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Biographies
Last
Updated November 27, 2005
Cliff
Anderson Bob
Armstrong Ruth
Bretzius Neal Brockmeyer
Molly Busch Jim Carr
J. Alan Crisman Keith
Dinsmoor
Adrienne
Ellis David
Forsythe Bill Hawkins
Aileen
Harbison Don
Haze Mike
(Mickey) Jordan John
Kerr Carole
Ketchum
Maria
Manetta Eddie
Moses Judy Reed
John Ruhsenberger Neal Salisian
Toby Sutton Jack Taylor
Dewey Terry Alan
Walker
Gretchen
White Patricia Wilson
Bob Armstrong
As I recall, we graduated from Muir on the 14th or 15th of June, 1956. The very next morning, I was in boot camp in San
Diego at the Naval Training Center.
I became a Hospital Corpsman
in the Navy. I had some very interesting duties while a Corpsman. My first assignment upon
graduating from Corps School was to the premature nursery and delivery room. I worked there for about 9 months. I did a brief
stint in pediatrics and then went to work on a Neurology ward. I had patients with various forms of epilepsy and neurological
disorders. I then went to Electroencephalography (EEG) school. I ran brain wave tests on patients with suspected brain tumors or with
various other diagnosis, such as epilepsy. I became an instructor in EEG. I spent my entire three years and two weeks in
the Navy right in San Diego. Also while I was in the Navy, I played the trumpet and ended up playing in a 6 piece combo. We
won several talent show contests and played for a number of officer and non-com dances.
After I got out of the Navy I worked very briefly at the San Diego Office Supply Co. and then moved back to the Pasadena
area and went to work for Lamb Ambulance and Mortuary. I drove an ambulance for about 8 months while I was testing for
various police departments. It was very tough to get on in those days. It wasn't unusual to have 1200 people taking the exam
for even small departments. I finally was hired by the South Pasadena Police Department in May of 1960. I remained there
until November of 1961 when I was hired by the Torrance Police Department. I went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Academy which was 16 weeks of pure "Hell".
While at the Torrance Police Department I worked in Patrol, Research and Training, Traffic, Planning, Personnel and for 15
years on and off in Vice and Narcotics. I got my private pilots license, studied Gracie Jiu Jitsu for 7 1/2 years, Entertained for
private parties, and went to school for 16 of the 31 years I was on the Torrance
Police Department. I eventually earned my law degree, passed the bar the first time out and practiced law part time for seven years (family law and personal injury defense). I would
schedule my court appearances on my days off and do the research and paper work at night or my off hours. It got to be too
much so I eventually quit practicing. I am now an Inactive member of the California Bar.
I was first married in Jan. 1959 and had a daughter, Jodi born in 1963. I went through two more marriages before marrying
my current wife Sherry My daughter Jodi was killed in a tragic accident in 1995. She left two children.
In the last few years of my law enforcement career, I found I could write music and lyrics and wrote about 45 songs. I also
began singing and eventually began entertaining at various functions all over the state. I retired
from the Torrance Police Department as a Lieutenant in October 1992.
After leaving the
Department, I
began entertaining at restaurants, hotels, lounges, etc. I really enjoyed that. I was at a very nice restaurant/lounge in the
Torrance area for 2 1/2 years and enjoyed a great following of loyal "fans." I sing in a variety of styles and do approximately
1300 songs.
I also became interested in the theater and did my first play in 1994 (a non-speaking roll in "Mame") Several more small rolls
in other plays came up.
My
wife Sherry and I then moved to Grant's Pass, Oregon in June of 1996. I am currently doing a lot of Community Theater,
commercials and entertaining in this area.
I also teach vocal to selected students. I keep incredibly busy and feel like I have
"died and gone to heaven" since moving up here. It is the closest thing to paradise I know. We have a
beautiful home on two
acres on the Applegate River here. This area is unbelievably beautiful and the people are
incredibly warm and friendly.
You
can contact Bob at: astrong@budget.net
Neal Henry Brockmeyer
ASB President
-- Fall Semester
Senior Class President -- Spring Semester
Following graduation from Muir, Neal attended Stanford University, graduating with distinction in 1960. He played three years of varsity basketball, and was active in the Sigma Chi fraternity. Following Stanford, Neal crossed the Bay and attended the University of California, (Boalt Hall) Law School. He was the managing editor of the California Law Review.
Neal has practiced law (corporate securities/mergers and acquisitions) for 38 years. He is listed under California Corporate Law in Best Lawyers in America. He has chaired several committees for the American Bar Association, the California Bar Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Business Law Section. He has authored or co-authored many articles in the field of business law.
Neal has chaired the Stanford Conference and was regional chair for the Stanford Centennial Campaign in the Southern California area. He was co-founder and first President of the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation; President of the La Canada High School Boosters Club; President (and chair of the capital campaign) of the Crescenta-Canada Family YMCA; and President of the Alliance Board, and V ice-President and Trustee, of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum Foundation.
Neal is married to Molly Busch, and they have three grown children, two married, and three wonderful grandsons.
Neal enjoys reading
(especially historical novels), collecting Western Art and early checks and bank
documents from California and Nevada, sports and traveling around the United
States.
You
can contact Neal at: Mnbrock@aol.com
Molly Busch
Brockmeyer
After graduation
from Muir, Molly attended Pasadena City College for one year, then transferred
to the University of California. While at Cal, she was active in the Gamma
Phi Beta sorority, and sang in the Cal choir. Molly graduated in 1960,
with an Elementary Teaching Credential.
Molly taught third grade at Piedmont Unified School District for three years while Neal attended law school. Following his graduation, they moved back to Southern California, and Molly taught at La Canada Elementary School (where they had both attended!). In 1965, upon the birth of their first child, Molly retired from teaching and became a full time mom and community volunteer.
Over the years, Molly has been very active in the local PTA, La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation, School Site Councils, Governing Board advisory committees, YMCA, Lanterman Historical Society, and Assistance League of Flintridge. Molly's favorite pastimes are walking, gardening, reading, movies, sports and her grandchildren (not necessarily in that order).
Neal and Molly have three grown children, two married, and three wonderful grandsons, all of whom live and/or work in the area. Together, Neal and Molly have been recognized for their efforts on behalf of their community. Both received the Golden Apple Award from the La Canada School Administrators and Northwest San Gabriel Valley Administrators Association, the PTA Honorary Service Award, the Les Tupper Community Service Award, and in 1993 were selected as the Kiwanis's La Canadans of the Year. They have enjoyed their past association with the John Muir Reunion Committees, and look forward to future get-togethers.
You can contact Molly at: Mnbrock@aol.com
Jim Carr
Before graduating in 1956, Patti Wilson and I were
married in March and honeymooned during Easter break. So when we both graduated
from Muir we were already in the work force, had a small apartment, and ready to
start a family.
We had our first child in 1957, Thomas James Carr, born at Saint
Luke's Hospital in Pasadena. Patti was modeling and doing
television commercials and I was working for my dad at Carr's Market on Hill Ave
in Pasadena. I had no desire to go to college. As a child, I loved playing in the dirt, and at an early age,
I wanted to go into the heavy equipment business and own big bulldozers, and
dump trucks. I took a job with the
Los Angeles County Engineers as a surveyor trainee / helper for about a year,
then moved on to Treadwell Engineering in Arcadia for a couple more years. We
moved to Monrovia where we had our second child, a girl, Jamison (Jamie) Helen
Carr.
When I got a chance
I'd stop and listen to the jazz groups playing at the Coventry Inn in Monrovia.
It was owned by a couple of musicians in their early 20's. I also wanted
my own nightclub / jazz club, as most musicians dream of.
In 1960 I moved my
little family to Salton Sea, California and I opened a jazz bar called "Jimmy
Carr's Note." Through
Associated Booking of Hollywood I managed to sign name groups for
"one-night stands" while they were in transit to other ìgigs.î
Famous jazz names, such as Cal
Tjader, Calvin
Jackson and Anita
O'Day, played memorable one-night stands at my Jazz Club, and of course, I'd
sit in on bass. After being in the bar biz for a little over a year I got the
ìwanna be a restaurant / bar ownerî out of my system and we sold the jazz
club. I moved the family once more, this time to Palm Desert,
Calif.
I worked for Salton Paving during the day and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
nights I played bass in Palm Springs with the "Jimmy
Carr Trio." This life style took its toll on our marriage and we
separated then finally divorced in 1963, but it was on good terms.
Lived the single-party
life between Palm Desert, Salton Sea and Newport Beach on weekends.
In 1965 I started dating Karen Melson, a secretary that worked for my
brother-in-lawís engineering firm in Salton City.
I moved back to Salton Sea and we were married in Palm Springs in March
1966. I became a new dad in
February 1967 to Wesley James Carr.
We moved to Redondo
Beach, then to Harbor City, a nice family neighborhood between San Pedro and
Palos Verde. I worked for Lubanko & Sons / Salton Paving for the next couple
of years as construction foreman in charge of back fill, compaction and roadway
restoration for the underground pipeline operation.
I bought a dirt bike
and moto-climbed the rocky hills, which were almost vertical cliffs above the
ocean at Palos Verde. That got me into cross
country motorcycle "dirt bike" racing in the California high
desert just about every other week-end.
In 1969 we moved to
Lake Havasu City, Arizona and I worked as a paving foreman for D.C.
Speers General Engineering Co.
In 1970 we had a baby
girl, Shana Lynn Carr.
In 1971, after the
contract with McCulloch was completed, Speers wanted me to travel with a
portable plant throughout the state of Arizona but I declined. Instead, we moved
to Elko, Nevada and I went to work
as vice-president of Trico Western Development Co., a newly formed corporation
controlled my brother-in-law. My
job was to build the subdivision roads of the Spring Creek land development and
stay ahead of land sales. With a
novice, non-union crew, we managed to complete all the roads ahead of schedule.
The little town of Elko had 3 casinos with live entertainment and 6 legal
bordellos. One of the casinoís,
Stockmanís, was where Vicky Carr (Cardona) performed after signing her very
first casino contract.
Being vice president,
with an expense account, made be believe it was my job to entertain our out of
town business associates and somehow I forgot about ìhome on the ranch.î
After seven years of marriage, my wife informed me that she wanted a divorce.
Since we were residents of Nevada all we had to do was agree so the process only
took two days. So here I am, single
again with my 16 year old son Tom, who came to live with me the year before,
both sharing a one bedroom apartment so small we vacuumed with a dust buster.
My job was complete,
since the majority of roads were in place and the crew was trained, so I hired a
superintendent to oversee the remainder of road construction and maintenance.
Just as corporate procedures dictate, I worked myself out of a job, and a
seven-year marriage too. I was
given a bonus and a couple months severance pay.
Sandy, my secretary at Trico Western, was recently divorced and Trico
thought they were transferring her to Phoenix, but I had asked her and her four
year-old daughter Kelly to move to Havasu and share the house I had rented.
Sandy knew she would love Lake Havasu, so I loaded a rented U-Haul truck
with the few bits and pieces of furniture I had, Tom's guitar, my bass, and
Sandyís furniture. We were moving
back to Lake Havasu City, home of the London Bridge . . . Yee Haw!
One cold early morning
in December of 1972 we left Elko, Nevada for the 10 to 12 hour trip to Havasu.
The temperature, with wind chill factor, was 20† below zero.
Sandy was born and raised in Elko. I believe her father, who was Chief of
Police, had an all points bulletin out on me for stealing his daughter and
granddaughter, so we just "kept on truck'n." About 8 hours later,
approaching Las Vegas, I rolled the windows down and took a big
"whiff" of the 70†-desert air. I
vowed I would never again live anywhere where I could see the vapor from my
breath.
After we arrived in
Lake Havasu and settled in, Trico had a small project for me that I could do
with a minimal cost for rented equipment. It was for McCulloch, screening rocks
off the top three inches of land destined to be the new 18-hole golf course.
With the contract in
hand, I borrowed $2500 from my buddy Fred Dohring, another $2500 from my dad and
$5000 from my older sister Dotty. Sandy and I became a couple and we committed to
each other. With
rented equipment, we finished the job and paid everyone back in 60 days plus an additional $500 bonus
for their having trust and faith in me.
Sandy's daughter Kelly
sat on my lap one day and said, "Are you going to marry my Mom?"
îWhy?î I replied. She
said, ìíCause youíre my dad and I don't have time to wait around.î What
a kid!
Sandy, Kelly and I drove to Las Vegas and the Reverend Johnny B. Love married Sandy and I at
the Silver Bells Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas strip on April 26, 1974.
I was 36 years old and this was my third marriage.
1974 was a special
year because I passed the Arizona contractors license test and became a general
engineering contractor. This enabled us to bid on municipal work for Lake Havasu
City. We purchased a piece of new equipment from the profits of each contract
that was awarded us. Over the next ten years we acquired two hot plants, a concrete
plant, trucks and other heavy equipment we needed. We purchased 40 acres of land
specifically as a gravel pit and built a shop
and office on the only two acres that was accessible by a side road. I had
my own source for aggregate, sand and gravel!
We bought the property from McCulloch because it was deemed unusable and
not feasible for development because of the rough terrain and high cost of
development. After ìminingî
rock and gravel from of one of the parcels we ended up with 2000 feet of highway
frontage and 25 of the 40 acres level with the highway. Before, it was a
mountain, 30 to 40 feet above State Highway 95, now it was prime land for
development.
In 1979 I fulfilled
my life long dream of getting my pilots license and bought a new Cessna
172 with minimal equipment. My solo flight was in about 8 hours of
training, which is normal and received my ìsingle engine landî license in
about 40 or so hours of training. I went on to get multi-engine and
single-engine land and sea. My plane, or should I say, my ìbabyî was an Aero
Commander Shrike 500, which is the same plane that Bob Hoover does all his
famous air show stunts with. Sandy got her pilots license too . . . in less time than it
took me . . . some women have no
fear!
Lake Havasu and the Colorado River was a playground for Southern Californians
and at times, these weekend invaders were forced to tolerate resident Arizonians
when Sandy and I would cruise the river in our
houseboat or jet-ski beside them. Occasionally, we'd get even by
invading Southern California to race
sand dragsters at Ontario.
In 1986, we decided it was time to sell James E. Carr Engineering. We had over a
million dollars under contract at the time, so we sold out to our closest
competition, the Tanner Companies and they kept most of our employees.
A shopping center
developer offered to purchase the 25-acre highway frontage in 1988. We closed
escrow in 1991 and now the gravel pit has a Wal-Mart and supporting shopping
center.
After years of traveling to Maui for vacations, we finally decided to buy a condo here in
1989. We thought it would be nice to spend summers Hawaii and get out of the Arizona heat for four months of the year.
But soon, we were spending more time here and much less in Lake Havasu. I bought a Bertram
Sport Fisher, did some fishing and
Sandy and I got into
scuba diving. We'd dive at
least two times a week in the waters around Maui, Lanai and Molokai. It didn't take
long to fall in love with this place, so in 1990, we made Maui our permanent
home, near our new hobbies and new friends. In 1993 we sold the condo and bought a
house on the ocean.
Whether it was the fiery
heat of the desert, the icy cold of Elko, flying the blue sky, racing in the
dirt or scuba diving in the waters of Hawaii, I've lived a fire and ice,
earth, sky and water kind life and loved every minute . . . well, didn't like
the icy cold of Elko that much.
All my
children are doing great. Do
I still have my bass?
Warmest Aloha to the Class of 1956.
Jim ìKimoî Carr
You
can contact Jim at:
Patricia Wilson
Patti Wilson went to John Marshall Junior High School in Pasadena before entering John Muir. She made her stage debut at the tender age of four, starring as one of the famous "Meglin Kiddies," at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, where she sang and danced for twelve performances. A year later, as a seasoned performer at age five, she was "forced" to put her career aside and to go to school. But school to Patricia was just another stage as she performed and directed shows during recess and captivated her younger playground audience by imitating her favorite musical comedy star, Betty Grable. As a teenager, Patricia continued to perform in high school and college productions. Turning professional she toured with the USO, entertaining our country's servicemen.
At Muir,
Patricia was a princess on the Homecoming Court and a song leader. Considered
one of the top ten television and photographic models in the greater Los Angeles
area, Patricia was a regular on Teenage Fare, a live show that aired every
week. As an Adrian Model on September 11, 1955, she posed on the front
steps of John Muir as the cover girl for the Pictorial Edition of the Los
Angeles Examiner.
Patricia appeared on national television commercials, such as Toni
Home Permanent, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Joy Soap, Ford and Chevrolet to name a
few. As a
teenager, Patricia continued to be a star on the rise. She was
selected as Miss Typical Teen of California, Miss Los Angeles for the downtown
businessmen's association, Miss Jolly Time Popcorn of America, Miss Shutterbug
Queen, Miss Palm Springs and Desert Circus Queen. She was asked to be in
the "Miss World" contest but declined because she was offered an
opportunity to become the
hostess of the Jack Latham News Show at station KMIR in Palm
Springs.
Soon, Patricia was one of Palm Spring's top television personalities. Patricia conducted interviews on the Jack Latham News, became the Palm Springs weather girl and was one of the show's "behind the scene talents," as producer, writer and director. Concurrently, Patricia appeared on stage in such plays as "Barefoot in the Park," "First Monday in October," "Solid Gold Cadillac," "Orpheus Descending," and "Born Yesterday."
Joseph Magnin's Department Stores signed her to a six year contract producing and appearing in more than 200 television commercials and dramatic film stories for them.
Patricia made her movie debut doing a heavy love scene with Richard Gere in "American Gigolo," directed by Paul Schrader. When Mr. Schrader saw the dailies, he wanted to lengthen Patricia's role, and tried desperately to find her, but Patricia was already on another location doing a fashion commercial, much to the chagrin of her agent.
Patricia danced and exercised for television audiences on "Give Your Body a Break." She co-hosted with Vic Braden on the syndicated show, "Tennis Break," and also hosted "Hollywood Preview." She has guest starred on many television series including, "Man Undercover," "Eight is Enough," "Happy Days," and "Love Boat."
In New York, Patricia appeared in a musical version of the famous melodrama, "The Drunkard," by Barry Manilow for the NBC Entertainment Channel. Live interview shows also filled her busy schedule having appeared with John Davidson, Regis Philbin and two appearances on "Tattletales."
Patricia is happily married to actor Tom Bosley and was president of Bosley-Carr Productions, a film development company. She and her husband were part of the original founders of the Performing Arts Theatre of the Handicapped (PATH), an organization dedicated to creating opportunities of employment in the entertainment industry for talented handicapped individuals. She is a past president of a chapter of the Southern California March of Dimes and also served as chairperson of the Dinah Shore Tennis Tournament in Palm Springs. An excellent tennis player herself, she finished second in the Dinah Shore Woman's Circle. She served as chairperson for the City of Hope Tennis Tournament and hosted the Davis Cup Matches in Palm Springs.
Patricia's devotion to charitable institutions has brought her honors from the Kiwanis Club of California and an award from both the American Longevity Association and American Institute for the Blind. She has also been honored by the City of Hope and the Palm Springs Press Association in addition to being made honorary queen of Hawaii.
Today, Patricia sits on the board of directors for SHARE, one of the largest children's charities in Los Angeles. She produced their annual fund raiser with some of the top show business entertainers, for three years and served as president in 1998-99. SHARE has raised over sixty-eight million dollars for mentally and physically challenged children, an achievement that she is particularly proud of.
On May 12, 2001, Patricia Carr Bosley received her star on the Palm Springs "Sidewalk of Fame."
You can contact Patricia at: patboz@earthlink.net
J. Alan
Crisman
The day after
graduating from Muir, I went fishing with Mac McHugh up off Angeles Crest and
fell off a cliff and broke my leg -- was in a cast for four months! After
the leg healed, I went into the Navy. Went to Fire Control School in San
Diego and spent three years in the Fleet as a combat system technician.
After the service, I worked as an analog computer technician for a couple of years, then became a technical writer --- wrote over 25 operation and maintenance manuals in a year and a half. Then went into management, and worked for Xerox in El Segundo and graduated from Pepperdine University with an MBA. Shortly thereafter, went to work at Pepperdine as Chief Admin. Officer in the School of Business. Also taught several classes at night in Principles of Management and Business Policy and Strategy.
Left the university after a couple of years and went to work for a small defense contractor out of Newport, Rhode Island. I was transferred to Newport, RI for six months, which turned into two years. Became Vice President of the Newport Office and built it from about 35 employees to about 150. Convinced the company to buy a little firm out of Camarillo and moved back to California to turn the company around. In three years, went from about $800,000 a year to over $10,000,000. It was really fun.
I have two children from my first marriage, Kimberly Lynn Crisman Gray, born in 1961, and Cynthia Diane Crisman Hernandez, born in 1963. Both daughters have two children, a boy each and a girl each. Kim lives in San Marcos and Cindi lives in Huntington Beach. When I was in Rhode Island I met Karen, my current wife. Brought her back to California. We were married and in 1985, we adopted Josh and Jeremy, who were 3 and 4 years old, natural brothers, born in the Philippines. At the same time, I left the job and went into management consulting. After adopting the boys, the pressure from the grand parents to relocate to the East Coast increased significantly. Karen wasn't really impressed with California, so we made the plans and moved to the East Coast. Josh and Jeremy still live at home with us.
I currently consult with two small towns in Rhode Island and handle their economic development and downtown revitalization efforts. I enjoy the work immensely because I get to work with as many small businesses as I can handle and help them with the myriad of problems a small biz encounters, from location to finance to personnel to profit and loss. The only down side is that I miss California. Winters in New England are a terrible thing to do to a California boy! Looking out the window and seeing snow on my boat reminds me of a Beach Boys song. I didn't realize how much I have missed, until I read the names listed on the "Memorium" page. I was particularly saddened by the notices for Diane Hall and Anita De Perini. I loved them both -- thinking of them took me back to the days at Washington Junior High. They really were golden times. If we just had the maturity to realize it.
Anyway, I was so happy to find this site and to read up on who's where, etc. I will watch it closely as the names grow and would love to hear from any old Washington Bears and Muir Mustangs. I will look forward to seeing as many as possible at the 50th. Special Note: If anyone knows where Carol Preston is, I would really love to hear from or about her.
You can contact Alan at: jacrisman@aol.com
Bill Hawkins
After graduating in 1956 I lost track of my buddies Gary Wilson and Donn
Walker. I was in the Naval reserve before graduation but the Navy released
me so
I
could join the Army. I did two tours of duty lasting five years.
While in the army, I married. My wife Joyce and I have been together for 39 years.
After leaving the service I went to work for General Motors Corp in Michigan. Worked my way
up and eventually and lastly was doing Statistical Process Control. After 33
years I retired!
We have three grown sons, Bill, Tom and Mike. Their jobs are Electrician (High voltage lines), Engineering manager and a CPA, going for a MBA.
You can contact Bill at: WHaw654768@aol.com
Carole Ketchum Slesnick
From
1956 to 1960, I attended the University of Arizona, in Tucson, receiving a BA in
education. I married a young man from Scandia, Minnesota and we moved to Kiester,
Minnesota, population 600, where he taught vocational agriculture.
Life in a small town was an interesting revelation for someone born in Long
Beach and raised in Los Angeles, Pasadena and Laguna Beach. It was 1961 and
Californians were seen as an oddity bordering on dangerous. I tried to live up
to the stereotype with such activities as oil painting, tumbling rocks in the
garage, and playing my guitar.
That winter, with a car that still had California license plates, I could
occasionally be seen slipping and sliding down the icy roads. On the other
hand, I tried hard to fit in. The high school was the social center, so we were
instant celebrities in town, and with my husband's teaching, also on the farms.
I joined "The Kitchen Klatters" which was home economics with coffee
and dessert. Unknown to me at the time, I was living "A Prairie Home
Companion". I learned to eat "hot dishes."
In
Los Angeles, I didn't know our neighbors and in Pasadena we didn't have any. In
Kiester, everyone knew everyone else's deepest "secrets". There were
no named streets. The only hotel had burned down and never been rebuilt. The
movie theater played a film only if enough people showed up. But we had a 4th of
July parade and our own baseball team.
I was accustomed to earthquakes, but the prospect of a tornado terrified me. I
learned about the sickly green color that precedes them and to listen for
something sounding like a freight train. That wasn't hard since we lived near
train tracks.
The 60's was a decade for having children. Dan was born in 1962, Virginia in 1964, and Loren in 1968. My husband did not see himself remaining a teacher all his life, so took a job with an agricultural chemical company. We moved north to Mankato, population 20,000, a lovely size for a town. Large enough for opportunity and diversity, small enough for community. I was co-chair of Young republicans and worked in the 1964 presidential campaign for Arizona's favorite son, Barry Goldwater. I played bridge, and even golf and joined a book club. Our two children had many neighborhood friends to play with. In three years, another baby, another agricultural chemical company, another move - - -this time to Glenview Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was 1968. Mayor Daley reigned in Chicago. My suspicions of lurking Mafioso were confirmed in the newspaper: "Mobster Antonio 'Chicken' Cacciatore Sought for Murder." Now it was my husband's turn for culture shock. He'd never had to show an ID to cash a check or lived someplace where people didn't just "drop in" socially. He'd never heard a minister question the country's legitimacy in a war. It was unsettling, and a time of trial for us and for the country.
After a divorce, I said goodbye to the pleasant life of being an at-home mom and went to work. . The children, Lorin, Virginia, and Dan Lindgren were 4, 8, and 9. I had some good fortune finding a great workplace in town, a textbook publisher called Scott, Foreman and Company, where I stayed for 13 years. My department was Science, Health, and Safety. I also began a graduate program in biology at Northwestern University's evening division.
Life in the 70s was interesting, challenging, and stressful for my children and me. I also said goodbye to my family's staunch Republicanism and after a brief rest in an apolitical cocoon, emerged as an activist Democrat. Economically, we went from below the poverty line to a decent wage, with the title Executive Editor, Science, Health, Safety at Scott, Foreman & Co.
If
I were to have a T-shirt slogan it would be something oxymoronic like: The only
thing certain is uncertainty; the only constant is change.
In
1985 I married Irwin Slesnick and moved to Bellingham Washington where he taught
biology and science education at Western Washington University until semi
-retirement in 1997. He has a passion for travel in search of excessive
geological phenomena, so we've traveled around the Icelandic Ring Road, and
across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula. (I've told him I'm not a
good traveler but he says I'm very good at arriving.)
Currently,
my husband Irwin and I
own a company called Creative Dimensions. We develop, print, and compile science
activity kits for schools K-12. The
kits feature ash from the Mt. St. Helen's eruption, seismograms from the 1964
Alaskan Earthquake, and fossils from various time periods and locations around
the world.
Four
years ago Irwin broke his leg, and to amuse himself, rummaged in a trunk of
letters he had sent home during W.W.II. The
Marine Corps sent him to Japanese Language School and then into the Battle of
Okinawa. We thought it a great idea to write a book about
wartime language schools, so we began researching the history and
successes of the various Japanese language schools of the Navy, Marine Corps,
and Army. This project has become a major preoccupation, so lately travel
destinations are an archive in Boulder Colorado, the National Archive in DC; and
always, the Tucson Fossil and Mineral Show to restock our science activity kits.
So
that brings us to 2001. My three children and four grandchildren, all live in
Minnesota, so I'm there often, though try to avoid the winter months. One
daughter lives in Duluth, the cold spot of the nation - she went there to
college and has yet to escape. Summers are beautiful in Duluth, and so
appreciated.
My
favorite teachers at Muir - - in fact, the only ones I could name, were Mr.
Lanzarotta, (Journalism) and Mr. Marks, (Photography). I've
never been to a reunion, but hope to make the next one.
You
can contact Carole at:
Eddie Moses
I joined the Naval Reserve right
after graduation then enrolled at Pasadena City College for the September 1956 semester.
No longer under compulsion to attend school, I completed a full month of
academic study with indifference because it burdened my passion for sorority
girls and fraternity parties. School became a burden and I felt a
need to apply my newly acquired veto power over non-compulsory education.
After all, I finally had absolute control over my own destiny.
I decided to quit college, (an outward display of my rebellious independence),
and go on active duty in the Navy
(an inward revelation that a mind totally disintegrates when opting for
rebellious independence). But I had a good excuse. I was still a kid, just
17 years old; at least for another two months, and somewhat naÔve, believing
that being shipped ìoverseasî meant going to Catalina Island.
Boot
Camp in San Diego was like being hurled naked into the Arctic Ocean at
midnight during a raging winter storm. Nothing could be more turbulent and
chaotic or anesthetizing to a free spirit.
Stripped of everything, including my rebellious independence and
short-lived veto power, I realized I wasnít doing such a good job as master of
my own fate. Unfortunately I never shipped out to Catalina. The Navy
had other plans. After graduating
from Boot Camp in January 1957, they sent me back to school. Navy schools didnít have
fraternities or sororities. After graduating from Hospital Corps
School, I
was "shipped," by bus, to the Naval Hospital on Camp Pendleton for a
short period where I played a lot of baseball. Then another bus
"shipped" me back to Boot Camp in San Diego where I worked in the
emergency room suturing drunken sailors coming back from liberty.
Join the Navy! A Girl in Every Port! Great propaganda. I never went to sea. The only navy ship I ever boarded was when Ronnie Hritz sailed into San Diego Bay aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Bennington, and I visited a few hours by stowing away in the superstructure.
I remained in the Navy only twenty-one
months, having been honorably discharged three months early in September 1958 to
enroll back into Pasadena City College. What
a vicious circle I created and I was only 19 years old, still a kid; a
milk-faced teenager. But at least
the Navy didn't have Moses to bus around anymore.
Back at PCC in September of 1958, I joined a fraternity, Phi
Sigma. Many
of my Muir classmates were fraternity brothers, such as Ned Joyce, Jim Cunningham and Hans
Munnich. With the least amount of effort, I managed to finish one semester
. . . only because I dropped all my other classes except zoology.
I learned two things, however. First,
fraternity parties were a danger to higher education and second, formaldehyde
was a danger to guinea pigs.
It was 1959 and having three college
units under my belt, I was ready for a challenge.
Ready to lock up a white collar position making a minimum of 50K a year.
The first problem I encountered was finding a firm that needed a young,
aggressive, executive type with excellent zoology skills.
The second problem was that nobody wanted a kid with zoology skills.
In 1959, I worked at Crown City Die
Casting, behind the Moonlight Rollerway, with Ronnie Hritz.
He couldnít handle school and fraternity parties either. After receiving numerous burns on my arms from the hot
surface of the casting dies and huge molten metal pots that spit out hot metal
like Pele spits out hot lava, I realized I needed slightly more than three
college units to succeed in life.
In 1960, thanks to the training I
received from Hospital Corps School in the Navy, I found myself working at the
City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte as a cardio
vascular technician. This period was the dawn of open-heart surgery using the heart-lung
machine and I was on a surgical team comprised of prominent Southern California
cardiologists and thoracic surgeons.
Having risen in ranks to chief cardio-vascular
Technician, I hit a small
snag. I was told I couldnít go further up the pay scale ladder
without more education. After all,
three units of zoology didnít command much leverage in the early 60ís and I
couldnít convince them that my skills in dissecting guinea pigs was worth more
money.
So in 1963, having reached the pinnacle
of success, and without further rungs to climb, Ronnie Hritz easily
convinced me to go into business. I
quit the City of Hope and we formed a company called Hritz and Moses
Distributors, a soft drink distributorship selling Sun Crest Beverages.
With two beverage delivery trucks, a warehouse full of flavored soft
drinks, and absolutely no business experience in managing a huge
conglomerate, we managed to go bankrupt in less than two years. But I had an excuse. I
was still a kid.
The late 1960ís were mostly the
Beatles, bars and booze, in that order. I worked as a bartender at Shaps in Pasadena, a local
ìyoung adultî nightclub, where we danced to Beatles music into the wee hours of the
morning. Muir alumni, from the Class of 1950 through the Class of
1960, went into Shaps. I could name
them, but I wonít, except for one, Ronnie Hritz.
By 1970, I started another business.
I was a Jukebox and pool table vendor.
I had jukeboxes and pool tables in bars all over San Gabriel Valley. After all, the bar scene was more like a fraternity party
than Crown City Die Casting or the City of Hope.
I became really proficient at counting and wrapping quarters.
Finally, I hit the big time and opened my own cocktail lounge and dinner
house. It was in the City of
Industry and I called it, ìThe Vikings Table.î
This was a huge slip down many rungs of my success ladder.
Owning a restaurant is like working for free eighteen hours a day,
seven days a week. I sold steak and
lobster for $4.95 in 1972. My
restaurant was recommended by Carte Blanch, and I recalled having Daryl Lamonica,
the quarterback of the Oakland Raiders, as a lunch customer. One
day in 1975, while carrying a keg of beer into the bar, I realized I
wouldn't be able to do this all my life. Thatís
when I made the decision to go back to school.
One thing excited me. I could finally use my three units of zoology.
I cooked at my restaurant at night and went to school full time during the day.
Studied in the kitchen, customers sending me drinks that lined the table
in front of my books.
I finally amassed enough units to graduate with an associate in science degree. I applied to Western State Law School in Fullerton and was accepted despite having only a two-year degree. Of course my 3 units in zoology must have been most persuasive.
I finished law school in two and a half years and graduated in 1978. Iíve been in private practice in Anaheim for over twenty-two years, specializing in criminal defense. With a name like Moses, my favorite line to the judge is, "let my people go." To my clients, when they ask for the impossible, I tell them, "don't ask for miracles, my name's Moses not Jesus." I sit in Citrus Court in West Covina as judge pro tem when they need me.
I've been married to Debbie, my second wife since 1979 and adopted her daughter Christina who is now married and the mother of two beautiful little girls.
I love to read and write, collect autographs and other paper ephemera.
I also have a nice collection of toy electric trains . . . after all, Iím still
a kid.
You can contact Eddie at: esqeddie@ix.netcom.com
Jack Taylor
Jack went to Edison Elementary School in Altadena, then to Eliot Junior High School for the 7th, 8th and 10th grades.
For the 9th grade, he attended the Army-Navy Academy at Carlsbad. He was an 11th grade classmate
at Muir, then joined the United States Air Force and served three years on the flight crews of KC-97 air refueling tankers.
Jack returned to school after his USAF duty and attended Pasadena City College and UCLA.
Following a 14-year management career with insurance companies, he founded his own insurance staffing business on a shoestring 18 years ago. Today,
his company, Insurance Overload Systems, has offices all over the United States, plus a Canadian subsidiary. It is the largest in that business niche in
North America. The company is featured at www.InsuranceOverload.com.
Jack is divorced and lives in Dallas where his company is headquartered.
He has a son living in Orange County.
You can contact Jack at: JTaylor@InsuranceOverload.com.
Dewey Terry
Dewey Steven Terry was born in Los
Angeles on July 17, 1937. His father was a porter on the Santa Fe Railroad and he
lovingly refers to his mother as, "an old southern woman who loved to tell folk
stories." His family moved to Pasadena around 1940 and Dewey attended St.
Andrews Catholic School in Pasadena. He
transferred to Washington Junior High School for his ninth and tenth years then
on to graduate from John Muir High School. Dewey recalled that his mother paid
for his piano lessons from the Catholic Nuns at St. Andrews, and as a member of
the school choir, they also helped develop his singing talent.
His family always had a piano at home and playing and singing came
naturally to him. Dewey would sit at the kitchen table and write songs while his
mother cooked. Thatís were he
wrote ìIím Leaving It Up To You.î
The mid fifties were known as the Doo Wop days, and about 1955, having been
inspired by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters, the Orioles and other contemporary
rhythm and blues groups, he and a few friends from Muir formed a vocal doo-wop
sextet called The Squires. Besides
Dewey, members included Lee Goudeau, Bob Armstrong, Chester Pipkin, Leon
Washington and Don Bowman, who played piano and rounded out their vocal harmony.
In the early days of Doo Wop, also known
as Rhythm and Blues, and before the name Rock & Roll became so popular,
this new sound had emanated from harmonies of earlier
gospel vocal groups from the late forties and early fifties.
Everywhere, you could hear Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
singing "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," The Penguins "Earth
Angel," and The Chords "Sha Boom," broadcast over car radios, at
hamburger stands, and at sock hops along with other hits of the day.
After school Dewey worked for Laurence
H. Mead, who owned Perfection Plastic Products, a record pressing plant on North
Fair Oaks Avenue. The company pressed over 5,000 records a day.
Dewey pressed 78's, 45's, & LP's and packaged the records then
delivered them to the retail record stores in Hollywood.
Dewey remembers pressing Korla
Panditís records. Pandit was a turbaned organist-pianist whose mystical music
hypnotized California viewers in the early days of television.
Late one afternoon, to Deweyís surprise, Mike Gradney walked in with Larry Mead, the owner of the plant. Mike, who managed the plant, introduced Dewey to Mr. Mead. Dewey had worked for Mead for over six months but the two had never met. Mead smiled and said, ìI'm glad to have The Squires recording for me. Mead owned labels like Kicks, Mambo, Vita and Dig This Record. Dewey pressed the very records the Squires recorded.
In
a soft voice, and with a gentle smile Dewey recalled, ìBefore we knew it one
summer day while at a park, we heard our music being played on the radio by
D.J.'s like AI Jarvis and Hunter Hancock and many other D. J.ís on radio
stations on the west coast. This
knocked us out.î
The
Squires' record was "Lucy Lou," first of more than a few
"name" titles Don & Dewey would record. Next stop for the
Squires was another Pasadena company, Mambo/Vita. On Mambo they cut "Sindy,"
a formulaic four-chord ballad that was covered on Modern by the Cobras as
"Cindy". A few more Squires records on Vita followed, including some
backing singer Effie Smith, who later formed Spot Records and Aries Publishing
with her husband, John Criner. It was at Spot that Don & Dewey were first
taken out of the group and featured on their own.
In
1956, Dewey Terry and Don Bowman, who had taken his fatherís last name of
Harris, split from the Squires and formed Don &
Dewey.
Both were talented songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists.
They began recording for Specialty
Records on Sunset Boulevard, the same label as Little Richard.
Terry said his first session at Specialty was for a little artist
relationís guy named Sonny Bono.
Sonny Bono brought Don and Dewey to Specialty records where they recorded his wacko "Koko
Joe" and a composition of their own called "Farmer John"...which
was covered by every real 60's rock n' roll band in existence.
Dewey Terry and Don ìSugarcaneî
Harris were clearly a force on the rise, swiftly ascending from high school
auditorium dates to steady work at Billy Bergs' Vine Street nightclub in Hollywood,
where the biggest names in jazz did their gigs. It was while they were
playing at the Royal Room at Las
Palmas and Hollywood in 1957 that Art Rupe, head of Specialty Records, lured
them to his label.
Don and Dewey recorded
all original songs written by them other than Sonny Bono's Koko Joe. Exploding
in concert like twin Little
Richards, Don & Dewey cut six scorching rock n' rollers for Specialty from
1957 to 1959 without registering a single hit, only to see other performers rekindle
their songs to much greater fame and fortune.
Artists like Sonny
& Cher, Dale & Grace, Freddie Fender, Donny & Marie Osmond, Linda
Ronstadt and the Righteous Brothers recorded
ìIím leaving it All up to you.î That was the first song Donny and
Marie recorded together. Freddie
Fender hit with ìWicked Nights and Wicked Days.î
Don and Dewey performed at the Apollo
Theater with Redd Foxx, the Dells, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Moms Mabley and Big
Maybelle. "We did the first
concert over in Honolulu, with Chuck Berry and Pat Boone.
They performed
worldwide together, playing with such music legends as Jerry and the Pacemakers and
Bill Haley and the Comets. Don & Dewey played annual lounge engagements in
Las Vegas, appearing at the Dunes five straight years. Dewey claims the
Righteous Brothers began their careers as Don & Dewey clones, copping the
pair's repertoire and stage moves and even charting with two Don & Dewey
songs, Terry's ballad "Leaving It Up to You," and ìJustine.î
In 1965, with Don Sugarcane
Harris on bass, Dewey Terry, Glen Willings and another youngster named
Jimmi Hendrix playing guitar, they backed up Little Richard on his European tour.
The Beatles-led
British invasion, and their type of music, which was the craze of the mid to
late 60ís, dried things up for groups such as Don & Dewey, who went their
separate ways. Don laid down
his guitar for a violin during the '60s and, billed as Don "Sugarcane"
Harris, stroked his rocked-out fiddle beside John Mayall and Frank Zappa.
Don was given his nickname ìSugarcaneî by bandleader Johnny
Otis. Harris
and Terry got back together in 1975 and played together until Harris' health
declined. Terry had made new recordings of the duo in recent years in his home
studio, but none have been released.
After a long illness, Don
passed away on December 1st, 1999 in Los Angeles, CA.
Dewey Terry frequently performed at BB Kings at Universal City Walk and every summer he plays in Tahiti at Morrisonís CafÈ and on the Island of Moorea.
Dewey currently lives
in Altadena near Johnny Otisí estate and still receives songwriter royalties.
Dewey acknowledged he lost
publishing rights to his songs to shrewd businessmen who exploited the early
songwriters. In the same breath, he
proudly proclaimed that they couldnít take away his songwriterís rights.
More Don
and Dewey Photos
LA Weekly Article on Don and Dewey
You can contact Dewey at: deweyterry@aol.com
Gretchen
White
Updated 05/31/03
Since leaving Muir,
Gretchen graduated from UCLA, the Union Theological Seminary, Blanton Peale
Graduate Institute and Andover Newton Theological Seminary.
Gretchen works as a
psychotherapist and is also an ordained Presbyterian pastor.
Her work consists of many things ñ psychotherapy with individuals,
adults, children, adolescents, and couples.
She is the
Executive Director of her
counseling center. The World Trade Center tragedy, kept Gretchen extremely busy as their eight therapists
worked hard to meet the
overwhelming needs of their community.
Gretchen has two sons,
Matthew and Andrew. Andrew, is engaged to Andrea and is in his second year of
medical residency after spending seven years as a professional civil
engineer. Matthew, is an architect. He
and his wife Nicole are expecting to present Gretchen with a grandchild in July.
Gretchen lives in New Jersey, after living overseas as a family for six years, in The Netherlands, her late husband's home country, and in Denmark.
One of Gretchen and
Jerryís passions was to travel and they visited Indonesia, where
Jerry was born and was interned as a child with his family in a Japanese
concentration camp during World War II.
In addition to travel,
Gretchenís other passion is ballroom dancing, something she still loves to
do.
You
can contact Gretchen at gretchen.janssen@verizon.net
as she enjoys hearing from her classmates.
This page is only as good as YOU make it. .
Email your biography
and your favorite digital photograph to: muirmustang1956@ix.netcom.com
or mail hard copy to:
Eddie
Moses
1530 West Elm Avenue
Fullerton, CA 92833
Phone: (714) 992-6473