"Bomber Memories"
November 14, 15, 16 & 17, 1998
November 14, 1998
Bob Hannigan (60)
I to have fond memories of Jim Hawkins, one time on a Sunday (in those days all bars were closed on Sunday) I went with him to help clean his folks tavern (the Big Y). As you can guess there was more pool and shuffle board played then clean up. Did I mention we might have sampled some of the goods? Well on the way home Jim thought it would be a great idea to jump off the railroad bridge into the Yakima river. A great time was had by all that day. It was always an adventure with Jim.
Bob
Marianne Matthews Wood
(63)
Yes, I remember when Ronald Reagan came to the father and daughter's GE banquet! I won the door prize, a GE (naturally) portable radio, wow, was I thrilled, and I had my picture taken with Ronald (first name basis....) and he signed an autographed picture of himself to me PERSONALLY that I still have. Perhaps, I shouldn't "brag" about that due to many person's strong negative political feelings about that individual - but he was famous, you must admit. Anyway, I was thrilled to go out with my dad and it was quite a memorable evening.
Marianne
Erin Owens Hyer (66)
To: Irene Smith Gostnell Goodnight (59): The WoHeLo song was history until you brought it up. I can't believe all the memories the Sandstorm has resurrected. The one song I have kept with me is "We're on the upward trail, we're on the upward trail, singing, singing, everybody singing, as we go". That was always fun to sing as a group trudging up some trail. After moving to Alaska and knowing that there is a bear behind every tree, I found myself singing that out loud as we trudged through the woods. It is always good to let those bears know you are there so they have an opportunity to leave!
Erin
Mina Jo Gerry Payson (68)
To Teena Stoner Giulio [79]: Looking back on band with the blurry vision of lots of years gone by, you guys were a fun bunch. Of course, I really got an education being two years out of college and still wearing my rose colored glasses. I really did enjoy you guys and often wonder where some ended up.
I was also a Brownie, in Troop 13. Mrs. Harvey, Judy Harvey Belcher's (68) Mom, was the leader. She taught at Marcus Whitman and we used to meet outside her classroom and walk over to Westside Church for our meetings. I don't remember if we were together for one or two years, but I think Mrs. Harvey transferred to Jason Lee and there was no one else to take over the troop. I have a set of pictures from our trip to the Whitman Mission that I ran across no too long ago. Does anyone else remember that trip? I remember going to day camp in the then Riverside park. It was great fun as we wrote and acted out a play about pioneers coming to the Northwest.
Mina Jo
Mary Catherine Johnson
Pearsall (70)
To Kathy Rathvon (63): Wow, the Elite Shop. I had totally forgotten that little shop. My mom and I use to shop there a lot. In fact one of my favorite little dresses was bought there. It was a black velvet dress with a white collar with a tiny little red rose in the middle of the collar. It was so pretty and fancy. I had black pattent leather shoes to wear with it.
Those were the days that when you went shopping the merchants knew you by name, and really provided a service to their customers. I miss that type of familiarity in shopping. I remember going to the CC Anderson's (which became the Bon Marche) in Richland, and going into get new shoes. This was when they actually waited on you, actually measured your foot, and even brought out other styles for you to look at, even if you hadn't seen them on display. Those were the days of real service and salesmanship.
I am glad that you kept the mat with dad's signature on it. He did have a very distinctive signature that he used for his photography. He kept every negative of every picture he ever took.
Cat
Kim Edgar Leeming (79)
To: Tina "Stoner" Guilio, Tim Lippert and Dave McAcadie
Do you remember the car in the foyer for a senior prank?
My best memory was when we beat Pasco for State basketball. I was disappointed with the headlines the next day. Richland 1st, Pasco 1 1/2, we worked hard for the title.
Do you remember Ms. Larson? I remember she always had copy machine ink on her hands everyday.
Kim "Edgar" Leeming
Heather Carstens Pedlar
(88)
Does anyone else from the 70's or later classes remember Friday Spudnut mornings in Mr. Harbour's AP Bio classes? I took that class zero hour (7 am, before any sane people were up yet), and we would periodically have Spudnuts. Boy, do I miss those Spudnuts! In the Midwest, Dunkin' Donuts are the big chain and they just are not even close to the same!
To Sara Gonzales ('96): I cannot believe Mr. Deatherage (sp??? 10 years makes me forget) is still talking about the mushroom cloud! When we were juniors (in his AP Am. Lit class), he started what I would call a "civics education" experience. He began vocalizing his distaste for the logo, and I think he passed out a petition to get it changed. All I know is that it became national news. It happened to coincide with the publishing of "A Day in the Life of America", the photo essay book, in which is a picture of our varsity and JV cheerleaders from the 86-88 classes in front of the tennis wall that had the mushroom cloud on it. It was an interesting year, needless to say.
Heather Carstens Pedlar
November 15, 1998
Marjo Vinther Burt (77)
To Irene Goodnight (59): Your bike crash story was hilarious, and beats mine for sure! I could just feel your skinned knees and elbows as it reminded me of the many times I skinned mine and limped home! Did anyone else's Mother insist on cleaning skinned knees and elbows with Listerine as mine did? The Listerine Torture was then followed by the excruciating application of Merthiolate; and the resulting orange/pink stain was then worn like a badge of honor (or stupidity). A few years ago I got to relive the experience of skinning my knee - I'd forgotten how painful it could be! Fortunately, Mom was nowhere in sight!
Marjo
Kathy Jones aka Yvonne
Taylor (84)
To Heather Carstens Pedlar (88): I miss those spudnuts! I have a hard time trying to explain to people just what they are. When I explain "Potato Flour" they give me strange looks, until I get all dreamy eyed and mumble something like "heaven on earth". Nothing like them at 7:00am when you are supposed to be in class.
You know, Mr. Deathrage always struck me as the kind of person who really just wanted to stay in college his whole life, but ran out of money and decided he'd better get a degree and a job somewhere...so he pickedsomething really close to being in college. Just my opinion, and he is a great teacher!
Yvonne Jones Taylor
November 16, 1998
The following is from an email message that was sent directly to the Memories Site mailbox.
Bill Johnson (61)
I remember the "Old Dutch Mill" between Richland and the "Y." It was a restaurant and not just a tavern though.
Anyone remember the old Richland airport at the southend of town adjacent to the Yakima River. I remember it had an old Indian dugout in front of the office.
I remember my mother getting chickens from a chicken ranch (not what your thinking here :-) about a 1/2 mile south of the by-pass right off of the end of Wellison Way. The old woman that owned the place would just walk out and grab a chicken by the head and give it about 2 wrings and off with its head. I was only about 5-6 the, but I can still see that chicken running around without a head until it just fell over. Pretty gruesome now that I think about it.
I have seen some comments about the camp out on the Yakima by horn rapids. It's name was Columbia camp. I remember that sometime around 1950/51 they finally went in and tore down the guard towers but left a lot of the building foundations which I am sure by now are all but gone.
Anyone remember the in-ground trampolines that were down at the bowling alley below Carmichael.
I remember the skyline drive in on north G.W. way. When it was built it was the largest drive-in on the West coast (1080 cars) If you think about it most drive-in had the projection booth in the middle of the field so they only had to throw the picture about 150' The skyline's booth was all the way in the back and we had to throw the picture 575.' They had special lens made for just that theater. Back then they cost over 5000.00 as piece. Lot of money then.
Do you remember that the Richland library was a ford garage originally. The guy that ran it was Johnny Gerdes and he was the same one that had the union "76" in the uptown district.
I remember buying shoes in C.C. Anderson and sticking my feet into the fluoroscope and wiggling my feet to make sure that the shoes had enough room. Might as well go kiss an x-ray machine--HUH?
Well, that's all for now, but since I got to Richland in 1943 I am sure some other things will come back to mind. Also since my dad was Robley Johnson- Photographer I am sure that some time in the future I will be able to come up with a historical picture or two that I will share with you. Just need some time to retrieve them
November 17, 1998
Bill Johnson (61)
I have seen some of the people from (66) mention that they have seen Mark Black's name on the Vietnam memorial. His older brother Jon [61] and I have known each other since we were in kindergarten and I knew Mark all his life.
I remember that I was assigned to change the oil in Miss Mecum's 1949 ford in Mr. Nash's auto shop class (1960). After we got her car on the hoist we noticed that the oil filter was original equipment and that the oil had never been changed. We ended up taking the oil pan off to clean out the oil which was more like grease.
Does anyone remember the swimming pool that was in Riverside park before the new one by Col High? (oops sorry RHS) It's still there you know, it's just full of dirt now.
Does anyone remember what habit Miss Mecum was famous for? I do.
I remember going to the roller skating rink and seeing Fats Domino. I remember going to the armory in Pasco to see Gene Vincent and hitch hiking all the way to Walla Walla to see Bill Haley and the Comets (my dad was not too happy about that one).
Anyone remember going to the passport plunge to go swimming.
I think the teacher that had the biggest impact on my life was Mr. Dunton, the chorus teacher at Carmichael. For those of you who know me, you will remember that I did some solo singing in some of the productions that we put on - "South Pacific", "The King and I" (danced with Kippy Brinkman - future Miss Washington in that one) Anyway when I saw him [Mr. Dunton] for the first time some 25 years later. He told me that I had a fan club of a bunch of the girls that were in school at that time. I asked him why he didn't tell me and he told me it would have just gotten me in trouble. He's probably right. I still sing and perform a lot down here in Texas and almost every time I sing, I still think of things he taught me.
Bill Johnson
Janet Voorhies McCord (61)
In reading your history "plagiarized" by Rick Maddy, he left a couple of questions: How was Richland named, and why weren't there any streets, etc. named for the Rosencrances?
I married a Pasco boy, Michael Raymond Baker. Michael's mother, Mary Jane Rosencrance Baker Pruitt, now deceased, was the granddaughter of Benjamin and Mary Rosencrance, the original homesteaders of the Richland-RichlandY land. Before her passing, she gave an interview with a Mr. Ted Van Arsdol, recognized local historian and previous reporter of the now-defunct Columbia Basin News of Pasco. She also put together a rather voluminous set of published articles and historical notes of the Rosencances for each of her surviving children/grandchildren. It is from this scrapbook that I base my information, at least about how Richland got its name.
Ben Rosencrance had a huge waterwheel built (16 feet wide, 32 feet high) with the help of R. C. Bremmer in 1894 (operating from 1894-1904) with which Rosencrance diverted enough water from the Yakima to irrigate 1,000 acres. So productive was the land under water that in 1904 a 32-acre hop field produced a $6,000 crop. Rosencrance's irrigation water had transformed the once barren acres into "rich land." After the Rosencrance family sold their land interests to H. M. Amon, the little town of Richland was platted.... to stimulate interest, the platter offered as a prize, a lot in the new town to the one that submitted a name they would use. There were 1,000 entries and 12 people suggested Benton in honor of the new county. Althea Rosencrance, eldest daughter of Ben and Mary Rosencrance, submitted Richland as the winning name... and won a lot in the center of Richland (lot 21, Block 1, a 24x40 foot lot)... the lot about where the Village Theater now stands. "Richland was named after the good rich land, not for Nelson Rich as many believe." So in a sense, Richland's name was given by a Rosencrance.... the greatest honor that could represent them.
I don't know why there wasn't anything else named for Rosencrance directly. Among the four children that Ben and Mary Rosencrance had was a son, Benjamin Raymond (Ray). Ray married Anna Fallon. It is Ray and Anna who are Mary Jane Rosencrance Baker Pruitt's parents. Anna was a member of the fourth graduating class of Richland High School (1914). There were four graduates: Ada E. Chaleraft, Anna M. Fallon, Walter H. Strangheoner, Walter E. Timmerman. Class Colors: Blue and White. Class Flower: White Rose. Class Moto: Animo Et Fide. I have a xeroxed picture of the basketball team (looks like all girls) from about that year (but may have been a mixture of graduating classes of Richland High School). If you are interested, I'll be glad to scan and email. Anna Fallon is responsible for getting the county commissioners to build the "Fallon" bridge across the Yakima between Richland and West Richland. They named the bridge and road in her honor (there used to be a concrete marker showing "Fallon Dr." out there,... somewhere across from the golf course????)
I lived on the corner of Sanford and Turner (Pierce's, Johnson's, Sledge's on the other three corners). Went to Jason Lee, Chief Jo, and Col Hi. My dad went to school (college in Montana) with Jerry Bell (? I think that was his name) from the Spudnut shop. I think I remember him saying that they played in band together.
Janet Voorhies McCord
Patti McLaughlin Cleavinger (65)
To Dick Nelson (59): The streets in government-built Richland, if not names of trees, are all names of members of the Corps of Engineers. Goethals, for example, was one of the builders of the Panama Canal. At the public library, there is a list of those names and others planned for but not used in the Reference section.
And speaking of dangerous (stupid) things some of us did. Lamont Worden [65] got me to crawl around with him in the tunnels built for pipes and wires in the construction of the Dawald gymnasium. Nope, we were not up to hanky panky. It was pitch black. It's a wonder that we didn't get lost, die and rot inside those walls! Remember that, Lamont? What were you thinking?
Patti McLaughlin Cleavenger
Ron Sledge (65)
To: John Bradley (65): John, do you remember the time we rode your vespa out to the CYO dance at Mesa? The wind chill must have been about minus 5 that night. Not to mention the sore hind quarters from riding that far.
Ron
Shanon Laybourn Smith (65)
From a Bomber Guest Book: Date: Sun Nov 15 23:27:48 1998
It's nice to find so many people on the 'net with information about themselves. I live in Richland in the house I grew up in on Bernard (South Ender).
Shanon
Lori Simpson Hogan (70)
I was born and raised in Richland and have been here all but 2 years. I attended Lewis and Clark, Carmichael, and of course Col-Hi.
To answer the Question: Where were you when J.F.K. was shot? I clearly remember lining up in the hallway after lunch recess, at Lewis and Clark. We were waiting to go back into class, Mrs. Mary Lester, now Thompson, was my 6th grade teacher that year. If I remember right we were sent home for the rest of that day. I can also remember watching the news coverage on our black and white T.V.
Lori Simpson Hogan
Jim Geier (71)
My family moved into a ranch house on Cottonwood in 1953, when I was 8 months old; my parents still live in that house. I went through Marcus Whitman, Carmichael, and Col High. Still keep closely in touch with some of my Marcus Whitman classmates.
Delivered the Tri-City Herald after school on Cottonwood and Birch between Humphries and Duportail, then known to the Tri-City Herald as Route 360 -- had almost every house, so it was relatively easy. For a long time, I knew everyone in every house along old Route 360.
The cottonwood tree in the back yard we climbed and from which we jumped into tumbleweed piles is gone now. Our back yard was against the shelter-belt, and the kids in the neighborhood played in the shelter-belt, made tumbleweed "forts" in the shelter-belt, and hiked across the by-pass highway around the gravel pits and hills from the old concrete plant that had been there, and to the Yakima River.
I remember willow twig "boat" races in the gutters on Humphries with Gary Turner (71) walking home from Marcus Whitman. I remember liking Mrs. Murphy in 1st grade, liking Mrs. Bowman in 3rd grade, and not liking Mrs. Matthews at all in 4th grade (with apologies to Mina Jo Gerry Payson, who praised Mrs. Matthews). It was in her class that I learned about being sent to the principal's office (James V. LeClair). And those air-raid drills in the halls with our heads down -- would that really save us?
Carmichael was a blur, but I remember Mrs. Black in 9th grade homeroom, and I still know much of the "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" by heart. Never did take a liking to Shakespeare, though. Armand Boatman was the band director for three years, and through him I learned an excitement for and an appreciation for jazz, which has only increased over the years.
My memories of Col High are similar to others. I ran cross country for Max Jensen as a sophomore, then hurt my back and was an equipment manager for track in the spring. Doug Amy ('69) got me a job at the Uptown Theatre as a sign changer; my first job was adding "HELD OVER" to the sign announcing the Disney film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." Later I changed signs on all the theatres in the Tri-Cities and worked at the Uptown, Richland, and other theatres as a janitor with Bob and Ben Jacobs, and then later with Scott and Rich Jacobs, and other friends. Summers were full of working at the drive-ins, the Skyline in north Richland (I think it closed for good after the 1969 summer season), the Island View in the Y, the Highland in Kennewick, and the Riverview in Pasco.
There was Mr. Gentle's senior calculus class - I loved calculus, and never thought I would use calculus in "real" life, but I did. Going to Bomber basketball games at home and on the road were also clear memories. Especially the time I changed the oil in my '64 Chevy and failed to properly seat the oil filter gasket. Used 22 quarts of oil on the road to Yakima. We got it fixed there and made it to the game at Eisenhower.
jim geier
Teena Stoner Giulio (79)
To Mina Jo Payson (68): I'm glad you can look back on us and still have a positive attitude! We put you through the ringer, although most of us didn't do it intentionally. Remember Carl, Allen and Greg??? They were rotten, but fun. I still have a photo of Allen in the football field during practice with a tuba bell on his head and one of Carl on the goal post. Goons. And then there was Greg...I think he used to get to you the easiest. He would make you so mad then, in the same breath, have you near tears laughing. I bet you were ecstatic when the day would end.
To Kim Edgar Leeming (79): Yep, I remember King Tut. I was lucky enough to see it more than once. It was fascinating and absolutely beautiful. I still have the book I bought at the exhibit and now my kids are getting interested in it.
Teena
