"Bomber Memories"
September 9 & 10, 1998
September 9, 1998
Tom Matthews (57)
One of my earliest Richland memories was from kindergarten at Sacajawea during the 44-45 school year. The teacher warned us not to play with any large balloon's we might find outside and we brought a note home about it. It was probably the only thing the teacher presented that made an impression on me that year. Making volcanos in the large indoor sand box always impressed me more. Much later I learned that the warning was due to the attempt by the Japanese military to send incendiary devices via balloons across the Pacific.
From a book titled "Name on the Schoolhouse" about State of Washington school names, Sacajawea was built and named in the 44-45 school year and by the end of the year had 1521 students enrolled! I'm not sure why I attended Sacajawea since Jefferson was first occupied Sept. 1944 and I attended Jefferson the rest of the time. We lived in the same house at 1300 Haupt from May of 1944 on after staying a week or so in the Desert Inn until the house was ready. My father sent many postcards to my brother and I in Wisconsin while we waited to move out and join him in Richland. He made comments like "There are many girls and boys here and they all have a good time playing in the sand", "Did you have a nice Easter? There are Rabbits out here, big ones" and "You will live close to this river, but it won't be this pretty." (Columbia Gorge photo) "There are a lot of stones on the bank to throw in the river when I'm not fishing".
Teachers at Jefferson I remember: Mrs. Pitts, Mrs. Craft, Mrs. Duncan, Mrs. Gering? (not sure on spelling). Mrs. Drucker(?) - P.E. teacher. Mr. Linn, principal. Mrs. Pearson - art, also later at Chief Jo. Mrs. Gering, 6th grade teacher replaced Miss Zoss who only lasted about a week. She used a bell (the desk push button kind) to get our attention. I believe Mr. Linn came in after only about a week and told us she left when she learned what Hanford was about. There were a few new teachers being added at Jefferson at the time because of the draft for the Korean War which removed the few male teachers we had.
I appreciated Margaret (Peggy) Hartnett's (72) comments about the mushroom cloud and related issues. I do not remember that in the 50's there was any particular emphasis on the "Bomb" and the arms race in high school. After seeing the issue brought up in the Nat. Geographic a some years ago (picture of a "bomber" with his face painted), I looked in the 55, 56 and 57 annuals and could only find a couple of images of the mushroom cloud. More visible was the nuclear atomic symbol. The class ring did have little clouds on them and the bomb mascot was present at sports events, etc. Of course, in the 50's there was no reason to be defensive since the production of plutonium was a given and production of power was a goal.
Vonnie Reed Hoff (60)
I sure remember when.....
The Good Old Days .....
Being sent to the drugstore to test vacuum tubes for the TV
When Kool-Aid was the only other drink for kids, other than milk and Sodas.
When there were only 2 types of sneakers for boys, & girls wouldn't wear them.
When boys couldn't wear anything but leather shoes to school.
When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
When nearly everyone's parents smoked.
When all your friends got their hair cut at the kitchen table.
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
When a dime was a decent allowance, and a quarter a huge bonus.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.
When your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all your teachers wore either neckties or had their hair done, every day.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking....... for free, every time.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
When schools threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed -- and actually did it.
Enjoy,
Cindy Ann Ryan (62)
The name of the Drug store across from CC Anderson's was Thrifty Drug.
Ann Ryan
Janice Pierce Gunter (63)
In regards to Carol Converse Mauer (64) - the drugstore was Downtown Thrifty - which burned down in December/1963. The night it burnt, I had spent all evening wrapping Christmas gifts - Art Meyers was the head pharmacist. These wonderful stories are really jogging the old memory banks....
Carol Wiley-Wooley (63)
As I read all the terrific memories that everyone is writing I regressed to those weird days of Jr. High.... and along with the great memories of Mrs. Edwards (who I actually learned from) and Mrs. Jernigan (I fell in love in her classroom) I remembered the words to that Carmichael fight song??!!
When the Carmichael Cougars fall in line
We're gonna win that game another time
We're gonna sing and yell for blue and white
Because the Cougars team is always full of fight..
We're gonna cheer, cheer, cheer our team right now,
'Cause when we do
We'll show 'em we know how
To make the scoreboard flicker
Hit 'em high!! Hit em' low!!
Cougars GO!!!!!!!!!
I love all the memories that everyone is sharing.... Most of mine were tied up with one boyfriend, except those insane moments in high school when I got sent to the office for my skirt being too short or because I swore at the office machines teacher... (he deserved it!)
I do remember that 1st period P.E. was horrible, especially when we had to go swimming or play the nasty Field Hockey!!.... Pat Hexum was better than anyone! Also the humiliating dancing.... Being a tall girl, I had to be a boy until the "real boys" joined our class.... to this day I can "lead" with the best of them! and God spare me from ever hearing Alleghney Moon again!
I loved working in the office... it was so much better than study hall.. Mr. Anderson didn't understand my outgoing personality in study hall.. thank God Mr. Lyda took pity and let me work in the office!..
There were some really memorable classes....one that was particularly interesting (I think English) had me sitting by Hills, Mathis and Mosteller.... All the girls in that class were happy everyday!...
Along with braces and piano lessons and Rainbow Girls I remember a really great time when the biggest problem I had was a math test...!
CW
Mary Collins Burbage (63)
Does anyone remember Mr. Lyda who was vice principal at the high school. I remember in 1963 when a couple of my friends (who shall remain nameless) and I skipped school to go to the State Tournament. The only way we could get tickets was to buy them from Mr. Lyda. So we found out what hotel room he was in and bravely went up and knocked on his door. He wasn't real happy to see us but did give us the tickets in order to get rid of us. The next Monday I took in an excuse (forged of course) stating I had been sick the previous week. Mr. Lyda informed me that he knew I was in Seattle because he remembered us coming up to his room for the tickets. I accused him of calling my father a liar and he backed down and gave me an excused absence (thank goodness but as you will recall "If you skip school, you will not go thru the graduation line"). That should have been the end of the story. However, in 1969 I was living in Othello with my first husband who was a teacher. Othello announced that they had hired a new superintendent and guess who it was: Thomas Lyda. I had to go a reception for him and my husband proudly informed him that I had graduated from Richland in 1963. Mr. Lyda took one look at me and said "I know you were in Seattle for State Tournament". I admitted he was right and he told me he knew all along I had been lying and then he turned around and walked away. That was our one and only conversation the whole rest of the time I was in Othello. I found the whole thing humorous but my husband didn't. To this day, I am sure he blames me for not getting the head football coach job there!
Maren Smyth (64)
"Big John and Sparky -- who wanted more than ANYTHING to be a REAL boy..." Early 50's Saturday morning radio.... our parents slept...
Tim (62), Tere (65) and I would make "tents" with blankets over the dining room chairs... and march around the house when they played "Teddy Bear's Picnic"... they "looked right into our rooms" -- right thru the radio -- to see if they were clean or dirty -- and would even call out names of those kids whose bedrooms they were looking at... I'd wait to hear my own name -- scared they would see my dirty room. It was around the time I figured out that they would NEVER look into MY bedroom because they only looked into the rooms of kids with ordinary names like TIM... or GARY
Alan Porter (67)
Someone asked about a bomb scare at Chief Jo. As I remember it was 1962. Mike Schoenecke (67) called in 2 or 3 I think. He was having a hard time with his math teacher and then call in a bomb threat to get out of class. He eventually turned himself in and spent the rest of the school year at a school in the Yakima area. He came back the next year and was on the varsity basketball team. Just prior to his Soph year his family moved to Guam. He went on to get a PhD and teach English at the college level.
My family moved to Richland in 1952. We 1st lived at 1325 Farrell Lane and I attended Sacajawea K-1, then we moved to 615 Delafield and I attended L & C 2-3, we then bought a house at 1519 Goethals and I attended Jason Lee for 4 until they changed the boundaries so I went back to Sac. then CJ and then CHS.
As I was driving past Chief Jo I saw that the gym had been named for Toivo Pippo who is one of the most memorable teachers that I had. In health one day he told us the story of when his basketball team (OSU, I think, but could be UO) was invited to play at the NIT in New York. He described the team members as a bunch of farm boys who had no culture and when they were at a fancy restaurant they all watched the coach to figure out which spoon or fork to use. Pippo described how his nice thick steak went flying off his plate across the dance floor.
My other most memorable CJ teacher was Robert Barnard, math teacher, he had one of the best swings when it came to paddles - he certainly made an impression on me. I came to respect and like him a lot, I believe he died a few years ago.
I was one of the thousands that saw JFK and even managed to work my way up to the front of the crowd when he was leaving and had my hand sticking out which he shook. I was in Mrs. Greenfield's Spanish class when we heard of Kennedy's death. That was to be the night of a 9th grade party that was rescheduled. Mrs. Greenfield who also taught girls PE was gone one day and that's when we found out she had been pregnant - it was a surprise to all of us.
In HS the teachers that had the biggest influence was David Harry, band teacher and I believe he played trombone with the Glenn Miller band and Mr Wheeler who was an excellent US History teacher. I could then make another list of teachers who weren't so wonderful.
Rick Maddy (67)
Anybody remember seeing the Russian Sputnik go past in 57?
It is a shame what has happened to guns and kids in our society. We would fill a car trunk with all kinds of rifles, shotguns, ammo, baseball bats, and the like, and bring them to school on Friday's. And after school we would head out and try and get beer, then head for the desert night to shoot those poor jackrabbits that I never see anymore when I visit Richland. And nobody got killed cept the bunnies.
Now and then we [Phil Collins (67) and I with Tim Curd (67) - and at times others] would go up to the Kennewick dump at night to kill rats. We would usually have a girl(s) in the car to turn on the headlights at our command. In solid black of darkness, we would get back to back, toss some crackers, or bread, and patiently wait. When we could hear a generous amount of scurrying all around us, we would bend over, with our butts touching (that's correct - no phobias here), put the gun stock between our knees and our fingers inside the trigger housing for rapid fire. Then yell at the girl(s) in the car to turn on the headlights. We would fan about 15 rounds each out of semi-automatic .22 rifles in a matter of seconds. In the blaze of this incredible din, we would be yelling (it just comes out), the girls were screaming, the rats panicking, some bearing their teeth, or hopping on their hind legs, or my favorite, hissing at us, and sometimes coming at us in attack mode in their confusion. Then we would yell for the girls to turn out the lights. The three of us would quickly stand up back to back in the pitch black silence of the night and just listen to the rats run and clang the cans in the dump during their escape -- and begin reloading.
I will spare you the story about going into the Kennewick Highlands in Ted Edwards' ole man's Sunbeam Tiger and stomping on field mice trapped in the car's headlight's field of vision in the middle of the road.
Thanx
Rick
Greg Kelly (71)
For those of you who were wondering why the name of the school was changed from Columbia High School to Richland High School:
The change had nothing to do with the bomb or with confusion with Columbia Burbank. In the early 70's when it was still officially Columbia High School, the athletes were awarded an "R", the back of the band uniforms said "Richland High School", and one of our favorite cheers was "R-I-C-H-L-A-N-D Richland High!" There was also a big concrete "R" in Bomber Bowl.
The name was changed officially after Hanford High School was opened. There were now two high schools in Richland, hence two Richland high schools. All the old bombers in town and on the school board were afraid that "Richland" high was in danger of losing its identity, so they made the name change official.
(By the way, these are the same people who pretend that the concrete "H" in Fran Rish Stadium stands for High, not Hanford. For those of you who haven't been keeping up, Fran Rish Stadium is the current name for Bomber Bowl.)
Greg Kelly
September 10, 1998
Don McKenzie (56)
Moved to Richland in 1944 to 1208 Mahan and did the Sacajawea, Carmichael route. It was a dramatic year when Chief Jo opened and 1/2 the kids from Sacajawea went north and the other went south. Broke up a lot of friendships. Early memories are family shopping trips Up the Valley to Prosser & Sunnyside to get the Latest & greatest "things". Think the first Shoe x-ray machine was in Sunnyside and that became a BIG destination place. Also there was a bookstore up the Valley and Walla Walla that would be the first to get the latest Hardy Boy books. There was big competition with neighbor Max Case (57) & I to see who could get the latest Hardy Boy book and would hold it until the other had something to trade. Great neighborhood fun, parades, circus's, hide & seek that would include everyone on the block. Originally there were NO fences, it was one BIG back yard. It was a GREAT way to grow up.
Teachers that had impact, good or bad were Ms. Furhman - Latin, Mr. Scott - physics, Mr. Gage - 7th grade home room, Mr. Morris - Typing and Mr. Pappas - Band.. Band, orchestra and choir were a very important part of High School. Several band members went on to professional careers in music.
Ralph Koontz (62)
Re: Carol Converse Mauer's question about the Campbell's south end Market. The store was located at the corner of Jadwin and Comstock. Campbell sold out to the Mayfair chain in '59 or '60 and put a lot of bucks into facility renovation. The south end store opened with some fanfare in the summer of '60 and provided jobs for a number of '62 alums: Jim Heaton, Tom Hemphill, Julie Haag, Wendy Walker and me. There may have been others but I don't remember -- those brain cells are long gone! It was a fun place to work, close enough to home to walk but, of course, everyone drove to work! Does anyone remember returning soda or beer bottles back to the store for the deposit so you could buy gas for cruisin'? Or how about the fact that in those days you couldn't buy beer or wine on Sunday -- legally? Anyway, sometime in the 70's Mayfair closed the store (and I believe their entire chain) then later a church moved into the facility. A few years ago the building burned to the ground but the church built a new structure on that site.
Cheers,
Ralph Koontz
Ann McCue Hewett (63)
Okay...I have to join in about the mosquito fogger. Anyone else remember "DDT---P U E"! What great sport it was - biking in the fog, yelling that rhyme - and loving every minute.
Does anyone else remember Mr. Wright, "When I was a boy in Alaska" -- 6th grade teacher at Jefferson? Don't know how many years he was there. Didn't teach us much, if I remember, but told some good stories.
Must get back to the real world. Have a great day!
Ann McCue Hewett
Linda Belliston Boehning (63)
Someone mentioned Johnny's Delicatessen that was in the Uptown Shopping Center. I also remember Dick & Jerry's Fine Foods. I know it was on the East side of the Uptown also but not sure where. Does anyone know? We used to live on Hunt Street, right across from the Uptown, and across from the little park that all the kids in the neighborhood nicknamed "The Willows" because of all the Willow trees that were there. Most of them are gone now. I remember how quiet it was on Sunday's at the Uptown and how the parking lots were empty, as all the stores were closed then on Sunday's.
How about the "Party Lines". You shared a telephone line with at least one or two or more neighbors. It was always tempting to eavesdrop on their conversation once in awhile. There was always the neighbor, who would pick up the phone and say they had an emergency to get you off the phone when you were talking to your friends.
Twin City Creamery. I have a Twin City Creamery milk bottle with the Phone # 131, "Best in the West" and Pasco, Kennewick on it.
I used to be a car-hop at A & W Drive In, working first for Mr. Hunter, and then Mr. Howard. We had to wear little orange & black hats and we used the belt money changers. We had to add up the orders we took in our head, no calculators, and our boss would go over our receipts every night, and if we had added wrong, he would take it out of our paycheck. I think Baby burgers were 20 cents, mama's were .35, teens .45 and papa's .55. There were the A&W specials which was a hamburger with ham, and someone mentioned the Steak Sandwich which was one of my favorites too. Hamburgers were made with only pickles, onions, and mustard, and in the later years, they changed to a special sauce instead and took away all the family burgers. They went down hill not long after that and finally closed. They should have left it alone while it was good.
How about Smitty's Pancake House? Where a lot of us took our mother's on Mothers Day. A stack of pancakes were .60 and a Ham and Cheese Omelet was only 1.20.
Don Winston (63)
To Greg Boyd...
Sorry you swooned over the Lung Cancer film. I'm sure Leslie was very impressed. You've always had that effect on the ladies, have you not?
To Dianne Ingalls Frost (67)...
You referred to Mr. Sawyer's red ties, which implies he had more than one. Maybe he bought another one between '63 and '67?
To Marc Leach..
I think Redmond's ride was a Borgward Isabella Kombi. A fine German machine -- probably a classic now. 1493 cc, 60 HP, 4 on the column. Speaking of obscure German automobiles, Jim Hamilton -- Although you probably wouldn't admit it, didn't you have a DKW (ring-a-ding-ding)? Or was that someone else (besides me, I mean). Three cylinders, two cycle, mix the oil and gas. Life was great -- your very own DDT machine (less the DDT).
Later,
Don Winston
Tony Sharpe (63)
When it comes to any apologetics about what Hanford's rightful place in history is, the only attitude should be "Right On". There is absolutely no remorse in this person's heart about plutonium or the "bomb" that it was used in.
Does anyone doubt that if that maniac, Hitler, had come up with it first, he would have used it on Western Europe and the USA if he could have delivered it there. War is hell, and if you start one as the Japanese did, you had better be prepared to pay the consequences. We lost more men in the Pacific theatre than in all of Europe, and who knows what an invasion of Japan would have cost. If it had taken 3 bombs to bring Japan back to her senses, then that is what should have been done. In war, the Only thing that counts is who wins, being humane went out with Atilla the Hun.
I am proud that my father was involved in the construction of all those Reactors that are now "mothballed". I am extremely proud to have grown up in the grand experience that Richland was and still is to a lesser extent. I would be equally proud if the School Insignia were a Mushroom Cloud, a Bomb or a B-52 Bomber.
SEMPER BOMBERUS
Tony Sharpe, Irradiated, Downwinded, and Proud to be counted a "BOMBER"
Patti McLaughlin Cleavinger (65)
Finally, someone else who enjoyed Big John and Sparky! Did you see them when they came to Pasco High School? I was dumbstruck to discover that Sparky was a cardboard puppet instead of a little boy! When I was 21 years old and studying in London, I encountered another student who had listened to the radio program. He threw himself on the floor screaming, "No! No! Don't say that!" when I tried to tell him the truth about Sparky!
I also loved The Cinnamon Bear holiday series.
And, I remember Gunsmoke and The Shadow and Burns & Allen and The Lone Ranger and . . . .
Rod Brewer (65)
Re: Rick Maddy (67) asked about Russian Sputnik going by in '57
Yes, Rick Maddy, I remember clearly standing outside in my front yard with the whole family, watching that dot of light slowly move across the sky.
Rod
Patti Eckert Weyers (68)
Mr. Williams in 9th grade was a treat as he and his teacher wife were my neighbors on Van Giesen Street. My first real initiation into a public school. The freedom was unbelievable coming from CK, but I was consumed with horses and riding and competing. The Col Hi lunches were 30 minutes and we scrambled to get to the car, (boyfriend Nick Koontz and myself) and get to the Arctic Circle for our lunch, costing only 50 cents. Sometimes less than 30 cents for two!!! Zips was the in place to cruise and chat, but for the quickie lunch for a bargain price, and the sauce was great, the Arctic Circle was our place.
Cheers-- Patti Eckert Weyers ('68)
Lois Clayton Colton (72)
Some of my favorite summer evening memories are of drinking "Fizzies" and eating popcorn and watching the birds and bats eating bugs. I also remember "Funny Face" drinks.
My mom and dad walked through Thrifty Drug the night before it burned down and said they smelled a hot electrical smell. They told the manager or someone, but either they didn't take them seriously or couldn't find the problem. That was sad.
I remember the day that we gathered in the old theater downtown to celebrate 25 years of Richland. They gave out a lot of door prizes. I managed to win one. :-)
I remember going as a family to a Ham Radio get together south of Howard Amon Park. We drove down the dirt road and had to drive through a puddle that came up to the door of our '50 Studebaker.
I also remember the day they opened up the road to Vernita to the public. My father had us all go out there. I remember you couldn't take pictures of anything you saw along the way. I did take a picture of the Vernita Ferry. Putting your car on the ferry was an experience.
I remember the day that the old Richland High School building was knocked down. I used to play with the klinkers during recess.
Thanks for all the memory jogs.
Lois Clayton Colton
