"Bomber Memories"
August 21 & 22, 1998
August 21, 1998
Donna Seslar White (68)
I have really been enjoying this walk down memory lane. One forgets how good things were "back then". All the stories of being able to go anywhere without fear of being hurt or killed. Wish the young people now could have known life like that!
Re: The day President Kennedy was killed. I remember in distinctly. I was in homeroom class when the announcement came over the intercom at Carmichael Junior High. I remember the shock and horror. Later in chorus class with Mr. Ronald Knight, my friends and I were upset and crying and he tried to get us to sing and get our minds off of it, but we were too upset.
Does anyone remember the Bob-a-Lou restaurant? From what I can tell, it must have been the same as By's. Corner of Goethals and Stevens. My friends, Karen Pierce, Kathy Berreth and can't remember who else used to walk down there and play the jukebox 3/$.25 as I recall, eat fries and drink cokes and watch for cute guys. Oh the memories.
How about Mildred Finney? She was my absolute favorite teacher in junior high. I had her twice. So sad when she died.
In high school, after getting a car, my friends and I would "tool" around the Tri-Cities. Zip's was the favorite hangout then.
Someone mentioned Payless on the Parkway. Yes, I do remember that and think about it whenever I pass by. I remember CC Anderson and later the Bon in that location.
How about Dietrich's Market. Some have mentioned a market near Marcus Whitman. Must be the same. I would walk or ride my bike up there. We had a charge account there. All I had to do was sign my name! So cool!
I have a lot of good memories of those times also. I remember Greg Markel being a boxboy there.
Mina Jo Gerry Payson - I remember you from Marcus Whitman and Carmichael. Any one remember Mrs. LaBorde, home ec teacher at Carmichael and how she would rip out girls hems if their skirts didn't touch the floor when they were kneeling? Remember Granny dresses? The OTHER extreme!
Pam Ehinger Nassen (67)
Okay lets see if I can answer some of these questions.
1) Sharon Tate was Miss Richland in 1959.
2) I was in home room class at Cheif Joe, Mrs. Latta's class. Does any one remember her? We used to have squirt gun fights only we didn't us water, it was VERY OLD perfume!!! It was very bad smelling. But I think she had no sense of smell, as she would just smile and go about her business. Until we put a tack on her chair and she never noticed it until after class, and them make the comment that was very dangerous.
3) The lagoon, was a great place to go and see everyone during the summer break. I'll never forget when I ran into Larry Muir the summer of 64', we had all call him Shorty in the ninth grade, and now we were going to be mighty Sophomores. I said hi Shoryy and he stood up and said "Who's Shorty now!" he had grown about 4-6in. I looked up at him as I'm only 5'2" and said Hi Larry!
4) Does any one remember the Roller Ring, and the dances we'd go to? I met Paul Riever (sp?) and the Raiders, Mark Lynsey. Marti Strens and Shari Tadlock and I all most had Paul talked out of his feathered hat he wore. We saw the Hondels. Oh boy did that group ever get us into trouble!! The got lost the first time, so the dance was canceled They went to Pendleton to play, so we all told our folks we were going to the triple feature drive in show (remember those, Starlit Drive-in) Well need less to say we got caught, Big Time. Then the Hondels came back to Richland and a way we went again. Mom asked haven't they got you into enough trouble? I was always getting grounded for one thing or another. Do people still ground their kids?
5) Remember stealing concord grape in peoples back yards? How about the watermelons out in West Richland? Do you remember Big Foot?
6) Of course you can't for get the submarines races!! I always bet on the Pink pokadoted one.
7) There was a spot in the road outside of Kennewick or Pasco along side of the Columbia, that if you came at it very very fast and hit the dip your car would leave the ground. It's a wonder we never got killed or crashed real bad.
Well I've rattled on and on so, it's time to rest this old brain. Oh one thing more, am I the only one that when reading this messages I see young men and women still 18yr. rather than the 30-60 years olds we really are?
Bomber's Rule
Pam Ehinger Nassen '67
Gail Cherrington Hollingsworth (56)
Just thought of a couple more things......
I had a 'very favorite' Art teacher at Lewis and Clark Elem., named Miss Fenstermacher........she was also a good friend...to those of us who loved hanging around the art class whenever we could... She told us one day (Probably sometime in 49-50, when I was in 5th or 6th grade......can't remember the timing exactly) that there was a Prince coming to America to search for his Princess....... something right out of ' Cinderella'... At first I think we took it, tongue in cheek......but later we did read lots of articles in the newspaper about Grace Kelly and how she left the Motion Picture Industry to become a REAL-live Princess.
Yum, that A &W root beer Stand........ for years, whenever I went to Richland to see my folks, after moving to Puget Sound in '63.......... that would be one of my stops. Often got a jug of root beer and a carton of Vanilla ice cream....
I remember Muscles too......... riding by, downtown Richland.....on his bike, greeting everyone with 'Hey, Hey, Hey!' As much a landmark as anything you could name from Richland.
Loved sitting in Densow Drugs, sipping Cherry Cokes...... nothing like that anymore...... with real cherry syrup in the coke....or Chocolate Cokes, even Vanilla cokes...... And fountain made Green River.......
Had some friends working for a while at the Downtown theater, who would let me sneak in and see a free show...... think I remember paying 15 or 25 cents for a movie, in those days, when I HAD to pay... :) Remember the format? A Cartoon, a newsreel, a serial, and then the movie....... wow, we got lots of entertainment for our quarter, in those days..... but when I think of it...... I only got a couple quarters for my allowance in my younger years......... good thing things were cheap. LOL.....
Well, guess that's all I can add for now, gotta get off to work again.... keep those memories coming............. still would love to hear from some of the 'kids' I grew up with on Barth.....Annette Verellan was my 'best' friend, for many years.. but there were many others living near us and we all went to Lewis and Clark Elem. all those years together........ Had to stay there in 7th Grade instead of going on to Carmichael, while we waited for the construction on Chief Jo to be finished. Had Mr. Harvey for my 7th grade teach at Lewis and Clark.
Woops, better not get started again,
cya....... Gail Cherrington Hollingsworth (56)
Jo Cantrell Lee (82)
This is great to read these about Richland, in the past. I'm from the last of the Baby Boomers which was anyone born in 64. I remember alot of stuff from my older brothers though. I'm the youngest of 5 and hung out with others who are the youngest of 5. My older siblings went to school with students that have the same last names as those I went to school with. I don't know if that's common anywhere else, but I always thought it was unique.
I went to Spalding, Carmichael, and Col-High. I graduated from Col-High the last year that it was called that. 1982. It's now Richland High.
Anyone remember Tri-Cities Race Ways? I spent alot of time out there when I was 5 years old, while my dad and brothers planted trees out there. Use to fall asleep on my mom's lap as the race cars went around the track. I guess the sound of the loud engines put me to sleep.
Mosquito trucks... Those crazy older kids riding their bikes through the clouds. I wasn't allowed... Too young.
Being the youngest was a major bummer, because I missed out on alot of things because I wasn't old enough.
jo
Marilou Ingram Webb Aeschliman (62)
I remember Lost Lake, the Prison Camp, (did anyone mention swimming in the irrigation ditch at West Richland), dragging in Columbia Park, the social club, etc, the first Zip's Drive In. In fact, Tastee Freeze was still Tastee Freeze until just recently. I still have a very slightly chipped tooth from a "coke" bottle I dropped on my face during a party) - no vanity here - it's kind of a bomber badge of courage (or stupidity)! Does anyone remember the song "Give a cheer, give a cheer, for the girls who drink their beer in the cellars of old Richland High"...... Guess this tells you something about the group I ran around with.
Mike Figg (70)
Geez, this latest Sandstorm blew in a lot of old memories.
Creede Lombard ('72) talked about the three radio stations in the Tri-Cities KEPR, KOYN, and KALE. I really don't remember KOYN, but what about KORD? It seems like they were big before KALE took over playing the Tri-Cities flavor of watered down pop/rock.
Jeri Shaw Rodinsky ('73) talked about Pizza Pete being the first to deliver pizza. I don't know if they were the first but I was out there doing it for Pizza Pete from about August '74 through February '75. We used a old red VW bug and at the time the only manual transmission I had driven was in a jeep out in the desert when I was about 12. The boss told me to just go and I would pick it up quickly. I did, but it took killing the car about 4 times between Swift and Symons on GW Way. But 6 months later when I got a job out at WPPSS #2 I bought a red VW bug.
Shirley Collins Haskins ('66) mentioned the old Boyle advertisement on Starlet Stairway. I had forgotten about it but it came back clear as a bell.
And did anybody else learn to swim or race in Howard Chitty's pool? It seemed like I learned to swim at an early age in his pool and later for one or two winters worked out with a few other kids working at being racers. I didn't know Chitty from Carmichael since I went to CJ but sure spent a lot of time in his pool. He had a bubble over it in the winter so it could be used year round.
Somebody mentioned Newbury's. I remember the snack counter they had and eating egg salad sandwiches there. But what I remember even better was an upstairs they had that wasn't usually open but at Christmas time they had a Toyland up there. It was right out of Jean Shepard's Christmas Story. Ohh, a Red Ranger BB gun!
Somebody mentioned Peter Brandt. Are you out there Pete? I don't remember you that well but didn't we spend an evening talking during a party at an apartment I had somewhere near that small shopping area on Van Giesen near the By-Pass?
Mike Figg ('70)
Ellen Spitalari (65)
As I read the message about radio stations I recalled that I dated a disk jockey on one of the stations in 1966. His name was Sherman Meyer and he got in big trouble once because he said:"That's the news from the Trishitties." The FCC was NOT amused!
Ellen Spitaleri
Jack Grouell (61)
The 1959 Columbian has a picture of Sharon Tate as the sophomore homecoming princess.
Jack Grouell '61
Larry Reid (68)
Wow! I haven't thought about Mr. Clayton for ever! That really brings back memories. I wouldn't have a clue where he might be now but would love to know. I remember his stories about how he survived when the ship he was on during WWII was hit. He was my favorite teacher at Carmichael. Remember Mr. Jantz, Algebra teacher. His favorite saying to teach about the equal sign was "What you do to grandma, you do to grandpa". I still remember both of those teachers vividly.
I worked at Zips 66 - 68 and Mr. and Mrs. McDonald (who owned Zips) still live next to my parents on Cottonwood. I see them now and then and they look good. Do you remember Zips? I worked around alot of Bomber Alumni including Delores and Carolyn McDonald.
See ya for now.
Larry Reid
Berta Hettinger (64)
When I was in 5th grade, I went to a Girl Scout Camp on Clear Lake. I believe it was located on White Pass near Tieton Reservoir.
Do you know anything about Mike Blalock who was in our class? I don't remember seeing her name on any list.
Berta
Karen Stinsman Nowitzki (65)
Junior English class when the announcement came in about Kennedy - still remember which seat. We moved to Richland one day before my 8th birthday in 1955 and lived in the "Stilts" for a couple months. Then Cottonwood and the 1118 McPherson ( an A house) next door to Sharon Brown's family. Went to Sacajawea and Junior High at Highlands in Kennewick when we moved. Came back to Richland for High School. Enjoying all the "memories" and sharing them with my sixteen year old. Thanks.
Irene Smith Gostnell Goodnight (59)
I think this is really awesome that we are all connecting like this, over all these years! I wonder if any other towns are having this phenomenon, or is it Richland, itself (and all of us) that are different???
I went to Chief Jo, and always had to carry my violin with me everywhere, I felt like a nerd, but never wanted to quit playing it. I still do, in a Scottish band in Bend, Oregon.
I remember walking home from Uptown with Nancy Stull, hooking arms together in case any kidnappers came by in a car and tried to grab one of us.....we never really thought any would, but we had a plan in case they did....One day on the way to school (we WALKED everywhere until we could drive) I asked Judy Drott's mom how she was feeling, and she said, "With my fingers."
And during one of our slumber parties in high school, Judy and I, with Joyce Farley, Lorna Lee (I think) Carol Jean and Ginger Munson, and Jeannette, (I forgot her last name,) we went into the high school in our p.j.'s and looked around all the halls. There was a game that night, and there were lots of people in the school, so we were trying to hide, yeah, right!
Thanks for all the memories,
Irene Smith Gostnell Goodnight
August 22, 1998
Tony Tellier (57)
Response to: "How about Dietrich's Market. Some have mentioned a market near Marcus Whitman. Must be the same. I would walk or ride my bike up there. We had a charge account there. All I had to do was sign my name! So cool!":
How about Chuck Dietrich??!! He got a law degree then ended up in Phoenix where the high-paced lifestyle overran his common sense, so to speak. For a variety o unsavory and illegal reasons he was/(is?) disbarred. He was running at full throttle when I ran into him. He also got a LOT of media attention. I believe he is living up in Payson (AZ).
Greg Sletager (72)
Anybody remember? -
Black low top Converse - in '68 you had to have 'em.
Learning to drive and park (parallel and the other kind) at the old trailer courts north of Richland.
Mr. Covington saying, " You're idlin' on me" when you weren't paying attention.
Morely Paul waxing eloquent on his favorite subject - sailing his San Juan 21. (Often a welcome reprieve from the planned curriculum).
Multiple bomb scares at Col Hi in the spring of 72, strategically timed to get everyone out of school early.
Bleacher Bums of America chanting, "Elevator, elevator, we got the shaft" whenever the refs made a call against the Bombers.
Richland teens referred to as "A-city Youths" in the Tri-city Herald.
The "fingernail" stage in Howard Amon park. (What was the name of that park before - Riverside?)
The hill outside Mac hall. For when you needed a little "fresh air".
More later as the search for dormant brain cells continues...
Greg Sletager (Carmichael and Col Hi.)
Patti Snider Miller (65)
I remember when I moved to Richland when I was 13... 3/4 of the way through 7th grade. Came from Puyallup(west of the mountain). No one could pronounce the name.. they would say Pullyup, etc. Coming from raining country to 110 degrees!!! I never thought I'd make it. I'm still here too! Someone mentioned the ground breaking of the 'N' reactor and getting to see President Kennedy. I did too and also had to stay after school for a couple days for going! My Mom took my brothers and I (Mike Snider class of 62, Richard Snider class of 66). Hey it was worth it! I also remember being sent home from Chief Jo because my skirt was 2 inches above my knee!!! My how things have changed...
Gary Behymer (64)
Starlet or Starlit Stairway? Their phone # Fairfax 8-1521?
Joe Largé (68)
I am sad to announce that I had heard that Mr. Clayton died in February of this year.
Also, Mr. Lytle who owned Densow Drugs passed away awhile ago. Not sure if any of you remember him, he was really a neat person to know, very kind person. We lived about 3 houses down. Vicki Lytle and I played together as children.
Thanks
Joe
P.S.: About Mr. Jantz, he also used to like to lean back in his chair and throw his chalk behind him in an effort to hit the chalk railing on the blackboard. If I remember right, he was no basketball star in that regards.
Anybody remember the Astronomy teacher (Dang, can't remember his name). Tall, skinny guy with white hair, stringy voice and glasses (I think). Oh, Yes! Mr. Klukas. His son, Craig, played Trombone in the band.
Eva Clark Perry (49)
When JFK notice came out, I was on the highway to Lynnwood Wash. to visit a friend and the drive line fell out of my car on the Highway, had 4 little boys at the time and had to wait for the S.P. to call my friend to come and get us. How can one forget those times.
Dianne Cherrington (54)
Just wanted to send my thanks and let you know that I am really enjoying the contributions of generations of Col Hi students. It is particularly amusing to see that we share so many of the same memories, in spite of the span of ages.
Both of my sisters, Gail (58) and Sandi (66) have already sent some memories we have in common so I will try to add a few of my own....
First job (that gave me a regular paycheck). I was one of those uniformed usherettes at the Village Theater that watched over, cleaned up after and "put up with" a lot of the younger crowd... (I was all of 13 or 14 myself) and unless memory fails me, I earned about .35 per hour. It was a fun job and I was so proud to have it!
The old swimming pool! Learned to swim there and later, was a member of the water ballet team. We had great fun practicing when the pool was closed!!
Homecoming floats... One year we used tumbleweed for decoration. Friends and I borrowed Dad's old pickup to go bouncing off across the hills to collect "the best ones".
Shield's in Uptown (is it still there?) was where I worked during high school years and was a good place to be for after work fun.
I was in 6th grade (or was it 7th???) at Lewis & Clark when fire closed down our part of the school. It didn't get us off the hook, though. They sent us to Spading to finish out the year! Carmichael was brand new when I started there the following year.
Mr. Jantz! Tried to teach me Algebra too....and remembered that I wasn't one of his better students when my sister had him 11 years later!! He was still teaching Algebra when my daughter was in his class 20 years after me. Where does the time go????
To Mark Woodward: I remember your mother. We were friends so many years ago! Just to be certain, I went digging through my old Columbians and sure enough, I found her in the '53 issue (junior students). Please tell her "hello" for me.
Speaking of early '50s......I keep hoping that I will see more old friends write too. In spite of the fact that my Mom and Dad lived in Richland the rest of their lives, I've lost touch with too many of you.
Dianne Cherrington
Dianne Brown Koehnen (64)
To Berta Hettinger: I remember going to a Girl Scout camp one summer, too. It was called "Camp Singing Pines" and was on a lake in the Cascades with an island called Strawberry Island. Maybe it's the one you remember, too. One of the campers stepped on an underground hornets nest on a day hike and freaked everyone out screaming and jumping around with bees swarming all over her legs! I remember winning a big spatula as first prize for a flapjack flipping contest! I always thought it was near that stumpy lake on I-90, but am not sure. Anyone know for sure?
Carol Converse Maurer (64)
I'm sure enjoying all these memories!! I remember being in Homeroom when the announcement came over the loud speaker about Pres. Kennedy being shot. Actually, I was sitting close to the front of the first row. I don't remember anymore of that day. There was no other talk but that. I also remember going to JJ Newberrys and going upstairs to see Santa Claus. Those were sure great days. I was at Clear Lake a few years back, actually, quite a few years back. It is up White Pass. I remember how cold it was and my son, then 2 years old, didn't think anything about going into it - burrrr!!! I remember back in elementary school, racing home each day right after school to listen to a radio program right before the Christmas holidays. Does anyone remember which program that might have been and what it was about? I don't remember.
Bye for now.
Kerry Kelly Compton (64)
Coming from Catholic school in 1960 to 9th grade at Chief joseph was terrifying to me. Sister Superior had told us stories about how Protestants hated Catholics and would persecute them. I felt very awkward and didn't know what to wear because i had been wearing uniforms for four years. I was in awe of those sophisticated Chief Jo kids - but they didn't persecute me at all!
Kerry Kelly Compton
