Ahoy, Pirates 1957!

September 2009 Issue of “Pirate Press”

Hi, Pirates. Here we are again to share some news of the YHS Class of ’57. Am always so glad to hear from you; please keep the e-mails and photos (need more of those!) coming — and as often as you wish.

I’m not doing any editing (just assembling), so, as Gloria Bryson Pyszka reminded me, if you don’t want any part of your e-mail “published,” please let me know, and I’ll respect that.

Please notice our new section: “Arrrgh” (spelling?) where we’ll share the miscellaneous and often humorous. Your contributions are welcome. This is YOUR newsletter.

Also, don’t forget that our “Pirate Press” page is available at:

Fair Winds to you all,
Carol and Jim
Carol Lemon Allen
(“Wigwam” editor 1956-1957)

BENUM, Sara Harris
Hi Carol and Jim -- As a matter of fact, it DID go through. We have had a lot of house guests, with more to come on Monday, so I've not been very good at responding to messages. More anon.
Sara

BOLINGBROKE, Marilyn Wolfe
Carol: Thanks so much for doing this. Please sign me up as a monthly recipient.
Marilyn

CARON, Linda Bruce
Carol, I didn't realize how quickly you were going to get things going. Therefore, I will send this for inclusion in the next issue. I am retired as a paralegal, had two boys (one of whom died 2 years ago), 2 beautiful grandchildren and one great granddaughter (a genius baby). We are working on a classic wooden 45 ft. Chris that will take a fortune to fix but will be worth it when done. I have two sweet dogs that keep me company. My oldest son and his family live in an apartment downstairs and we all have dinner together so that is really nice. I have a Scottish history website which I haven't worked on forever but it is www.nwlink.com/~scotlass in case anyone is interested in that sort of thing. My parents are both recently gone and since I have no brothers or sisters, I feel kind of like an orphan but have lots of other family. I email Myrene Haldeman Northy on occasion and stopped recently to visit on our way to Boise. I talk to Gilbert Chandler on the phone now and again. He doesn't have a computer so no email. I do find it interesting to know what people are doing. My question of the day is "how did we get to be 70? Weren't we just 17 yesterday?
Linda

GAFFNEY, Wayne
Carol, it was interesting to read the feedback in the August 2009 issue. I left Yakima to go to UW and never planned on returning, but in 1999 married Bobbie who was living in Yakima and decided to return. Spend a lot of time at cabin on Rimrock Lake skiing, fishing, hiking, etc. and just reading and watching the pine trees grow. Have three wonderful grown children and one grand child. Just returned from Hell's Canyon jet boat tour - 208 mile day trip - and highly recommend for any one looking for a great experience. Keep up the good work.
Wayne "Sonny" Gaffney

P.S. I reviewed the photos I took and determined none of them were of the quality and content that might be useful to you - in the lower portion of the tour you have the issues of a bouncing boat moving at 35mph or so, and for the last 15 miles, or so, we switched to a boat they call their Boogie Boat. They guarantee you will get absolutely drenched, and we did, so we left cameras behind. There are a number of operators doing Hell's Canyon tours. After doing our research, we selected Snake River Adventures and would recommend them. Their web site is http://www.snakeriveradventures.com/about_us.htm. I think you will find it useful should you elect to do an article. It is beautiful country! This is the heart of the Chief Joseph and Nez Perce country, which is a whole story in itself. If you wish to review my photos, they are posted at
http://picasaweb.google.com/sonnygaffney/HellSCanyon?authkey=Gv1sRgCN_65ZT475bhQQ#5357743360378323058". The last photo is of a sign board on the shore commemorating where Chief Joseph led his people across the river.
Wishing you the best,
Sonny

GRABER, Peggy Serr
Hi, Carol, Please count me in.
Peggy

HAUENSTEIN, David
Carol,
Here’s something for inclusion in the next issue of Pirates Press.

I was glad to see a few photos in the August issue. My suggestion is that as often as possible grads will initially send in two photos: one of them as soon after high school graduation as possible and the other of recent vintage. Attached to this message is “photos 080” of me on the radio in the U.S. Army in Germany in 1963 and then “photos 267” of me recently.

I hope grads will be able to supply you with connections to those on your list of missing pirates. I knew Allen Parks, a YSHS thespian who became a teacher of French and Spanish in the Seattle school system. He died sometime in the 1980’s. I know Sandra Fosshage who went to Seattle and became a social worker. She has recovered about 70 percent from the effects of a stroke a few years ago.

I can sketch my life in a future issue of Pirates Press. If Carol says it’s appropriate later, I can include some writing samples. Writing and also voicing written words are what I do.

Hey, are there any grads of Mr. Shelton’s radio shack next to the high school building?
David Hauenstein

MCPHERSON, Gary
Carol.Love this.Great job..Mac

MEGORDON, Gary
Hi, Carol. I have thought of you many times through the years. Amazing that I should get a copy of the Pirate Press (August 2009 Issue) from Gary McPherson and read notes from so many of our classmates. When I see some of their names, I picture different things about the past. Here is a little about me: I retired from active duty with the US Air Force in 1979. I have three daughters and one grandson. My youngest daughter is a graduate of the Air Force Academy; she has had two tours in Afghanistan and one tour in Iraq. My grandson is in Medical School. I have lived in many places around the world and many places in the USA; to name a few: Hawaii, Korea, England, Germany, Azores, Califormia, Michigan, Virginia, Kansas, Tennessee, and South Carolina. I pride myself in being one of the early pioneers of computer technology; that began with a second generation computer (UNIVAC 1050-II) and continued though IBM main frames, IBM Mid Range, and ultimately PC networks. I retired completely in 2005. I live in Belle Isle Forest, Georgetown County, South Carolina. Belle Isle is a former plantation along Winyah Bay which leads inland to the port-city of Georgetown. I spend my time in my woodworking shop or working in my one-acre yard of weeds, oak trees, and moles. I have a full time companion named Charley; my Shepadoodle. My wife, Shuhling, is a registered dietitian and still works full time for the State of South Carolina.
Gary Megorden
843-520-2970
garymegorden@aol.com

PYSZKA, Gloria Bryson
Have a great time in NM. I really liked our one visit to Santa Fe since I like all things Native American. Oh, that reminds me..... ijust went up to the SF Modern Museum of ARt that has a fantastic exhibition of Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams together. In fact, there were far more GK paintings in SF than I saw in her Santa Fe museum. A beautiful collection that inspires me to get back to painting pronto.
Gloria

REED, Ann Collins
Dear Carol, Wow! I am impressed and so happy that you are willing to take on this monstrous job! and you're still working too. Thank you ever so much. My e-mail address was wrong from the beginning in our updated year book from 2 years ago. Then I forgot all about it. My sister, Kay, married to Ken hunziker sent me information and told me to get on the ball and send you my address. So here it is. bbreed@bendbroadband.com
Thanks again and I will be looking forward to all the good news of our classmates.
Ann.

STRAIN, Nancy Riemenschneider
Got word of this little [or big] project from Andy Thompson. I always had my hubby play with this computer. But he left me & this planet Nov.'07, so I'm learning slowly. Sharon Chard does not have a computer, so will share everything with her.

Since we have both lost our husbands, we have been doing some traveling together. Sharon bought a cute 21' moterhome. we took off with 2 dogs on an 8 week trip across the us. what a blast!!! since retiring from the post office, I have been busy with the LIONS club & traveling & reading. Am looking forward to hearing about everyone & what they are doing. Nancy Riemenschneider Strain--mailcarrier208@yahoo.com. WOODRUFF, Sue Utterback: Great job Carol. This turned out really well with lots of people responding with their news. I didn't know about Connie Keeling Newman. It is kind of sad because she sent a picture of herself in a lovely dress that she bought for our 50th Reunion and couldn't wear because her health wasn't good enough to come. I hadn't heard that she died. Also, I saw an email update too. Super! Thanks,
Sue

ARRRGH

1. From Sue Utterback Woodruff
I loved these classy insults. As an English teacher, I thought you'd appreciate them. These glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words.
Sue

He had delusions of adequacy. - Walter Kerr

He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. - Winston Churchill

I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure. - Clarence Darrow

He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary. - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it. - Moses Hadas

I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. - Mark Twain

He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends. - Oscar Wilde

I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one. - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one. - Winston Churchill, in response.

I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here. - Stephen Bishop

He is a self-made man and worships his creator. - John Bright

I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial. - Irvin S. Cobb

He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others. - Samuel Johnson

He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up. - Paul Keating

In order to avoid being call ed a flirt, she always yielded easily. - Charles, Count Talleyrand

He loves nature in spite of what it did to him. - Forrest Tucker

Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it? - Mark Twain

His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork. - Mae West

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination. - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. - Groucho Marx

There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure. - Jack E. Leonard

He has the attention span of a lightning bolt. - Robert Redford

They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge. - Thomas Brackett Reed

He has Van Gogh's ear for music. - Billy Wilder

He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know. - Abraham Lincoln

2. This is a guy writing this and of course, much older than any of us ;-)

Electronically Challenged Seniors
Things are spiraling out of control. I think I have become lost in a world of electronic madness.

One of my sons informed me this week that my cell phone has become obsolete and I must head down to the Cell Phone store and get a phone that is contemporary with the time.

I pointed out that the fancy Razor/Slim line phone with camera built in that he made me trade my perfectly good flip-top Motorola cell phone for two years ago still works perfectly fine. Well, except for the camera thing. Never could figure that out.. Even the few times I actually did take pictures I couldn't figure what to do with them and gave up.

That is except when I would push the wrong button and take a video of the ceiling or my feet.

Seems the issue is that I am unable to text with the tiny little 3 character buttons. "Hi, son," would come out looking like, "Gh Qmo." My grandkids have even spoken to my wife about Poppa's crazy text messages. Give me a break. Whatever happened to actually talking on a phone? Isn't that what they were invented for?

They want me to get one of those phones that you can turn upside down and sideways and has a typewriter keyboard with keys about one-eighth the size of my pinky finger.

One of my four sons is a realtor whose real occupation is fly fishing. "Way to go, son." Or in my text language, "Xbz um Io, rmo."

We were floating the Yakima River in his guide quality drift boat south of Ellensburg , Washington . We were miles from anything remotely resembling civilization. Rock canyon walls were on either side of us. Bear with me as I try to explain this strange thing.

His "Blackberry" rang. It was blue and I asked him why it wasn't called a Blueberry. He shook his head with that 'dealing with an elder' despair look I get a lot these days. It was another realtor who called to say that the sellers he represented had agreed to my son's client's changes and he had the signed documents in hand.

My son told him to FAX the papers to his office and he would get them signed and faxed back, to close the deal that morning. A minute later the phone rang and he hit a few buttons and looked over the FAX, now on the Yakima River with us.

He then called his clients and told them he was faxing the papers to them to sign and asked them to FAX them back to his office. While he was waiting, he hooked into a fat rainbow and was just releasing this 22 inch beauty as his phone rang again with the signed FAX from his clients.

He called the other realtor and told him he was sending the signed papers back by FAX. The deal was closed. He smiled and just said, "You are a little behind the times, Dad." I guess I am.

I thought about the sixty million dollar a year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a Blackberry that played music, took videos, pictures and communicated with Facebook and Twitter.

I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouse, 13 grandkids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Nobles talking to my wife as everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. Seems I have to take my hearing aid out to use it and got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-ul-ating" You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then when I would make a right turn instead, it was not good.

When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GSP lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings. The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop.

I bought some of those cloth re-usable bags to avoid looking confused but never remember to take them in with me.

Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or Plastic?" I just say,
"Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual."

Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look.

3. You are all going to enjoy this.

There is something for everyone. Just click on the year and select your favorite songs. Enjoy!

YEAR 50-54
YEAR 55-59
YEAR 60-64
YEAR 65-69
YEAR 70-74
YEAR 75-79
YEAR 80-84
YEAR 85-89

4. Remember this?

Does anyone want to send a new, updated version about us?
THE CLASS OF ‘57

Tommy's selling used cars, Nancy's fixing hair,
Harvey runs a grocery store and Margaret doesn't care.
Jerry drives a truck for Sears and Charlotte's on the make,
And Paul sells life insurance and part-time real estate.

Helen is a hostess, Frank works at the mill,
Janet teaches grade school and prob'ly always will.
Bob works for the city and Jack's in lab research,
And Peggy plays organ at the Presbyterian Church.

And the class of '57 had its dreams,
Oh, we all thought we'd change the world with our great works and deeds.
Or maybe we just thought the world would change to fit our needs,
The class of '57 had its dreams.

Betty runs a trailer park, Jan sells Tupperware,
Randy's on an insane ward, Mary's on welfare.
Charlie took a job with Ford, Joe took Freddie's wife,
Charlotte took a millionaire, and Freddie took his life.

John is big in cattle, Ray is deep in debt,
Where Mavis finally wound up is anybody's bet.
Linda married Sonny, Brenda married me,
And the class of all of us is just a part of history.

And the class of '57 had its dreams,
But living life day to day is never like it seems.
Things get complicated when you get past eighteen,
But the class of '57 had its dreams.
Oh, the class of '57 had its dreams.
Statler Brothers

Missing Pirates

The following e-mails did not go through; do you know where these classmates are?

Agentpdh2@att.net
Patrick Dennis Hart

agentPDH2@worldnet.att.net
Patrick Dennis Hart

beverleycapen@charterinternet.com
Bev Capen

jmdandy3-7@peoplepc.com
Rosi Burrill Sotka

judylyn@connectexpress.com
Judy Lyn Crosslin Sweetland

PPankey@charter.net
Sydna Reese Pankey

rands@a4isp.com
Sue Hammond Taylor

rroth@foxinternet.net
Ron Roth

rschu@flash.net
Richard Schumacher

theroybals@charter.net
Yvonne Schoessler Roybal

veetac@mtintouch.net
Verena Friesz Clifton

wendykr@earthlink.net
Wendy Joy Kraft

Anyone else? We don’t have all e-mails. Please send those you know.