense of humor, as they say "An apple a day keeps the doctor away, a giggle a day keeps the shrink away. And an onion a day keeps everybody else away"

It seems that 2009 lasted about a month and a half. New Years and all and then it happened again. Way too fast. '09 began warm and dry and allowed a fair amount of cycling, I think I had about 200 miles by the middle of Feburary. Not so this year, cold and just enough snow to keep the roads icy when it would otherwise be a good time to ride. I haven't perfected a technique for riding on ice. So far the best I can do is to go back inside and practice a bit of Chemistry... make up a batch of Margaritas and not worry about the ice, except that floating around in my glass.

Astronomy has been alive and well, we do an enormous amount of public outreach over at Denver University. The bad part is that almost every monthly open house at the Chamberlin Observatory has been clouded out. We still open the place up and put on presentations and give tours through the place. A couple years ago the complete renovation and restoration of the building was finished. What a nightmare. We'll repaint the place, put in new light fixtures, fix stuck windows etc. Guess again! When this sort of project is undertaken, we need to bring everything in the place up to code; plumbing, electrical and all. I don't think cloth insulated wiring from the 1890's would pass muster. All in all, things worked out and the place is really nice. I don't think the Chamberlin website has been updated yet. That needs to be done. Now it's the telescope's turn. The poor thing has got arthritis of the clamping, fine adjustment and driving system. I doubt it's seen any lubrication since 1917, when it was last overhauled, and it is acting up. We can still use it, but it needs to be pushed along by hand to follow the sky. A pain for a 5-ton really old telescope. Since the first edition of this, we held a telescope butchering party and I'm happy to report the telescope has been cured. We pulled the entire mechanism for the RA slow motion and clamp out and my theory seemed like the answer, no lubrication since 1917, what oil there was in there had clotted up. We tried high vacuum grease with bad results, so out it came again, this time light motor oil. Success. Light oil? Maybe a snootful of Kerosene would be in order. Much of the mechanism is inside the telescope tube, I'd be afraid of anything that'd outgas and get goo on the back of the lens. (Howcome the spectra of that quasar shows absorption of hydrocarbons? Looks like kerosene!) Kerosene? Carla Johns,* who recently moved from Colorado to the Land of Perpetual Smog, is, among many other things, training to operate the historic 100" at Mt. Wilson says that part of the operation of that 'scope is climbing over the mount to lube the declination slow motion with kerosene. (Just don't pour it on the mirror!) The mystery of the loose bolt or whatever that's been rattling around inside the telescope was also solved. Aaron, the observatory manager, fished out the loose bolt and it proved to be a pin out of an internal U joint on the RA clamp shaft. More butchery, and we did get into that part of things, with difficulty. Good thing too! of the 3 remaining pins two were ready to fall out. I can just see it. we sew up the patient, Charlie goes back to Grand Junction and we point the telescope at something and clamp it just as the U-joint fails and we can't move the 'scope! Good thing we did the extra surgery. Telescope? This was much more like operating on the rear axle assembly of a big old Kenworth or the like. Everything else seems to be OK, and the seeing that night (Tuesday) was good, lots of detail on Mars, several double stars and Saturn were all good views.

I got roped into the Board of Adjustment and Appeals for my fair city, Sheridan, on the promise they only meet once or twice a year. First year we met, public hearing on a fence location. That one lasted 16 minutes. More recently, however, we've had about 6 meetings. The most convoluted was still under an hour. It's interesting, trying to figure out how the city operates. City Council, on the other hand is a real can of snakes. I've respectfully declined that hornet's nest. (If you run for office, be sure you can run really fast, lest you get caught)

A couple of weeks ago I was at a friends for eats and all and tried my hand at his flight simulator. Jerry, and some of you who have or have had an interest in flying will get a kick outta this. First was a Cessna 182. Also, I might add, no rudder. After going all over the field (it was L.A. International) I finally got into the air. All was good after that, except I couldn't see out forward if the dashboard was showing. Well, I flew instruments, set a course (so I thought) to Catalina, forgetting that the bearings are magnetic, not true. I got there but couldn't remember the elevation of the runway, I seem to recall 2500 ft. or so. I couldn't seem to hit the runway,turn off instruments and try visually. No good, line up on the heading (I thought got me aimed correctly) no good. I forgot the runway number lacks the last number of the heading, runway 22 is at 220 or so, magnetic, 4 is 40. Oh well, my final landing attempt looked really funny, what's that funny cloud overhead that looks like a runway? Glance at the altimeter--1600 feet. Turns out the field was at 2606. Oh damn, wrinkled the airplane a bit. Next was a 737. Easy takeoff roll and climb and all, but a mess when we got to Denver. Couldn't find the airport and I'm sure we flew through several mountains! Oh well, more practice!!

I'm still addicted to the annual Riverside Telescope Maker's Conference out at Camp Oakes near Big Bear. For me it's more of a reunion with many of the old cronies I bummed around with while I was a prisoner of the Land of Perpetual Smog. This last year I tried a new one, the Okie-Tex starparty near Kenton Oklahoma.* It was great, a lot of fun even though the weather was, for the most part, stinko.

November brought another "The Night the Stars Fell" commemoration of the 1833 Leonid meteor shower. A scrumptious dinner and a great lecture (and book signing) by Mark Littmann, author of Heavens on Fire, a terrific book about the Leonid shower, meteoritics and a tad of celestial mechanics. A foot and a half of snow in the courtyard and really cold compromised the setting up of our telescopes.

Speaking of books, I always thought V. M. Slipher, of the Lowell Observatory, really got the short end of the horn when it came to the expanding universe of Hubble fame. Slipher did all the pioneering work discovering the red-shifts of "white- or spiral- nebulae in about 1914 or so. He did this with only a 24" telescope, and I feel he got cheated out of proper credit for this. I often thought of writing an article about this, but, alas, procrastinitis (I suffer from a most severe case of procrastinitis. No known cure, so drink beer and live with it!) being what it is I never got around to it. To my surprise (and great pleasure) there was an article in Sky and Telescope last summer, "The Man who Expanded the Universe" by Marcia Bartusiak. Exactly what was needed to properly place credit. It turns out that was excerpted from her book "The Day we Found the Universe" One of the best books I've read in a very long time. Well written, not all that technical, a fine history of the mystery of spiral nebulae from William Parson's observations in the 1840s to Hubble in 1924 and the ramifications of this work into the 1930s. A fine piece of writing


Last Summer, Laura Ellen Dafoe gave the club a talk on the Descent Imaging Spectral Radiometer (DISR) which went to Saturn's big moon, Titan along with the Cassini Mission. Laura was the Senior Staff Systems Engineer on that instrument and we roped her into giving two talks, one a few years ago where she described the instrument and the one last year where she talked about the science we have gotten back. What made this special was the Principal Investigator, Dr. Marty Tomasko, from the U. of Arizona showed up, as well as a few of the others who worked on the project. John Flemming, Program Manager, didn't show up, and caught grief for his absence. He said he forgot about it until the following week. I wish he'd been there, I was gonna nominate him for "Cat Herder of the Decade" for keeping all us troublemakers in line and seeing to it the project succeeded. Just last month Laura Ellen and Mark Dafoe hosted a real reunion party with all of us that are still wiggling in attendance. That was a great party. most of the participants were retired, but a few still haven't been paroled.

O.K, I again see I've babbled on and on, it's time to slide off and stuff my face. I hope all of you are well and things are going your way. Something to the effect of "May the trail rise up to meet you and the wind be always at your back, and not of your own making..."

Cheers FJE

* Article, Okie-Tex http://www.denverastrosociety.org/newsletters/NOVEMBER2009forweb.pdf p. 4 or so

* Article, Carla Swartz/Johns talk re: Griffith and Mt Wilson http://www.denverastrosociety.org/newsletters/January2010forweb.pdf Also P. 4

P.S. RTMC or Bust!!

From Kathy Ainsworth (Diane Lingo), March 08, 2010

Hi Herman- 

Well its been 20 years since the 30-year reunion and more than 50 years since graduation.  I look at my kids that are starting to go into their 50's and I am beginning to feel my 70 years. I have 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren, with one on the way.  

Its amazing to watch the life cycle and see what you have started.  I have been married to my third husband for 20 years.  He has 2 children in their 40's. His son lives in San Diego, his daughter in Washington State.  My oldest daughter lives in Oceanside, CA. My oldest son lives in Vista, CA. My youngest daughter lives in Gilbert, AZ and my youngest son lives in Manchester, TN. I am living in Mesa, AZ.

We are enjoying our retirement. Golf, bowling and traveling have been our agenda, my husband has had some health setbacks so that fun stuff has been scaled back. I have an account on Facebook if you are interested in becoming a friend.  Happy to hear you are doing well.

I have been using my first name Kathryn (Kathy) for so many years most everyone knows me by that name, so if I sign an e-mail with Kathy, you will know why.

Kathy Ainsworth (Diane Lingo) katydiane1@cox.net

From Laura Le (Smith) Dreyfus, March 3, 2010

Subject:  50/60's era

Hi Herman

I thought you might enjoy this. Thanks for all the work you do to keep the class informed. Laura

50/60's era pictures

From Jack Eastman, November 30, 2009:

Hey, everyone!

All has been going good out here in the Land of Thin Air and Occasional Frostbite. Retirement has been treating me well so far, still kicking and squealing. Weather is now becoming a bit unsettled, we can have 70-degree days followed by 20-degree nights and, seemingly without skipping a beat, a foot of snow the next day! Then back to warm, the cold white stuff melting away in a couple of days. Big plus of leisure, no digging the car out in order to get to work (there's that 4-letter word again) go back to bed and to hell with it. Unless, of course, there's nothing to eat in the house, and more seriously, the beer locker's empty. Gotta learn to plan ahead!

In times past I used to take some vacation time and with the company's holiday shutdown, head for Palm Springs to thaw out for the holiday. Surprisingly enough, in the dead of winter around here we get the Chinook winds, like the Santa Ana's of California, and it can warm up into the mid to upper 60s. That'll usually melt the snow and allow for some good bike rides. The only problem is that sometimes the wind is a bit much.

Astronomy is still alive and well, with many public outreach events at the University of Denver's 115 year old observatory. Also our local astronomy shop (S&S Optika) has evening starparties a couple of times a month. They just (just? a year and a half ago!) moved to a new location with a large field out back for setting up 'scopes. The best part is we start off with a piggout at Don Carlos' Mexican eatery. One of the best in the area!

Went out to the panhandle of Oklahoma in September to an astronomical campout in the middle of nowhere. Weather was a bit messy, but we had a great time anyhow. Also a gastronomical pleasure, with volunteers from the local historical society cooking huge meals for us. They clearly didn't want anyone croaking of hunger on the campground. See below, I think it's page 4:

www.thedas.org/newsletters/NOVEMBER2009forweb.pdf

Also, at www.thedas.org site are some other of my ramblings in the newsletters and schedules of events, should any of be out this way.

Music? Yes still have an avid appreciation for music and am still an associate (means I give 'em money and promise, with all my heart, not to try to play anything) of the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, a local community orchestra. The Black Hand Drum Ensemble came over here to the library and put on a nifty show, involving African culture and music as well as some of the folksongs and spirituals sung by the slaves, and instructing them to "Wade in the Water" making tracking harder, Follow the Drinking Gourd", head North, follow the stars of the Big Dipper. They had us all sing and play whatever rhythm instruments they had. I told Gill "you don't want me to sing. My singing is used as a bear repellant in camp!"

Egads! My time's up, so I'll sign off for now. Hope all is well with all of you and yours. More to come in a while...

Sorry, I'll miss the Christmas Lunch, it's a hell of a bike ride from here, and I haven't perfected the art of riding on ice quite yet.

Cheers, and have a terrific Holiday Season! 

FJE, Still the Furry Faced Photon Herder, Emeritus. 

From Herman Brown, November 26, 2008:

Hi All,

Here is our Thanksgiving "card" for this year:

http://www.brownthird.com/movies/turkeys-2008.wmv

Love, Herman and Cecelia

From Gil Archuletta, November 13, 2008:

Subj: Meeemmmmooorrrieeeessss .... do you remember when ... Memories

From Edna (Butler) Irons, September 25, 2008:

Hi Herman,

I spent three days with Anita Klein (Luchessi) when I visited other friends in Oregon this summer. I don't think we stopped talking for the entire time and probably could've used another day or two -- it's great that the tongue never wears out, ha! It was absolutely wonderful catching up on all the intervening years since we'd last seen each other -- about 25 years. I drive up once a year and am already looking forward to our next visit. She occasionally comes this direction, and has a standing invitation to visit any time in Lompoc. The help I received from the site was invaluable. Thanks for all you do. 

Edna

From Laura Lee (Smith) Dreyfus, July 9, 2008:

Herman:  Thank you so much for the wonderful updates.  I feel that I am disconnected by living so far from the Manhattan Beach area, but your web site makes me feel close. If ever anyone from our class is coming to Wash. DC, or this way, please come see us. We have plenty of room. Thanks again for the good work. 

Laura Smith Dreyfus.

From Nick Comitas, June 29, 2008:

Hi Herman and Cecelia,

My wife Sue and I enjoyed watching the slide show of Val's recent visit with you. It looks like you all had a great time and I must admit I felt sad seeing Val leaving at the airport.

Val has that happy refreshing smile and attitude that I wish I had more often.

Your home looks warm and comfortable and the area around your place looks like fresh air and fairly untouched by the industrial world. A very good thing I must say.

Like many of us, because of you and the MCHS website you set up for the 50th reunion; have rekindled our lost friendships and are communicating again. 

Keep up the wonderful work and thank God for putting Cecelia in your life.

Your Friends,
Nick and Sue Comitas 

From Laura D, June 24, 2008:

Hey Herman....

I particularly related to your statement in your MICOHI update Email, “We didn't know Val very much at Micohi, but both Cecelia and I have become close friends with her as a result of the reunion site, our recent 50th class reunion, and lots of emails.”  Hasn’t it been so incredible, Herman, how true this has been many times over since last Oct.?!?!  It certainly has been for me & I can’t find words to adequately express what it has meant to me in such a deep & profound way..... 

Signing off for now, Laura D

P.S. I liked the “Mike Ormsby, smiling” caption (in the Lyon-Hancock mini-reunion section, hb). Certainly made me laugh. 

From Web Whitlock, May 2, 2008:

Hi Herman

Thanks for all your hard work. I enjoy our website very much.

One correction on your most recent effort, Lost. The person listed as Gary Hurt is actually the picture of John Hurst.

I believe he went by Jack. I knew him slightly from track. The only reason noticed is I went to grammar school with Gary Hurt and although I don't recall what he looked like that picture didn't seem to be him.

Most of all I was glad not to see my picture there.

Web

From Bernie Haskins Borges, May 1, 2008:

Aloha Herman: Thank you sooo much for this slide show of our "lost" classmates. It is very touching and also very very hard to watch and not have tears develop as each picture passes by. My deepest sympathy goes to each of their family members that are still with us. Thank you again for all your time and effort in keeping us in touch with one another through your e-mails.. Aloha Nui Loa and bless you and yours.

Berni (Haskins) Borges

From Val (Bryne) Gilbert, February 1, 2009, from a reply about Bruce Hampton's coming to the reunion:

Herman,

I know that he was very happy that he came.  So many of his old friends.  Also he was able to visit the house he lived in for three years.  He said it had not changed a bit.  He got to go inside and was surprised to see that the screen door was the one he put on.  The kitchen cabinets still had the coat of paint he had applied over 50 years ago. Amazing!  He said it was a rush back in time for him.  Left him a little dizzy. One can only imagine. His last memory was of the fight he had with his parents when they told him they where moving to the Valley and he would miss his junior year. My folks let him come back for the Senior year.  He lived in our guest house in the back yard which he shared with my brother who was home on weekends from college.  I had forgotten a lot of this.

Memories, memories, what would we do without them.  Good or bad, they add up to the sum of our experiences, which make us hopefully stronger but surely the man or woman we become.  Lots to ponder.  All stimulated by this wonderful event.

Your friend, Val

From Jack Eastman, January 14, 2008:

Herman

Good to see this wormhole is letting stuff through, unmolested by the cyberworms. Poked around in the MCHS stuff on your site last week -- GREAT stuff. Keep it coming! Your list of contacts is truly appreciated. Forgot to bring the short list of folks responsible for putting together the Great Reunion, maybe next time. I think I have a mind like a steel sieve! 

If you think about it, send a note to the guilty parties to the effect that I thought it was a terrific reunion, made my 2007. Also the dinner date up in Arcadia that lasted 3 days (Highly recommend Peppers, across from Santa Anita race track (when there isn't an army of undisciplined kids present)) 

Probably won't impress you, after the dose of snow the Sierras got, but for the beach dwellers, we're freezing up here. Got up to 29F, supposed to get to upper 40s today and tomorrow, then back into the deep freeze.

Cheers-n-Beers, FJE

From Rosemari (Russell) Reimers-Rice, January 12, 2008:

Herman,

I noticed that you still have my maiden name on the now picture. I also have been inducted on the Surfers Walk of Fame this last June  My name is on the Hermosa Beach Pier, with other well known surfers.

I am married to Johnny Rice who did graduate from Mira Costa in 1956. He is a master surfboard shaper and has been since 1954.

We have been married for about 20 years now. We dated in high school for 2 years. I guess that is what kept me in the surfing circle.

I am a friend of Marcia Schatan and have been since the early 50's. I noticed that she had sent some photo's of her. That's good. Even though she didn't graduate from Mira Costa, all of her friends came from that high school.

I guess that is it for now.

Rosemari Reimers-Rice 
(Some pictures at http://www.johnnyrice.com/RosemariRice.html, Herman)

From Val (Byrne) Gilbert, October 16, 2007:

What can I say but thank you. This is incredible! I must say, had it not been for you and your web site, I probably would not have come. You enticed us, and the hook was to get us involved. Go get some old pictures, anything, send it to me and I will put it up for all to see. Once you got me thinking about the past and looking through those old dusty boxes, I was hooked emotionally. Last weekend released a host of wonderful memories. Each day a fleeting thought would bubble up and give me such a warm happy feeling about all our lives. Memories can be precipitated by many stimuli; a smell, color, a voice. Last weekend filled my senses. For me the hugs, a dance, someone taking your hand and making you feel important. I have only a couple of e-mail address, Herman, but please thank all who worked so hard on this wonderful event. 

Val

From Denny Barton, September 20, 2007:

Herman, thanks for the web site. It sent me into nostalgia mode about living in Hermosa Beach. I too would like pictures and info about North School and grade school class mates. You no doubt have talked to Linda Skelton. Others you probably remember were: Sharon Blackwell, Henry Ford, Wayne Ballard, Denny Seawright, Terry Huff, and Joe Manary. 

Joe and Terry are listed as MCHS '56 grads but Joe and I were class clowns who frequently felt the wrath of Mrs O' Dell in our 3rd grade class. Mrs O' Dell - what a great teacher! Sorry to hear about Claudia Rhind passing on, she was really special. Claudia, David Skinner, and I were kind of pals and I think Claudia probably had a lot of photographs including class group pictures. We always exchanged valentines and wallet size pictures as was the tradition back then and she always had ton of them from everyone. Her brother John [MCHS '55] may be a good source of information. Doctor Rhind [Claudia's dad] delivered my son in '64 and Claudia mentioned to my wife [during pediatric office visits] how fun grade school was with Denny. I really appreciated hearing that. 

I will join the H.B. Historical Society and provide a little history about the Green Store, since I lived just a few doors away and was a fixture there for several years until my family moved to Manhattan Beach - what a bummer move that was. 

My wife and I have a nice home in Costa Mesa but I still miss everything about Hermosa except the surf. Surfing on our southwest facing beaches is much better and allows us old surfer dudes to still paddle out - and that's about all I can do is paddle. A minor note - Fred Burris an old camping buddy who recently passed away was noted on the web, but his birth date was omitted . It was 7-3-38.

I will remind Chris Bader of what a gourmet cook he wasn't, when he, Fred and I camped out in Topanga Canyon in '53/54. I spent 30 years in information systems, programming applications software and managing I.S. departments, and until now haven't looked at a computer screen since retiring in '94. So until I add the right hardware and become more adept on this laptop I just bought, I will use the post office and mail you anything I find on North School and related topics. Hope You and Cecelia are doing well. 

Den

From Bruce Hampton, September 25, 2007:

Herman,

I finally got to the web site but went there thinking the whole reunion thing wasn't really relevant to me; after all who did I really know anymore and what effect did they have on my life. Well I was wrong. There they were, photo after photo, message after message from people that did matter in my life, perhaps for only a short time, but importantly and some changed my life. The Center Street School class photo blew me away and took me back to another time...a shy kid tripping over his own feet but invited to Jean Lindesmith's birthday party...I was the 'new kid' and wish I could tell her how important that was! I started to remember the surrogate families; Val Newell's dad...Jeff Plough's Mom and Dad...the Byrne's. Really important people; Diane and especially Val. So many teachers but Jean (Swain) Forbath with whom I later sat on a homeless shelter board in the 80's and 90's. I still remember her statue of Minerva that seemed to have a perennial moustache...that may have been Jeff's work. Along with Jeff of course was Skip Stratton, his e-mail reminded me of some adventures.

One of the last was after graduation, it was fall, no one on the beach, and we were body surfing some bad stuff. Big, one on top of another and vertical...to this day I don't know how we survived. I'm glad to see he still surfs...means the bodily parts are still attached! I seem to recall he was also in my MG the night we decided to drive out the Manhattan Beach Pier and take several circles around the house. Didn't get caught but sure had some surprised fishermen. 

The little memories are full as well, Joe Silk, nice to see your words. I should save some of the more interesting stories...skin diving in Baja with a side trip for an evening in the Ensenada jail...beer under the seats at a football game at Redondo Hi; may have been Doty, Plough and Stratton. Cheap hamburgers, 25-cent gas, good friends, a wonderful town...still small. Could it have been a better time?

Bruce Hampton 

From Skip Stratton, September 20, 2007

Greetings Herman:

I've been looking forward our 50th and getting together with old friends. Since leaving Hermosa in 1972 my wife Tracey (MCHS '62) and I have lived in Mission Beach, San Diego. We have 3 children and 7 grandchildren. I've retired from our family-owned business which my wife and youngest son now run. I like to play golf, fly fish, and I still surf occasionally. There are quite a few old South Bay ex-pats down here and many of us get together (along with some old La Jolla Wind 'n Sea friends) every Tuesday morning in Cardiff for coffee and talk. It's really a history lesson of 40's and 50's surfing adventures.

If you would be interested, I have a restored 1957 Chevy that I would like to bring to the reunion. Would it be possible to park it near the entrance to the Saturday night gathering to help rekindle the memories of what all our old wheels meant to us 50 years ago? Let me know.

Regards,

Skip Stratton 

From Jim Stewart, September 14, 2007:

Hi Herman,

Yes, I'm still working, mostly out of necessity, but I enjoy the rat race. 

I spent about 27 years in IT. I got into programming in 1961 at North American Aviation, in El Segundo. I tried several other businesses, including commercial diving for sea urchins off the channel Islands. In 1990, My wife and I move to Washington State, and I went into the shellfish business, growing manila clams and pacific oysters. That business failed in 2004, as did the myriad of other businesses that I tried. I'm a was much better programmer than a business person. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every minute of it, money was never very important to me. 

The computer technology has pretty much passed me by and it's impossible to find a company that wants a trainee that's over 65. In fact it's pretty hard to find any company that wants an employee that is over 65. For the last year I've been doing temporary work, mostly warehouse jobs. But I recently got lucky. I am starting a new career with the IRS in their Seattle call center on October first. I'm jazzed!

You chose a beautiful place to live, I've been near Greenville in route to Nevada, and I loved the hills above Santa Barbara. I used to drive up to a road that turned into a ridge route, and provided an incredible vista on both sides. I think that on a clear day you can see at least four of the channel islands.

In the attached picture, I'm standing on our upper deck. We have a peek at the Puget Sound and Vashon Island.

I'm looking forward to seeing the reunion pictures.

Jim 

From Nick Comitas, September 6, 2007:

Herman,

Thanks for the update from Gil regarding the number of classmates who will be coming.

Like Joe, due to the MCHS site and this event, I have rekindled a few lost friendships and am looking forward to seeing those can make it there.

Nick

From Joe Silk, September 4, 2007:

Herman,

Just wanted to pop-off a quick e-mail to you to thank you for your efforts on the 50th Reunion website (really great website, informative, and interesting, and user friendly).

I was aware that it would be 50 years since high school, but since I left in late '57 I didn't really feel that I had much connection to the people from MCHS. That seems a bit strange, in as much as I have returned to Manhattan Beach every September (during the years that I was in the U.S.) for the past 50 years to "Hit The Surf". I won't go on and on about where I have been and what I have done over the past 50 years, but I have seen some pretty great beaches and rideable waves. None the less, Manhattan Beach will always be part of my soul.

Any way, over the past couple of weeks I have visited the website on numerous occasions checking the various photo sections and e-mails The excellent website and the effort put in by the various people have kind of rekindled a little bit of a lost connection for me. The sadness of the "lost ones" and the unexpectedly high number that have passed (unexpected possibly because I have a firm resolve to never wear my glasses when I look into the mirror. Blurred is good! ).

The pictures of the elementary classes are amazing, for many of the kids are very recognizable to me from how they looked at MCHS. It was also great to see photos of old football buddies like Nick Comitas, Trent Castricone, Chris Bader, and Ron Bukowski. At this point in time I'm not real keen on photos of myself, but if they have "stepped up to the bar", I guess that I can do the same. I'll send the only recent ones that I have. Feel free to post one, or more, or none, as you see fit.

I was touched by Nick's e-mail and hope that his families thought that attending would be a good way to represent those that have gone. Haven't figured out if I am going to go yet (I know, not much time left), but I already have reservations for the middle of September for my annual "Manhattan Hit The Surf" trip. Either way, thanks for all of your efforts and I wish you all the best.

Joe Silk 

From Nick Comitas, August 27, 2007 (a reply to my email below):

Herman,

You're right. We have lost so many, and Greeks love hugs. And I'm like you, if I decide to go I will plan to start at Chris Bader's house and go as far as my energy allows. My entire family is encouraging me to go, and they say MCHS was a big part of my life and I was a big part of our class of 1957.

They told me to represent those that cannot make it or have gone. I have some photos and items I would like to share that others may have lost or not seen. Do you know if their is going to be a picture board?

Thank you for your thoughts,

Nick Comitas

From Herman Brown, August 27, 2007 (edited):

Hi Nick,

Yes, we plan to be there for everything!

Remember, it will probably be the last time for you to see some of your classmates. We have lost too many already. I want to see whoever is still alive! Maybe even get a hug or two! 

Good luck and hope you do decide to come.

Herman

From Bernard Connolly, August 19, 2007:

1. Full name including the name used in the 1957 Hoofprints? Bernard F. Connolly
2. Email address? bfconnolly@aol.com
3. Mailing address? 30270 Sunland Way, Tehachapi, CA 93561
4. Can we include a link to your email address on the reunion web site?  Yes.
5. Can we include your current city and state of residence? Yes.
6. Do you have any contact information for any of those listed on the Missing list? No.
7. Do you have any names to add to the Lost Ones list? No.
8. Comments? I retired in 2005 from the Federal Service with almost 29 years service, over 18 with the Navy at China Lake and 10 with the United States Attorney's Office in Hammond, Indiana.  I am active as the co-owner of Coldwell Banker Best Realty, with offices in Ridgecrest, California City, and Tehachapi, CA.