2005 Summer
Watsonville High School
Class Of 1957 Newsletter-"HIGH TIMES"
Vol.15 Original Newsletter written and edited by Betty Bjur
2005 Summer E-edition edited by John Higaki
Newsletter. June 2005
New Addresses:
Tom Crisel: 364 Back Nine Drive Banberry, TN 37890-4939
Joan Mezger Bawden 1320 Scarlet Oak Dr. Tehachapi, CA 93561
Jules Maderos 5665 Lower Roswell Rd. #258 Mariette, GA 30068-4238
Don Armstrong 209 E. Baseline Rd. Ste. 204 Tempe, AZ 85283
IN MEMORY OF BOYD YOUMANS
Boyd Youmans died April 21 in Watsonville. He was 66. A native of
Watsonville, Boyd attended local schools & graduated with the class of
1957. He later attended College of San Mateo & Cabrillo College. Boyd
worked for many years for Granite Construction & later joined the famly
business that his father, Hugh Youmans started in 1947. He & his brother
ran Mid State Electric for many years. Boyd was involved in many sports &
was one of the original managers for Watsonville Little League. He is
survived by his wife Linda; three children, Gammy, Kimberly & Kraig;
brother Terry; the "pride of his life," his four grandchildren.
IN MEMORY OF WANDA DARE
Wanda Dare, class of '57, died April 27 of cancer. Wanda lived in Santa
Cruz & worked for Wrigleys for many years with our classmate Lois Le
Barre. Wanda was married to Bob Allen, class of '56, but were later
divorced. She attended Aptos Grammer School. She leaves her son
Jeffrey; mother, Esther Dare, sister Pat & brother Duane.
News:
Joan Mezger our new bride spent her honeymoon with her new
husband David Bawden on a cruise in the Western Carribean. They were
married on Dec. 21, 2004 in the chapel at Yosemite. After their return they
moved 2 weeks later to Tehachapi into their new home . They are looking
forward to being out of the rat race & in a slower paced lifestyle & the four
seasons. Joan's son & family live close by.
Marilyn Bogisich & her husband Ed Furtado enjoyed five days at
Pinehurst in No. Carolina. Marilyn's daughter took her to Charleston, So.
Carolina for her birthday in Dec. They stayed at the Charleston Place &
enjoyed the spa & had a wonderful birthday dinner. Marilyn's brother
Randall (class of '61) & his wife visited them in their home in Aken, S.
Carolina, played golf & loved their little town & great restaurants. Her
Uncle Ken (class of 49) & his wife also visited them.
Jim Gibson has been retired just over four years now & loves everyday
of it. Everyday is Saturday. He & his wife have an Alaskan cruise planned
for August.
Don Armstrong's son Zak, returned from Iraq relatively unscathed after
one year with the Army Reserve & has settled back into life with his wife &
child. His combat engineers battalion suffered one killed in action & a
number of wounded, with one of the guys loosing his leg. Although they
were sent to Iraq to help rebuild the infrastructure, given the intense
insurgency they spent most of the time building defenses around US
Military installations, sweeping for & defusing mines & roadside bombs.
Don & his wife Peggy are now full time RV'n in their Airstream travel trailer.
Jules Maderos & wife have transitioned into "retirement mode" & have
loaded their Cruise Master RV for a trip across the US. They sold their
home & will be traveling for a few years. They will eventually spend winters
in Florida, summers in Syracuse, NY & in Boston where their children are
located. Presently they have been detained in Florida due to a couple of
unplanned hospital in-patient prcedures including a triple by-pass surgery.
Once he is medically cleared for travel, they will start again.
Tom Crisel & his wife have moved near the Smoky Mountains, 30
minutes from Knoxville, Tennessee. Tom has been retired a year. His new
house has a large workshop & golf & a lake nearby. He has already taken
up fishing. They plan a trip to Williamsburg in Oct. to celebrate their 19th
anniversary.
Clarice Giberson & her husband Harry Wiggins will be in Rome in July
joining their daugther & husband for a safari in Tanzania & hiking on Mt.
Kilimanjar. Their son-in-law received a promotion in his UN position &
turns 40 in July so they are celebrating both occasions. During the
summer Clarice will be taking care of her two grandsons from Arizona,
while their parents are on a mission trip to Honduras with their church.
Bev Clements is a grandma again, twice not fair. Son David Gloff &
his wife Melanie have a new daugther, Madison Melanie born, March
15.She joins big brothers, Grant & Garrett. Bev's daughter Lorrie & her
husband had a son, Landon Wayne Hanshew on April 25th.
Leland Smith's daughter Sherrie made her father one proud grandad
with the birth of her daughter Summer Keilani born Sept. 16, 2004. They
reside in Hawaii. Leland's son David was married Sept. 26, 2004 to a
lovely girl, Isela. They live in Sunnyvale.
Charlene Corrigan is busy planning the wedding for her daughter
Claire. Charlene's other daughter Carin is completing her Masters in
Marriage & Famly Counseling at Dominican University. She spends her
days at Branson High School in San Anselmo, her evenings at Dominica
& weekends works at a shelter for teens. Charlene will have a busy
summer breeding her Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Joey is seven & a
Champion. Shelby is two & just completed her Championship in
Anchorage in March.
Jan Baird writes that she & her husband are getting a lot of traveling in.
They along with their friends went on a 15 days cruise to Aruba, Panama,
Costa Rica & several stops in Mexico. They had a great time, laughing all
the way. Jan, her daughter, & granddaughter spent a week in Kona, got
home & left for her annual girls week in Ashland for the Shakespear
festival. They even found time to remodel their kitchen & do a few
weddings & parties. Jan says" the are healthy, a bit fat & way too sassy".
Mr. Bud Decker died Jun 16, 2004 in Sacramento. He was 88. He was
in the Army Air Corps during WWII. He was a pilot & educator. He worked
as a teacher & principal at WHS. Mr. Decker was instrumental in the
founding of Cabrillo Community College & in locating a campus for the
University of California Santa Cruz.
Jacque Marceron's brother Julian died Dec. 21, 2004 at his home in
Salinas. He was a native of Upland & lived in Santa Cruz most of his life.
He worked as a grocery clerk for Safeway stores. Julian is survived by
three sons, Stefan, Noah & Daniel; his brother Jacque; and a grandson.
Mary Ann Flath's mother Genevieve Flath passed away at her home in
Watsonville, Mar. 26th, at the age of 91. She had lived in Watsonville for
the past 86 years. She was a graduate of WHS. She is survived by a son,
George; daughter Mary Ann of Santa Rosa, daughter Carol ; four
granddaughters & three grandsons; five great-grandchildren. She was
preceded in death by her husband George.
Beverly Sampson's son Gordon died April 16. He was 41. He is
survived by his mother, Bev; sisters, Laura & Victoria.
Carolyn Jensen husband, Clinton Monday died very unexpectedly.He
leaves a son Christopher & a grandson. Christopher received his PhD
from St Petersburg, Russia recently. Carolyn lives in Santa Clarita.
BUD MANN, named Scouter of the Year
Every year, the Monterey Council of the American Boy Scouts selects an
individual who has set an example & lived a life that can be a model for
the youth of the Pajaro Valley. Bud Mann is that person this year & was
honored as Scouter of the Year. Bud was born into the valley at the old
Watsonville Hospital. Bud was a Boy Scout, but he was different. He
returned to help other boys enjoy this organization that meant so much to
him. It started 43 years ago, a year after he & Kathy were married. A group
of men supported by their wives raised money for the youth of the
Corralitos area. Bud was a member of Troop 85. Bud worked with his
father & uncles in their orchards, some 3000 acres at one time, Bud was
instilled with a sense of responsibility & the love for the rural way of life.
After graduation from Watsonville High in 1957, Bud went on to U C Davis,
where he majored in pomology & minored in soils. To Bud's surprise,
some of the orchard management practices that he was instructed in as a
senior in college had already been taught to him by his high school
agriculture teacher Mr. Thorstenson. Bud & Kathy have 3 children, Chris,
Carrie & Jacob & 4 grandchildren.
SANTA CRUZ HIGH SCHOOL
BOYS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONS 2004-05
Santa Cruz began their journey at Cabrillo College gym by winning Aptos
High School basketball team for the SCCAL championship. Back in 1952-
53 the Cardinals played in the Tournament of Champions & again in 1968-
69 the Cardinals played in the NorCal finals. I can remember Friday night
home basketball games here. Our team played to packed houses of
students, parents & alumni. Afterward, we went to the school dance,
cruised the drag & met at Pronto Pups for a vanilla coke. Those were the
days my friend with wished they'd never end. Our "Happy Days".
MINTIE WHITE SCHOOL CELEBRATES 76th ANNIVERSARY
Seventy-six years ago Mintie White School was built. Mintie White was a
first grade teacher. Many of our class members got our start at Mintie
White with teachers; Mrs. Vanderpool, Miss Boasso, Mrs. Montague, Mrs.
Dyke, Mrs. Mahle, Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Adams, to name a few and our
principal, Miss. Allison. How's your memory??? The school is still very
beautiful and well maintained. Congratulations, Mintie White School.
WATSONVILLE HALL OF FAME
Harry "Richard" Wiggins, husband to our own Clarice Giberson, grew
up in Watsonville & graduated from WHS in 1955. Richard went to Cal
Poly. He also received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army
through the ROTC program. His military career included assignments in
Korea, 2 tours in Vietnam, Manila, Philippines & the US. He was assigned
to the General Staff in the Pentagon. While on active duty, the Army
selected him to attend the University of Alabama, earning a MBA &
Masters in Industrail Relations. He retired in 1984.Since returning to
Watsonville, he has been the Scoutmaster of a Boy Scout Troop in
Pajaro, ten boys have earned their Eagle Rank. He is involved with the
Salvation Army, P V Chamber of Commerce & responsible for the display
of 50 flags at the Mello Center Foyer.
Dr. Lloyd Smith, class of 1943, he was a member of the Sno Catz & golf
team. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in World War II. Following the war,
he returned to CA to complete his education & graduated from UCSF
College of Dentistry. Dr. Smith has been a dentist here in Watsonville &
retired in 1994 & was named Man of the Year by the Chamber of
Commerce.
John Sipin graduated in the class of 1964. John was very active in
athletics. He played professional baseball for 15 years. He signed
professionally in 1966 with the St. Louis Cardinals as shortstop. John has
4 people who he categorizes as his favorites, Tommy Rowan, Little
League coach, Emmett Geyser, Ron Staley, Bob Bugalski.
Gene Smith, a graduate in 1969 filled his school years with scouting &
music. Gene graduated from San Jose State in 1977 & completed his
teaching credential. In 1978 he started his first & only job teaching in
Watsonville. He taught music at Salsipuedes, E.A.Hall & Watsonville High.
He was named CCS Outstandung Music Educator of the Year in 1996.
*150 disabled & ill children in Watsonville were given a chance to
enjoy the day in the sky. Private pilots, including our classmate Grant
Wrathall took the children for a flight up the coast to Santa Cruz, where
they flew over the Boardwalk, Steamer Lane & back to Watsonville Airport.
For 4 year old Nicolas, it was his first time in a small airplane. Nicolas said
he enjoyed the flight, including the bumps. Grant helped Nicolas from his
1950's Beachcraft Bonanza & congratulated him on his piloting skills &
encouraged him to grow taller so he could reach the controls. Grant gave
him a pair of pilot's wings.
Betty Sue Henry Bjur - Send in your news . We would love to hear from
you. Hope to see many of you at Hot August Nights in Reno.
190 Bjur Dr Watsonville, CA 95076 - GTObjur@aol.com