"Bomber Memories"
August 19 & 20, 1998
August 19, 1998
Maren Smyth (64)
Clear Lake -- I saw somebody mention Clear Lake. I have a memory of my Dad saving me from drowning in Clear Lake.I must have been real little... maybe only 4 or 5 ... does anybody know WHERE Clear Lake is?
Hat Rock -- Remember going there a couple of times on family outings in the summer. Is that in Oregon somewhere?
Tim Lippert (79)
I've really enjoyed reading all the e-mails from everyone. I graduated in '79, but I still remember alot of the things everyone is writing about. I printed a couple of days worth and showed them to my dad. (Carmichael Cougars: My dad is Mr. Lippert) He recognized a few names and remembered alot of things too. We moved into town, from Benton City, when dad got a job teaching at Carmichael in '63. We lived at 1446 Agnes, off of Cottonwood at the south end of town, until 1978. I remember the irrigation slide near the by-pass and catching pollywogs at Welsian pond. The shelter belt was another big draw and we spent alot of summer days climbing trees and damming up the little irrigation canal that ran through it. I'm lucky that I get to go back quite often, the folks live in West Richland now. Kind of spooky is that my wife grew up in a parallel town in California, Ridgecrest. It has the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake and from what I've been told they made and assembled the lenses for the bombs that Hanford made the plutonium for. The two towns are strikingly similar in geography but Ridgecrest is a bit less thriving so retains some of the "older" feel to it that Richland seems to be growing out of. I mean who ever thought that 7-hills would be a posh golf development and that Sham-na-pum would go upscale? Thanks again for sharing .
Tim Lippert , Shoreline, WA
Cappy Haines (63)
Do you remember the Columbia River MTA (midnight timing association)? Does it still live?
Cappy Haines 63 Bombed out!
[ANOTHER ONE FROM CAPPY HAINES]
Thought some one of us could use this.
PRAYER OF THE GOLDEN YEARS
Blessed are they who understand,
My faltering step and palsied hand
Blessed are they who know that my ears today
Must strain to catch the things they say.
Blessed are they who seem to know
That my eyes are dim and my wits are slow.
Blessed are they with a cheery smile
Who stop to chat for a little while.
Blessed are they who never say,
"You've told that story twice today."
Blessed are they who know the ways
To bring back memories of yesterdays.
Blessed are they who make it known
That I'm loved, respected, and not alone.
Blessed are they who ease the days
On my journey Home, in loving ways.
Ellen Spitaleri (65)
My mom tells me that I saw Sharon Tate crowned Miss Richland in the late '50s. But shortly after she won the title, her dad was transferred somewhere else and she had to give it up. Wonder if that is true?
Ellen Spitaleri
Bill Byrd (59)
The note from John Northover brought back so many memories of the summers the neighborhood gang spent together. John's dad would put up a large 16 man army tent in their back yard each summer and the whole neighborhood gang would read comic books during the day and sleep out there during the nights. John mentioned his dad's pancakes. On Saturday morning, John's dad would make pancakes in the shape of animals for the whole gang ie. Rick Johnson, Steve Baker, Pete Bradley, Ron Crawford and sometimes George Pruden. As we got older (14 or 15) we would "borrow" John's Dad's old Ford and joy ride around town before replacing the car back in the exact place where his dad had left it.
We played baseball in the front yard until we broke a window in Steve Baker's house. Rick and I use to ride our bikes to the pump house on the Columbia River after school to fish. This is where the irrigation ditch that ran through town was pumped over the dike into the river. Many great memories of catching fish there. Later during high school days we water skied from Jim Warren's dock using his family's ChrisCraft mahogany hull inboard with the flat head six. What a great boat! Plenty of power to pull two skiers off the dock or the island. Paul Knutson was there and Jim's younger brother David. We had many a good night sleeping out on the dock.
More later.
Bill Byrd
Jill Walser (81)
Hello everyone! I thought I'd join in as a member of the "younger generation". I remember swimming and floating on the Columbia River and under the railroad bridge with Joyce True, Barb Hodges, Rob Gibson, (he married Joyce) and Gauin Moore. I remember getting dizzy on the fastest merry-go-round in Howard Amon Park. We'd routinely stop for pasty faced younger kids, so they could recover... in time to get right back on. I remember walking home alone from school. As an adult I thought how great it was we were so safe then that we could do that. Then I read about Wesley Alan Dodd and what he was doing to children and animals during that time. I remember Wesley playing in the RHS band. I look forward to hearing from more of my age classmates.
Jill Walser
Rich Baker (58)
I read John Northover's e-mail and it brought back a couple of memories I would like to share. He mentioned the Tri-City Braves. I remember going to the games, but the highlight for me was when I was playing Little League for By's Burger's and the Tri-City Brave's catcher at that time was Nick Pesuit. I was the catcher for By's and Nick came to one of our practice sessions and gave me some pointers.
Barbara (Seslar) Brackenbush mentioned JJ Newberry's. I started working there when I was in 9th grade for 75 cents an hour and worked part time all the way through high school. Isle Sessions ran the kitchen. Gerald Burdsall (56 or 57) was the dish washer. Unfortunately, Gerald passed away a little over a year ago.
Rich Baker
Grover Shegrud (56)
Wow this is terrific!! I have found a justification for my computer money now. We moved to Richland from Minn. in 1944 to 1320 Stevens Dr. (couple doors from Tom Hughes). I went to Sacajawea ( the only word I ever learned to spell) remember Mrs. Dunn, Mr. Webber, Mrs. Peterson (principal I think), Chief Jo, shop class and home ec * still make baked potatoes from that recipe * Then out of Col Hi 1956. Best memories from algebra Mrs. Skogen and english class Mrs. Brown (only english class I passed). and Mr.Hartly. I remember one winter diving into a pile of tumble weeds covered with snow (my brain must have gotten fried very early). My summers we spent each day reading first in am then walking across play field at Sacajawea to the men's dorms and picking up 5 pop bottles. Then to the store downtown to cash them in $.15 dime for locker at old pool where I'd swim all day, then walk to uptown for a soft ice cream cone at the Spudnut Shop.. then do it again the next day. Our family sent Spudnuts to brother Terry (still in Richland) they took weeks to get to him in England by APO don't know if he was ever able to eat them but I couldn't think of anything better to send to him. My sister Beverly class of '50 is still in Richland too.
Grover Shegrud
Shirley Collings
Haskins (66)
Here are a few more memories:
"Collection" containers which mysteriously appeared on front porches and disappeared just as mysteriously.
Frequent stops to J. J. Newberry's as we walked around and around the Uptown. Checking out the candy in the long rows of candy bins, getting a bag of popcorn or eating at the lunch counter. I believe that Newberry's was the only store Uptown that we were allowed to enter from the alley. Plus you could go upstairs using the flight of stairs on the north side of the store to use the bathroom without even asking. At Christmas time Santa's Toyland was upstairs. We used the west stairway to enter Toyland to "dream" and to visit Santa.
Does anyone remember when the Payless store was located on The Parkway? I remember shopping there for a Christmas present for my brother, Jim ('62). I purchased a sno-cone making machine and thought it was so neat! The store was located on the northwest corner of Lee and The Parkway.
How about shopping for groceries at the Army Commissary? I remember going there with one of our neighbors. She probably asked me along because I could keep an "eye" on her five children! The prices really were much cheaper there.
I have noticed references to Dr. Ida Mecum. I checked our yearbook for the correct spelling of her name and found that in addition to teaching Biology, she also taught Physiology. I was in her Biology classroom my sophomore year when the announcement came over the intercom that President Kennedy had been "fatally wounded".
Remember Mr. Matt Greenough? Neat teacher! He was my Economics teacher my senior year. I was also taking "Steno" from Mrs. Georgia Burns at the time. Mr. Greenough asked Mrs. Burns if I could use one of the typewriters to type our semester final test which he had written. He told me not to pay any attention to the answers which were written by the questions as I would be given an entirely different test. Guess which test he ended up having me take ... ? Yes, the one I had typed! I believe I got a B+ on it, too!
By the way, both Dr. Mecum and Mr. Greenough have passed away.
I remember having Mr. James Loss my sophomore year for English. It was his first year of teaching, so he was pretty young then. I thought it was pretty "cool" that he was also a D.J. on KORD! Teachers frequently have to have a second job to support their families, unfortunately.
Did anyone else ever wonder about the "friendly relationship" between Miss Joyce Larson and Mr. Bill Allen (both English teachers)?
Uptown Thrifty Drug was a favorite place to stop at their "fountain" for banana splits with Ellen Bohringer Bjorn ('66) as we "walked the Uptown".
Remember the LONG lines to see a movie playing on a Friday night at the Uptown Theatre? They would be way back past the Spudnut Shop. Of course, that was way before the roof collapsed on the Uptown Theatre. Thankfully, no one was inside at the time. The structure was rebuilt and redesigned. No more makeup benches to sit at in the girls' bathroom now!
Did anyone have the opportunity to walk through the cemetery on Williams on the way to school at Sacajawea? That was the shortest route for us when I attended Sacajawea my 6th grade year. I remember also playing with friends under the shrubs in the cemetery (west side). There were long paths which you could walk/crawl on under the shrubs. I have no idea why they were there, though.
I remember walking all over Richland with Ellen beginning about 9th grade. We walked at night, too, with no fear of being harmed. One night, though, we were walking to Ellen's house on McMurray from my house on Johnston and took a shortcut behind Chief Joe. It was really dark on the north side of the school (the court yard side), and we SCREAMED AND SCREAMED when we came upon TWO DEER walking back there, too!
By the way, Chief Joe was closed for a number of years due to a lack of middle school aged students in that area. When the school population warranted another school, however, Chief Joe was redesigned and rebuilt. I believe it reopened the fall of 1994. This spring Mr. Piippo received the honor of having the school gym named after him. He is still living in Richland and remains pretty active.
Mr. Strankman was named to the "Hall of Fame" at Hanford High School last spring due to his huge success as the first boys' high school basketball coach at HHS (yes, there is another high school in Richland!).
The gym at Christ the King School was named in honor of Superior Court Judge Albert J. Yencopal several years ago. Of course, a lot of students remember Al from their basketball days at CK. Byrne Haskins ('65), my brother-in-law, was instrumental in having the gym named after Al.
Shirley Collings Haskins
August 20, 1998
Bill Lattin (58)
Thanks you for these memories of Richland. One that I remember that no one has mentioned is surf boarding in the irrigation ditches. We would put a rope from an old car to a homemade surfboard, drive along the service road pulling this piece of plywood with one of us on it. You would have to lean away from the road side of the ditch just to stay in the middle of the irrigation ditch through turns and your friends trying to get you to fall off. At times the rope would hit the vegetation along the side and start pulling you to the edge. It's a wonder that no one got hurt but a great memory.
Denis Sullivan (62)
Somebody mentioned Kortens. Remember sometime after school, but before the evening news?: "I'm K-K-Kenny from K-K-Kortens and I'm here to bring you Komik-k-kal Kartoons."
Jack Spanner (70)
I enjoy reading all these old stories. One of folklores is absolutely true. In response to Ellen Spitaleri (65), Sharon Tate lived in the house behind mine on Berkshire Street in Richland Village. My Mom still says that our lawn was never mowed as often as it was then. Sharon and her friends used to catch some rays in preparation for the for the Frontier Days pageant.
Jean Nelson Minor (57)
I lived in White Bluffs until they moved the whole town out (about 3 months, I think.) Then we lived in Sunnyside for a year and then moved into a prefab at 808 Willard. We lived there for several years across the street from my grandparents (there were some older people in Richland.) We also lived across the street from Lenora, Tom and Howard Hughes. Then we moved to a "K" house at 2201 Swift Blvd, three houses from Dixie Dye.
Sharon Tate was not a folklore, she really was crowned Miss Richland and her father was transferred with the Army and she did give up the crown.
Does anyone remember trading comic books? It was so exciting to get all new comics books about once a week! I remember doing this for a couple of years. Also helping at Brinkerhoffs amusement park, driving the train and running the merry-go-round and sitting on a horse backward once I got it going. That was a carefree time of life!
I went to Marcus Whitman where my mother was PTA president. I remember in kindergarten I was helping lower the blinds and the whole thing fell. Boy did I get into trouble. There I met Joan Campbell who was a great friend clear through high school.
We had a terrible blizzard about the time I was in fifth grade and my fingers got frostbitten walking the three or four blocks home. My fingers have never been that cold since. I went to Carmichael Jr. High and then to Col Hi. The students all liked Norris, CW and Yolanda Brown but when we choose Norris as Tolo king the parents were up in arms and tried to stop it. Norris and his brother did a lot for our basketball team and he deserved the honor. He has a full page picture in the annual as I remember, I haven't seen it for years.
I have to mention Elvis in his first movies at the uptown theater and how I screamed for 2 hours because he was so cool!!! Setting there with my friends and our feet on the seats in front of us. Six couples went on a midnight picnic to the lagoon and we thought we were sneaky until a cop chased us off. I don't know about the other 5 but it scared me to death. My best friends were Lenora Hughes, Joan Campbell, Arlene Gruver, Hope Northrup, Dixie Dye, Kenny Gruver. Does anyone know where Hope Northrup and Arlene Gruver are???
Earl Bennett (63)
In the Fall of '63, I was taking second year Russian at WSU. The professor was a very kind, white haired native Russian, name long forgotten. He was late for class one day, walked in with shoulders and head down and said "President Kenney's been shot, probably killed." He paused, said he didn't feel like teaching, and left. A few students had gasped at his first announcement, but I don't remember hearing much conversation as we all gathered our books and headed for wherever we could find out more - in my case, the dorm.
John Coons: Thanks for reminding me of school patrol boys and girls. I don't remember if we were enlightened enough to have girls involved when you and I participated at Jason Lee in 5th and 6th grade - the hot chocolate in the Principal's office on winter mornings was always great. Do you, or anyone else, remember the name of the police officer who came about once a week for those two years and taught us close order drill? After two years, we were pretty impressive - "To the Four Winds, March!" and back and stayed pretty much in proper alignment.
Another teacher I've not seen mentioned - Mr. Calvin Gentle, a superb math teacher but not much of a disciplinarian. I guess we could have been kinder ... I also remember Mr. Harvey fondly from Chief Jo, as well as Mr. Piippo's enlightening health lessons - was he the one who got so upset when a cheerleader misspelled "success" on a paper on the same day she spelled it right in public at a pep rally? I may be mixing memories, but Sharon Tate comes to mind in that context - and yes, she was Miss Richland one year, which links us to the several mentions of Atomic Frontier Days, but I don't remember that she had to relinquish the crown.
Ray Stein: Whenever I'm among people bragging about their high school sports programs, I mention your appearance on Ed Sullivan's show as one of the top ten high school All Americans - was that 63 or 64? I remember we took 3rd at the state tournament 62, 63 and 64, with you on the team, and I was at the game when RHS "broke the clock" at Eisenhower HS in Yakima - scored over a hundred (103 to 58 if I recall correctly) on a 2-digit scoreboard. The ride back in Jim Jensvold's car was scary - Bombers lined up for miles on the Yakima Valley highway, maintaining 50-60 mph, and Jim stayed about 10 feet behind the bumper ahead of us.
DeeDee Willox Loiseau (64)
RE: Sharon Tate. Yes, that's true. She was crowned Miss Richland, but I don't remember what year. She did transfer after that and had to relinquish the title to the runner-up. I remember that my sister thought she had already known her dad was being transferred and that it was tacky for her to do that. Later she played in the movie "Valley of the Dolls". She was one of the people that was killed in California by followers of Charles Manson. There is a book written by one of the followers who did it.
Mr. Clayton moved to Puyallup, Washington where he died last February.
RE: The Lagoon -- It was called the Lagoon. It's still there, but not allowed to swim there. Not sure if polluted, but think it's a drainage for water from lawns of Kennewick and has chemicals in it. People still go there, but not to swim, and certainly it's not as crowded as it was when we swam there.
Gloria Falls Evans (58)
I believe Sharon Tate was in class of 57. She became the movie star that was tragically murdered in a very bad situation in Calif .
Mary Lou Williams (60)
Sharon Tate went to Chief Joe one year, I believe, and Col Hi one year. She won a title as some kind of Miss Car, about 1955-56, and if she was around long enough I'm sure she would have been Miss Richland. She was gorgeous - and truly very nice. She wore makeup in junior high and had flawless skin. Her military dad was transferred to Italy, and she was featured in a background shot there when Pat Boone did a live TV show from Italy. The wind was blowing like crazy, and only us who knew her recognized her. The Tri-City Herald advanced the show like crazy, so everyone was looking for her. What a sad day when she was killed. She became part of America's history, but not how she wanted to be.
I also remember the A&W - over by the old Safeway in downtown. They had 5 cent root beers in frosty mugs! I think it was a day place, while Zips and Bys were more for "evening-type" activity.
And who remembers grade school Mondays at 10 when the sirens went off and we all went out in the school hallways and laid down against the walls with one arm covering eyes and one over the neck because that would save us from the bomb fallout?
I worked at J.J. Newbery's in 9-10th grade during Christmas and Easter breaks, in the candy counter. After opening a cardboard box of chocolate covered peanuts full of worms, I never again bought candy in a dime store! Also worked in the school store at Chief Joe, then again at Col Hi and Mr. Wick came over from the Junior High to Senior High as our advisor and a great teacher. He farmed across the river in the summer. Did they ever wish for a bridge across back then!
And I remember when Edo Vannie managed the Tri-City Braves. And also the commode on the fence wall they tried to hit balls into for bucks!
The Stiles' older son, Doug, ran the theater after his folks quit. He also started Bassett Transit, which was the forerunner for bus service (FINALLY!) in the Tri-Cities. I believe he still lives in Richland and runs the bus to Seattle and Spokane daily. Haven't thought of Doug and Sally for years - this is a nice way to conjure up pleasant past memories. Before Bassett, WAY BEFORE, in the 40s and early 50s, there was bus service around town. It stopped across the street from our house on Van Giesen in front of the Eckerts' house. Cost a whole nickel, and took 30 minutes to get to downtown. I recall it was yellow - maybe school bus moonlighting?
MLou Williams
Gary Behymer (64)
Ok Class of 1961. Sharon Tate (Deceased movie star) would have graduated with the Class of 1961. Her parents were Doris and Paul Tate. Her father was a lieutenant colonel in Army Intelligence. She won the title of "Miss Richland, Washington," at the age of 16. (?1959?)
Gary Behymer
Dan Gire (83)
Wow, this is great! The memories are just flowing now. Anyone in my generation remember Officer Panther sitting across the street in the church parking lot during 6th period, taunting us on his P.A. horn?
Dan Gire (83)
Creede Lombard (72)
I don't remember a lot of what the older "kids" are talking about because I (a) was born after some of them graduated and (b) was never into just "hanging out."
One thing I don't remember seeing in here so far is mention of the local radio stations. I remember three specifically in the Tri Cities, KEPR and KOYN in Kennewick and KALE licensed to Richland but I think it was actually across the river somewhere. I don't remember much about KOYN except that they started out playing rock 'n' roll (from my perspective, i.e. when I first discovered them) and changed formats somewhere along the way. KEPR was an MOR (middle of the road) station, playing occasional "light folk" like the Serendipity Singers but mostly a lot of instrumentals and Brothers Four - Perry Como - Peggy Lee type vocals. Nothing in any way weird or way out there, except for once a year when they did "Radio In Retrospect" with all older (30s & 40s mostly, if I remember) music and radio shows like "The Whistler" and of course "War Of The Worlds" in the evening. Great stuff for an 11 year old kid. But KALE . . . ahhh, KALE . . .
Now that I look back on it I remember KALE as being a pretty hip radio station for a conservative town like Richland. They carried all of the Bomber games and as I remember they had Sonics games as well, but their format was top 40 and then some. I say "and then some" because mixed in with the bubble gum and vocal pop, we occasionally got things like the full versions of Eric Burdon's "Sky Pilot," Phil Ochs' "Small Circle Of Friends" or Spanky and Our Gang's "Give A Damn." If you know these songs you know what I mean. Very political stuff. There was at least one other station in town that opened when I was at Carmichael (late 60s). I don't remember the call letters. All I remember is listening to them once and deciding then and there that country music wasn't for me.
You ask about where we were when we heard Kennedy was killed. I'm a bit confused on this one for some reason. On 11/22/1963 I would have been 8 years old and in the fourth grade at Lewis & Clark (with Mrs. Minor) but for some reason I associate it with being in my third grade class (with Mrs. Phillips). In any case I remember the teacher crying. I'm pretty sure we went home at noon. I remember Richland pretty much shut down for about four days. We lived on Benham on the south side, and I remember walking past the lumber yard about 1/4 mile from the house and noticing that even it was closed until Tuesday. I think it hit a lot of people hard because, let's face it, Richland was a government town, but also more so because (again, if I have my time line straight) Kennedy had just been out there to speak the previous July. I remember being out there and thinking something important was going on but boy it was sure hot.
Anyway that's my memory du jour.
Creede
Anna Dempsey Dixon (76)
WHERE WAS I WHEN JFK GOT SHOT??? I was getting ready for kindergarten..
Anna
Mark Woodward (81)
My folks are now moving from the desert to lush Gig Harbor on the west side of the mountains. (Lived on Comstock Street for past 30 years) Even though I am on the younger end of the Alums that have been sharing - my mother Dorothy (Osborne) Woodward (54) - brother Bill (Woody) Woodward (75) were all bombers and have shared many memories. My folks are not on email - but I have been printing them out and they have truly enjoyed them. Some thought my mother had; Muscles - remembers the town of Richland purchasing him a new bike. Big Wayne and Little Wayne performing at Atomic Frontier Days.
Miss Larson - anybody remember how she could add? Also how sad she was when that little dog died. Coach Covington - How could he wear those short sleeve shirts? Carmichael - Anybody remember the wrestling room with it's pipes wrapped in asbestos?
Big Pool - Having to swim from end to end before you could go off the "High Dive".
Lewis & Clark - Mr. Carlson's toupee?
I loved growing up in Richland and my family has been there since 1948. Great to have the same friends since grade school!
Thanks for the great Alum news.
Mark Woodward
Marilyn Thorp (63)
RE: JFK Assassination
I will never forget that day/hour I found out. I was attending CBC at the time and I hadn't been feeling well that day (premonition?). I went out to my car in the parking lot and fell asleep. My beau, Gary, came out to wake me up for my next class. He didn't know about the shooting, but as we came into the lobby of the school everyone was crying and in total shock. No one was functioning very well for the rest of the day. On the home front, my parents were also in shock. Mom was a staunch Kennedy supporter at the time. I don't know that there are many other events where everyone can remember where they were when the event happened.
In our lifetime, maybe Princess Diana/Mother Theresa were the only people that have affected the whole world emotionally in the same way as John F. Kennedy's death.
Jeri Shaw Rodinsky (73)
Hello from a proud "Col-Hi " grad (1973)
I've lived here in Richland forever. (except for a few years on the outer edges of Kennewick Lion country). I've been married to a Pasco Bulldog for 12 years and have an 8 year old son who is attending my own elementary alma mater (?) Jason Lee. My sister Judy - Class of '65 - (Jallus@Aol.com) and I are residing in the "B" house our parents purchased from the government lo those many years ago. She has the side we always lived on and I'm on the side we always rented! In reality, we are probably just a little bit more "native" to this area than most. Our mother was raised in old Walulla . . . the one that is under water now! She told stories of driving along the river through what is now Richland, and seeing only a few houses surrounded by acres of orchards, or wheat fields. They met when our dad was stationed here in the Navy. Mom was working in a little cafe in Pasco, and stole Dad's heart by playing hard to get! When W.W.II was over, they married and spent some time in Michigan with Dad's family, then moved out here to work at Hanford in 1947. Judy was part of the 2nd kindergarten class at Jason Lee.
I've been reading all of the posts and must say it's some of the best email I've ever gotten! It really is fun to have my memory jostled by everyone else's memories! I know there is much that I have forgotten . . . (I'm afraid I've killed off a lot of innocent brain cells over the years. While I'm sure they died happy, I find I'm beginning to miss them more and more all the time!) but I have thought of a few things:
One biggie that I can think of right off hand . . . the collapse of the Uptown Theater roof, just hours before a matinee of "Star Wars?" That movie was so popular that the lines went all the way around Uptown ending near the Towne Crier. What a disaster that could have been!!!
Another . . . How many of us were on boats or lining the shores of the Columbia River, waiting for the next heat of Hydroplane Racing to begin when man first set down upon the moon? Speaking for Judy and I, we were aboard Judge John Day's paddlewheel boat the Snake River Kate when those historic words were spoken: "The Eagle Has Landed!"
John F. Kennedy's visit to Hanford was called to mind. Like thousands of others, I was there to see him at N-Reactor. I was so young, I don't remember anything about what he said, but I remember seeing a "Presidential" speck up on a platform. Then, I remember being in the cafeteria at Jason Lee when the announcement was made that he had been killed.
Payless Parking Lot! I'm not sure when it started to be the place for everyone to gather on a weekend, or when it stopped, for that matter, but I know it was the place to be in '73! Also . . . I miss the phones and car hops at Zips! And I definitely miss A&W! My mom and I always mourned the passing of their Deluxe Cube Steak Sandwich! Without a doubt the best burger in my memory.
The first (to my recollection) Pizza delivery in town was Pizza Pete. They made a great pepperoni pizza and a fabulous Chef salad and would deliver . . . Life was great!
Someone mentioned the Drift Inn tavern. Dick Watson, and Jerry Hudson owned and operated it. It was the favorite hangout of my mom and dad. In fact, my dad had to be called there during the Saturday Night Fights so he could come home to take my mom to the hospital to have me! Sometime later, Dick and Jerry collaborated again in opening the Gaslight. I remember sitting in the family room of the Gaslight watching the sign painter put the finishing touches on the mural over the order window, while munching on our favorite Sausage and Black Olive pizza. Mom was always pleased when Dick would ask her to taste test a new pizza he had in mind for the menu. Both Judy and I remember feeling it was part of our rite of passage going into the bar to have a beer on our 21st birthdays. Mom and Dad took Judy, and Judy took me! I also remember the bowling alley that used to be right next door.
I remember as a kid going to the Drive-in Movies. There were drive-ins all over the place. North Richland, West Richland near Flat Top, at the Y, in Kennewick, and in Pasco. Now they are all gone. I for one miss them greatly! It was so much fun going to the movies in our pj's with pillows and blankets! Great family entertainment!
I just thought about the modern version that was attempted out west of the Richland Y. Several screens all in a circle. Cars would park in front of a screen, tune in the audio on the car radio and enjoy some of those marvelous X-rated movies. I think most will remember or can imagine what everyone called that place.
Until more cells are resurrected . . . Cya Later
Mina Jo Gerry Payson (68)
Where was I when Kennedy was shot: I remember being in 8th grade math class at Carmichael. Mr. Billings was my teacher, I think. The principal made an announcement to the entire school that the President had been shot, but I don't remember if he said anything else. That year our annual cover was black. I wonder if there was a connection, because the dedication was to President Kennedy.
Mina Jo Gerry Payson
Shirley Collings Haskins (66)
Does anyone remember watching Starlet Stairway? It was a talent show filmed in Spokane with "future stars" from the Tri Cites and Spokane areas appearing. The "jingle" was something like ... "When you need coal or oil, call Boyle, Fairfax 8-5121!".
The prefix for Richland phone numbers was ... ? "Whitehall", of course, which eventually became "94".
Does anyone besides me STILL have dreams about forgetting school locker combinations or class schedules?
What ever happened to students playing "jacks" or "marbles" at recess? f course, I bring up that question because I just happened to have been the "State Jack Champion" when I was in the 6th or 7th grade. I remember traveling by car with "Tiny" McDonald, Karen McDonald ('66), and Roger Bergdahl ('67) to the Seattle area so that Roger could defend his "marble championship" and for me to defend my "jack championship". I believe I came in 2nd or 3rd in that competition. I don't recall how Roger fared.
Did you grow up with an alley between your house and the house behind you? I remember using the alley behind our house on Johnston to play baseball with my brother, Jim ('62), and a lot of neighborhood friends. My sister, Barbara ('71), was too young to play with us, though.
I recall the two story dorms located on the 1100 block of Jadwin. The dorms were torn down to make way for The Richland Clinic and other professional buildings in the early 60's, I believe.
Everyone is remembering the mosquito sprayers, but I have a story to beat those memories. Prior to moving to Richland permanently when I was in the 1st grade (March '55), we moved according to the work assignments dad received through the "Guards' Union". Our family lived in Missouri; Klamath Falls, Oregon; Illinois; Kansas; and Indian Springs, Nevada -- HOME OF THE MERCURY TEST SITE FOR ATOMIC BOMBS! We lived in an adobe house about 35 miles from the actual test site. From Feb '53 until June '53 we witnessed TEN mushroom clouds from the atomic bomb tests. Do you think the "fall out" had any thing to do with the growth on my thyroid which Dr. Franco's medical partner, Dr. Flannigan, removed in March '81? Dr. Franco was unable to perform the surgery because he was going to be out of the country visiting his son, Marc ('66).
Yes, Sharon Tate did live in Richland and was crowned "Miss Richland" in the late 50's. I believe her family did move as her father was in the military. I don't know if she "lost" her crown, though.
Shirley Collings Haskins
Karen Kleinpeter Kroger (63)
The Clear lake I know of is on Hwy. 12 on the way to White Pass. It is just past Rimrock Lake. Someone mentioned Camp Dudley, which is on Clear Lake.
Thanks, again!
Karen( Kleinpeter) Kroger
Mary Collins Burbage (63)
I was in the lobby of my dorm at CWSU in Ellensburg when I heard that JFK had been shot. Was eating lunch in the commons when it was announced that he died. I'll never forget that whole week. Long distance phone calls weren't made as often back then (at least in my family) so I couldn't talk to my family. Besides - we only had one phone line in the dorm so they couldn't have gotten through to me if they had tried to call. I remember being horribly frightened. The dorms did not have TV's so we were dependent on the radio for the news and updates. I think that is the time a lot of us truly began to grow up and realize what sheltered lives we had been living.
