OHS Newsletter
(Archived Copy)

A Summary of Events and Topics of Interest to OHS grads and friends

** September 30, 2002 **

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to other alumni

by Bonnie Burke Hulse '65 HULSEBE@barstow.usmc.mil.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Sorry the letter is late, but our system at work has been down. I hope I didn't leave anything out. The weeks are running together faster than I can LIVE them! Can't understand it. It can't be old age!

Some new announcements this week. As most of you know, you received an invitation (from me but not me) via e-mail for the Alumni Association's fundraiser. It also had a link to our Memorial Board. It went to almost 6000 OHS grads and was bulk mailed by Classmates.com for me. The announcement must have been read by most of them. Bev Shulster Beiman said she had a LOT of hits to the Memorial Site, but the best one being an email from Neil Kamlin, the Driving instructor. He's doing well, and was happy to get back in touch. Contact Bev if you'd like to send him your regards. bbevy@012.net.il . Bev will also be helping me out with the letter by providing a new section on OHS history, including teachers. I'm sure you will all enjoy her column.

I noticed after the announcement about the weekend in Oakland at the Hilton for $40, several people bid on it. If one of you won it, CONGRATULATIONS. If not, sorry. but I'll keep watching for future goodies like that.

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CLASS OF 1964! MunWah (Gary Lee) is working hard to get a '64 reunion planned. It's never to early to start. He's had a couple of responses, but needs more help. Even if you are not in the bay area, there is stuff you can do to help. If you are interested and couldn't make the meeting, contact Mun Wah at MunWah@aol.com . His phone at 510 704-1986. Many of you have written to me that you are interested in a reunion. Get involved. Let's make it happen!

Speaking of Mun Wah, ON October 27th, his newest film, "Last Chance for Eden" will be having a Berkeley Premiere at the North Berkeley Jewish Community Center. There will be two showings, an afternoon and an evening performance. This is the final version before it's national and international release. Most of the cast will be there. It will be a very special evening. Please try to attend. If you need directions or more info, call Mun Wah at 510 704-1896. MunWah, we wish you the best with your film future. I'm sure this will be just the beginning for you!

WILDCAT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION is having their fundraiser again this October. With the money they raise, they have bought new seats for the school theatre, new curtains, and even paid for piano tuning. OHS was built to hold 1200 students, and is now handling as many as 2000. If you can't be there, maybe you would like to donate money, or an item for the silent auction. The Alumni Association has a website at www.oaklandhighalumni.com . Or you can call them at (510)433-7350. The upcoming event for OHS fundraiser will be Music, Music, Music, the fourth annual benefit for Oakland High Theater Fund. It will be hosted by Ben Fong Torres, '63. It will be at Yoshi's Jazz Club and Restaurant at Jack London Square on Saturday, October 12, 2002. Hours are from 11:30 AM to 4:00 PM. There will be live music, lunch buffet and a silent auction. They are looking for sponsors to support the event by giving a $500 donation. When doing so, they will have a table in their honor for the guests of their choice along with their name (company) on our plaque that is hung in the front lobby of the school. If they cannot sponsor monetarily, a gift contribution representing their company or organization toward the silent auction will be greatly appreciated. For more info, contact jkgsue@aol.com . Sheila E. will be performing for the first time this year. She is the daughter of OHS grad and musician, Pete Escovedo. Also performing at the event will be Jeremy Cohen, 4TET San Francisco, and the Oakland High School Orchestra. You should be receiving info on this from Classmates.com soon, too. Do not write ME about it, but contact the people listed in the notice.

Larry "Bear" Doull is coordinating a trip to Australia for those of you who may be interested. He calls it the trip of a lifetime! You can turn winter into summer with this trip, and find yourself baking on an Australian beach! The month long excursion features 2 nights in Melbourne, 2 nights in Adelaide (the city of churches), and the rest of the time In Perth and Fremantle, which is a city rarely seen by "Yanks" as it's on the WEST coast. Lots of golf courses, eating establishments, beaches, clubs, and tons of photo ops. Travelers will be staying at the Perth Ambassador. The flight will be booked through QUANTAS, which has a PERFECT safety record. The price has just dropped by $600, and now is the time to book. Travel to and from the airport is covered, and all hotel accommodations are included. Space is limited. There is a special discount for couples traveling together and for Better Business Bureau members. Deposits are due now to reserve your spot. A minimum deposit of $1000 is required. For exact cost and more details, contact Larry at bearsvcs@aol.com , or call him at 858 270-8250. There is also a shorter two week trip available.

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NEW PERSON ALERT! Several new people to the weekly letter. Let's welcome Corrine Lindblat, Class of 1967. Her email address is Ccg411@aol.com . Also from the Class of 1967, is Anthony Jackson, now Colonel Jackson of the United States Marine Corps (see photo below). Colonel Jackson currently serves as the Chief of Staff, 3rd Marine Division, Okinawa, Japan. He is hoping to arrange his schedule to attend the reunion November 2. I don't have his email address at the moment, but I can forward things to him if any of you would like to write to him. And welcome to Toni Gomez Giovanetti, Class of 61. Reach her at Maggie3229@aol.com. She found out about us through the Alumni Association mailing. Also, Marie Gray Logan, Class of 1963. She can be reached at Logan_Marie@msn.com, and is interested in news of the 40th reunion. And a warm welcome to members of our 1966 reunion committee, Rudie Martindale at 1148IRIS@ALAMEDANET.net, Calvin Lum at lum@hotmail.com, and Donald Wong at wongdpbm@aol.com . Welcome to all of you!
MISSING FRIENDS: Does anyone know anything about Edward O. (Pete) Lee, the French Teacher? If you know where he is or how to reach him, please contact me by replying to this letter (hulsebe@barstow.usmc.mil)). Our new person, Corrine Lindblat would like to know if anyone knows the where abouts of Andy Kahn or Richard Eastman from the class of 1967. Marilee MaGuire '60 would like to find an old friend from the class of 59 by the name of Greg Guilford. Any news of him would be appreciated. She is at midnite1399@yahoo.com . Also looking for Joanie Miller '65. Does anyone have an email address for her? How about Janet Miller, also '65? Still no news on the Katzer family, Joan French, Anna Jenson and Vivian Faye Kilpatrick. Others we are still looking for include Diane Ewing, '55, Ruth Lock, Darle Smith, Carolyn Frick, Warren Hardy, Clair Hanson, Class of June, 1951? Also looking for a Ron Poindexter. Does anyone remember a Faye Felderbaum, '65? She went to Crocker for 6th,and then to McChesney for 7th and 8th. Does anyone know of her or her whereabouts? How about Bobby Blatner Class of 65? We are also looking for Rene Ducroux, Class of 66. He is one of the "can't locate's" for the reunion. If anyone knows his whereabouts contact Diana Rhodes Fisch at ladydi@thegateway.net . Manuel Perez is still missing. If you know of his whereabouts, let us know.

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Still time to get a 65 Reunion CD. For those of you that attended McChesney I included the 1962 McChesney Yearbook. CD's are still available. I've sent out at least 40 so far. If you want a Free CD of the 65 reunion last August, let me know. Again, they are FREE.

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Visit the Memorial Pages
Here are this weeks additions. For more info visit the site.

1941

1943

1957

1958

1961

1964

1994

Teacher

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By Bev Shulster Beiman '65
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Since 1869 a vast array of students and teachers have passed through the halls of OHS, some going on to acclaim in their chosen professions. Here is a short profile of one of the earliest teachers at OHS. Judging from the works available on-line (a few links are provided below), it seems a shame we didn't study him at school ourselves.

EDWARD ROWLAND SILL
[1841 - 1887]
Taught English Literature from 1871-1874

-- "Mr. Parker's Critical Biography Based on the Poet's Letters"

"What was the work of Edward Rowland Sill? He devoted twelve years of his brief life to teaching, four of them in the Oakland High School and eight as professor of English in the University of California. His teaching was constructive and inspirational, but no history of American pedagogy will mention his name... He was an essayist who could describe and interpret with unique accuracy and insight, but those who now enjoy his graceful, lucid prose are few indeed... There have not been so many Americans who could write like this that Sill should be allowed to pass into oblivion...

"Take, for instance, his address to the mountain wind that played about him as he rested from a climb in the Sierra Nevadas:

'You need not think to palm yourself off as a freakish young zephyr,
just born of yonder snow-streak and the sun-armed rock;
you have been roaming this planet ever since its birth.
You have whirled in cyclones and danced with the streamers of the aurora;
it was you that breathed Job's curses, and the love vows of the first lover that was ever forsworn.' "
-- New York Times, March 14, 1915
-- "A Poet's Exquisite Prose"
"To those who have always loved his poetry, the little volume devoted to the prose of Edward Rowland Sill...will appeal with double force. If possible, Sill's prose is even more exquisite than is his verse."
-- New York Times, May 19, 1900
Mt. Sill (14,153 ft.)
-- The second highest peak in the Palisades range of the Sierra Nevada named by J. N. LeConte in 1896
"Edward Rowland Sill"
-- U.S. Merchant Marine Cargo Ship (Freighter), was loading and awaiting orders during June 1944. Carried 480 men and about 120 army vehicles to Normandy from the United Kingdom
Examples of Sill's writing available on-line:
Works still available at
Other OHS authors of note:

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What happened to normal food? I remember food being a simple thing. Meat, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, etc. Well, not anymore.

My husband does the shopping. When I opened my cupboards and freezer last night, it looked more like they had been attacked by the Lucky Charms Leprechaun. The cupboard and freezer were full of stuff in mystical, magical colors.

For example, when did French Fries turn "Kool Blue"? They are a neon blue color. Now, it used to be when things turned blue in my fridge (and they did) the color blue meant WARNING! THROW THIS AWAY! My husband assures me that they taste the same as regular fries, but somehow I can't seem to handle blue French fries. My grandkids love them. My question is, if they are blue, and tasted like blue fries, what does "blue" taste like?

French Fries don't stop there. Ore-Ida also makes (blechhhh!) Cocoa Crispy Fries. French fries mixed with chocolate...........No. I didn't make this up. It's a new thing called Funky Fries. The difference between blue fries and Cocoa fries is that when the Cocoa fries cook, the odor leads you to believe you will soon be eating cookies instead of French Fries.

Ahh, but we aren't done yet. Bake up those Kool Blues and stick them on a plate with Heinz Blastin' Green Ketchup! Kids now have a way to eat junk food AND gross us out at the same time! There is another new Funky Fries product called Cinna-Stix, but I've been fortunate not to find them in my freezer.

I guess changes in the way food looks is not new.

Remember how cool it was when your mom made Jello, and it came in all kinds of different flavors? A guy named Peter Cooper invented Jello (well, gelatin) back in 1845. It came in one color. One flavor. Blah. I was unable to find out what flavor that may have been, but by 1897 they were up to four. Strawberry, Raspberry, Orange and Lemon. Wonder if parents looked at flavored jello and were grossed out? Dang teenagers! In the 1930's green Jello was invented to look like salad, not necessarily to taste like Lime. Jello was a staple. Did you know that Jello was served at Ellis Island between 1900-1925? It was a "Welcome to America" treat for new arrivals. They even invented Chocolate Jello. Yuck. But eventually, Chocolate Jello was taken off the market and Chocolate PUDDING was introduced. Now there's a big YUM! Still like my Chocolate pudding today! During world War II, Sugar was at a shortage, so the Jello people invented Sugar Free Jello years ahead of it's time. Jello was a cheap, good tasting desert.

Yes, I researched this a little.

That brings me to another staple. Peanut Butter. A perfect product. It's been around for many years. As a kid I remember my Uncle Hank coming home after school, eating a loaf of Wonder Bread made into peanut butter sandwiches, and drinking a quart of milk. (Got Milk?). Peanut butter just isn't that simple now-a-days. In some places you can buy Spicy Peanut Butter. It doesn't say WHAT kind of spice. Or you could stuff celery with Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter. Want a Peanut Butter Creamsicle? Try mixing White Chocolate Peanut Butter with orange Marmalade. You can also get Chocolate Peanut Butter (unlike Reeses cups) or Peanut Butter mixed with freshly cut carrots, celery and apple slices. And there is even a dessert out there called Death by Peanut Butter (I don't want to know). Me, I was happy with two choices, Creamy or Crunchy.

Who thinks up these ideas? Probably people who were sent to their rooms as kids and had lots of time to think of dumb things. And now they get paid big bucks for it. The modern food industry has gone crazy.

Now you can buy things like neon colored candy boogers (oh yeah, I want some of those-----!) and gummi candy shaped like worms and dirt. Garlic flavored ketchup. Vinegar potato chips. How about sour cream and onion Popsicles? Where do we draw the line? Sure, we had chocolate cigarettes, Lik-a-maid straws full of sugar, pop rocks, whole loaves of bread with sugar on it, and who could forget those Alice B. Toklas Brownies? One of my personal favorites that I still munch on is hot noodles dipped in cold mayonnaise, a real good thing for clogging your arteries. But when did we turn "funky"?

The Funky Fries from Ore-Ida is in combination with Nick.com, a somewhat continuation of Nick's Green Slime. That's why you see Jimmy Neutron on the package. It's supposed to appeal to the 6-14 age group.

Actually this food craze missed the big audience. Us. In the 60's and 70's the stoner's would have gone crazy over munchie's like Blue Fries, or fries mixed with chocolate. That has munchie written all over it! What a trip! Remember smoking Bananas in the Haight? Can you "dig" being "stoned" and seeing your buddy down a handful of psychedelic colored gummi worms? Of course, to be fair, "19" (Kwikway) was slightly ahead of the times. I believe they were serving green burgers and fries way back then, we just never noticed it. As teens we'd eat anything. Especially if it was cheap! Which goes to show we never learn either, because most of us couldn't wait to hit Kwikway during the Food Crawl at the 65 reunion. And the food still tasted the same. Heck, it was probably still left over from the 60's when we hung out there! At least the fries (which, by the way, still are greasy enough to eat through the bag!) could be listed in the funky category.

This all leads me to wonder what products DIDN't make it to market. If Blue fries were good enough, what WASN'T good enough? And who, poor soul, taste tests this stuff? Did someone come up with the weird food idea after reading Green Eggs and Ham? And how would you apply for such a job? Human Guinea Pig, well trained in exotic color and flavored foods? What will they come up with next? It's lunchtime. My husband brought me a surprise. I'm afraid to look.

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Last week's TRIVIA They must be getting tooooo easy! Just about everyone got them, with Donna being the first one in.
1. What threesome song group were Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds? Kingston Trio
2. What did we see when it was "time to twist the Mousekedial to the right and the left with a great big smile"? A mousekartoon
3. What superpowers did Batman acquire? None
4. On Saturday Night Live, What was Mr. Bill's Dog's name? Spot
5. What did Tom Terrific wear on his head? A funnel
6. HEADBANGER: How many witnesses testified for the Defense in the Manson Family Trial? NONE
7. Herb Edleman and Bob Denver had a 2 season series. What was it? The Good Guys
8. Did Skyrocket belong to Spin or Marty? Marty
9. Josephine the Plumber was spokesperson for what product? Comet
10. Who hosted the suspense program "Thriller"? Boris Karloff.

This weeks Trivia: Different kind of questions this week.

1. What continent is Jamaica considered part of?

2. What is the square root of one quarter?

3. How were Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt related?

4. How many stars were on the US flag in 1958?

5. What U. S. State is the Beaver State?

6. What state hosts the U. S. Champion Chili Cookoff every fall?

7. How many months does it take the moon to revolve around the earth?

8. How many years did Sleeping Beauty sleep?

9. What U.S. President killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel?

10. How many dots on a pair of dice?

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Pictures this week include:

Colonel Anthony Jackson, USMC,

Colonel Anthony Jackson, USMC
Colonel Anthony Jackson, USMC

Fruitvale School 6th grade class,

Fruitvale School 6th grade class
Fruitvale School 6th grade class
Back row, Linton Bynton, unknown, Ray ?, Craig ?, Jimmy Robinson, OHS 66, Carl ?, Maurice Newman, 'ohs66, SECOND ROW: Carol? , Nancy ?, Mary ?, Priscilla, Linda Ferriera, Betty, Rhonda, Sephanie Davini. THIRD ROW: Kathy, Julia Hayden OHS 66, Jane, Yvonne Pon, OHS 66, Sandy, Cheryl and Polly Campbell. FRONT ROW, John, Hugh Nagel, Warren Miller, OHS 66, Christy Gray, Steve Tucker, Russell Crowder OHS 66, Sheldon Past OHS66.

Manzanita School KIndergarten Class. Anyone have any names?

Manzanita School KIndergarten Class
Manzanita School KIndergarten Class

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Copyright © 2002 by Bonnie Burke Hulse '65 and Beverly Shulster Beiman '65. All rights reserved.