Name: Tom Shelley ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Dec 14, 2010, 12:08 am - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Beaumont, CA

Message: Well, if I not mistaken, the only paper that Hawthorne had was the "Hawthorne Advertiser Press", run by the Whitebrooks. The L.A. Times was originally "The Times Mirror" newspaper. And the Harold was the "Los Angeles Harold Express". My father worked for the Times Mirror as a printer when we first came to CA in 1951. Then later he worked for the Hawthorne Advertiser Press. My first "real" job (by that I mean not a paper route or mowing lawns) was with the Hawthorne Advertiser Press. I think I made around .90 per hr. Big money for a 14 year kid.

Name: Leopoldo Valencia ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Dec 13, 2010, 5:16 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: Denver, CO
No E-mail
Message: Patti and Madeline: Hawthorne also had the "Mirror" newspaper. It was folded in a square orientation, but not quite as big or popular as the LA Times or Herald Examiner. Some residents sported a Milk box located at the bottom of their dining room window. The receptacle itself was ample enough to receive loose bottles from the local dairy delivery truck. There were plenty of dairies surrounding Hawthorne in nearby neighborhoods, such as Lennox, Inglewood, Artesia. John Baker: Kudos to you for keeping up the momentum of this great site, and allowing us to pay a visit as often as we like.

Name: Bob And Karen Fraser ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Dec 13, 2010, 3:19 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1960
City & State: Hawthorne, Ca
No E-mail
Message: We hope to see as many alumni as possible tomorrow night at the Hawthorne City Council Meeting. All presentations and proclamations are done during the first part of the meeting and according to the agenda there are a couple of other presentations before HHS. Just to let you know , the Hawthorne City Clerk has cookies and coffee before the meeting and in case you need the address , it is 4455 W 126th St. City Hall is directly behind the Bank of America. Let's have an awesome turnout and show the city what being Cougars is all about!! See you tomorrow!

Name: Gary Bickers ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Dec 13, 2010, 12:25 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1963
City & State: pve cal

Message: Pam, I am so sorry, Niva is very much alive; I stand corrected. She is still doing well even with MS. Niva if you see this I apologize.

Name: Pamela Bailey ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Dec 13, 2010, 5:41 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Bailey
Class: 1967
City & State: Corona, Ca

Message: I would like to know how to get a hold of Neva Frantz. I have not seen her since we graduated (1967) If you have her e-mail address, please send it to me so I can contact her. Thanks so much and Happy Holidays, Pamela Bailey Adams

Name: Ron Treat ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Dec 12, 2010, 9:36 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1968
City & State: Chargerville, Still Alive

Message: This year, our tailgating group was joined by a great gal by the name of Jaymie Bradford. Turns out shes a Cougar, class of 90, and related to the Greasby Clan. Hell even an old fart can find a Cougar once in a while. LOL

Name: Mike Mecey ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Dec 12, 2010, 11:14 am - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Roseville, CA

Message: I just looked at the 60-61 reunion pictures. I wasn't there so I really enjoyed seeing some "old" friends. Without help, I think I recognized only a handful of you. Royal (who I see occasionally now that he lives in NoCal), Brian, Sandy, Baker, Sloan... but after that I was lost. When I left Hawthorne & Southern California, I really left the area & haven't kept up with but a few of my classmates (my fault entirely). Thank you John, for letting me return, occasionally, to a time that was some of the best years of my life.

Name: Dick Dixon ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Dec 12, 2010, 11:01 am - HHS Time
Class: 1963
City & State: La Verne + Indianapolis

Message: Ah, a reason to cruise Hawthorne Blvd. and see cool HHS'ers at the Hawthorne City council meeting ... what could be better on a Tuesday evening. See you there.

Name: Carl Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Dec 11, 2010, 4:33 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Torrance, Ca

Message: John Baker, The placement of your right hand seems inappropriate in photo 8 of 9 of Richard Gahlbeck's reunion photos on "Smug Mug". And this isn't the first time that I've questioned your positioning strategy in previous group shots involving the fairer sex...What say ye?

Name: Richard Gahlbeck ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Dec 11, 2010, 4:23 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Ferndale, WA

Message: Hello fellow Cougars! I want to especially thank John Baker for this wonderful Website, Rich Sloan for coordinating and putting on a GREAT Reunion, and Paco for posting a few of the many '60-'61 Reunion Photos I took. I had a great time as you will see in Paco, Howard Duran's really neat website with the 2010 Reunion Photos. I was surprised that in the time since the Reunion, I have not seen many posts from the, I think about 250 Cougars who attended the GREAT events. Oh, It was great talking to one of my favorite '60's song group Member's, none other than our own, Al Jardine again! I also got to talk with Mel Bentley who drove the most beautiful Car at HHS, a 1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner Hardtop. Funny thing, he also just happened to have the most beautiful Girl in school for a girlfriend...Hmmm odd how that works!!! Lol! STUDEBAKERS forever, Rich.

Name: Howard Paco Duran ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Dec 11, 2010, 1:35 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Lake Forest

Message: Hello, I have just added pics from Richard Gahlbeck, class of 1961 to my Smug Mug Hawthorne High Gallery, thanks Richard!!

Name: Jim Sloey ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Dec 11, 2010, 8:44 am - HHS Time
City & State: solvang

Message: Sharon, we moved to California from Iowa originally born and lied in Nebraska, but Iowa was big on girls basketball. They played 6 0n 6. 3 on offense and 3 on defense. Each player was limited to 2 dribbles then had to pass or travel or double dribble. The defense if it got a steal or a rebound would pass dribble the ball to get it into the front court then the offense would take over. After a basket the other team would get the ball at center court as a throw in to start their offense. None of the players could cross the half-line. When I was in 4th grade, my dad took us to see a girl from a neighboring town that averaged 56 a game. Her team won the state championship. As an aside, a girl who is a good shooter will usually be a better free-throw shooter than a guy. It is all in the wrist. Not uncommon for the girls to shoot 90% from the line.

Name: Sharon Stein ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Dec 11, 2010, 7:57 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Friddle
Class: 1968

Message: A discussion at work regarding how far girl's sports has changed in HS - YEAH!-- I mentioned playing basketball in PE in the mid '60's when the team had 6 players, and 4 could not cross the center line. NO one could ever remember hearing about it being played that way. Does anyone remember this and/or does any one remember when it changed to the game we know today?

Name: Jim Peppers ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Dec 11, 2010, 5:36 am - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Athens, Greece

Message: Hello everybody – anybody – Athens calling. Because it is snowing now in Athens and I have icicles on my balcony, it reminded me now of the first time I ever saw in Hawthorne. It was in the late forties, I believe, that it snowed in Hawthorne and we went around the neighbourhood with spoons to gather some of the white stuff. I don’t ever recall any other time seeing snow in Hawthorne. I can do without the stuff personally, although it’s nice to look at from a warm place. Happy Holidays Haytowners. Jim Peppers

Name: Bob Clobucker ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Dec 10, 2010, 7:32 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Reno. Nv.

Message: Seasoned Greetings to all Haytowners. Mr. Baker: I agree with ya. Ive been up and down damn near every street in so. cal. Worked 25+ years hauling air freight from LAX. Yeah things have changed big time, everywhere. However, the Cougartown website should be a place where we all can rekindle some memories. We were all in a unique place during some of the best and worst of times. So lets up shift the old Powerglide and talk Haytown stories. I got a crapload of em. Others do to. Best Wishes to all! BC

Name: Paul Wieber ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Dec 10, 2010, 11:28 am - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Carmichael, Ca

Message: John, I just want to reiterate your comment about sharing Hawthorne stories. It came to me about no one ever talking about the Annual Hawthorne Parade and Fair. I wanted to share this small but memorable story relating to those great times. My dad used to hang out at his favorite watering hole, the Centinela Club on Hawthorne Bl. We used to watch the annual Parade sitting outside of the Centinela. Anyway, they (the bar) would have water fights with the clowns, alias(the Fire Dept). Well being little and sort of in the way, I always got blasted from tne fire truck. Oh, how the guys from the Centinela fought back but to no avail. But my favorite was always waiting for the Hawthorne High School Marching Band. Also, remembering the Fair and my buddies and I flipping dimes at the fish bowls trying to win a gold fish or two. Those were really memorable experiences for a young kid in good ole Hawthorne!

Name: Jerry Miles ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 3:49 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1966
City & State: Fair Oaks, CA
No E-mail
Message: Britt, Working for the the phone company which was Pacific Telephone and Telegraph when I started in 1968 I know a little about Western Union that we called Eastern Onion with affection. I can guarantee they were still in the business of delivering telegrams during the Vietnam War and had the terrible task of informing loved ones of wartime fatalities. During the Seventies Pacific Telephone and Western Union worked together to take all the telegraph facilities off the phone lines and be maintained separately by Western Union. By this time they were using mainly satellite and were migrating to money transfer being their biggest product. My area of responsibility was the South Bay and Western Union rented or leased several buildings in the area to install their equipment. As far as I know they are still doing business to this day.

Name: Jerry Laforce ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 3:46 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1977
City & State: Clarksburg MD

Message: If the alley you refer to is/was the one behind Bens market, I was told, and tend to agree, that all the blocks had a utilities alley through them. Our block, Birch and Cedar, had one as well. However, my family, like everyone else, slowly homesteaded them. The one behind Bens slowly got smaller as I got older. I remember digging/pulling out a 100 line trunk cable with a lead jacket from that alley between Cedar and Freeman. I would melt the lead on the stove and pour it into various "molds" and G.I. Joe somehow always ended up in cement, lead, or other material that required an M80 rescue.

Name: Howard Paco Duran ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 3:28 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Lake Forest

Message: In the 70's it was delivered am and pm in Lake Forest. Don't forget to get your Holiday pics in!!

Name: Britt Stonebraker ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 2:31 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1978
City & State: Kingman AZ

Message: Anytime I want to warm my heart I go to Cougartown! FB doesn't compare, Hey I always wondered when did Western Union go out of Vogue? I remember seeing old telegrams from WWII but wasn't it still used into the 50s? And hey does anyone know why there was that mini alley way east of 118st? between Cedar and Freeman, the little 3' wide one that was always overgrown.

Name: Jerry Laforce ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 2:23 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1977
City & State: Clarksburg MD

Message: Just thought I would let all the out of town Cougars know, (myself included), that for the first time ever, XLNT Chili and Tamales can be purchased online until Dec 14. Guess they finaly caved, (couldn't take the whining, but lets not get into that right now). Anyway, better bellyup or shutup. Jus kiddin o course, MERRY CHRISTMAS. Just Google XLNT Chili.

Name: Dennis Campbell ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 9:24 am - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Mission Vieo CA

Message: Maiden re mail services in the early 50’s & 60’s I can confirm at Christmas time (The Postman Always Rings Twice) early AM and again late PM around 5 or 6 PM it stopped in the early 60’s. Tell your husband that you are not Nuts… LOL Merry Christmas to all out there in CT

Name: Denny Unfried ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 9:18 am - HHS Time
Class: 1955
City & State: Del Aire, CA

Message: Besides 2 mail deliveries - we had 2 garbage pickups a week when no one had sink disposals and all the kitchen waste went into a metal garbage can outside. What a nasty job to wash and line it with newspapers and won't even get into the flies that were always hanging around. Everything that could burn ended up in the back yard incinerator. . . I was also one of those 12-14 year olds that delivered the Herald Express afternoon newspaper before it was sold to the Examiner.

Name: John Rout ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 8:20 am - HHS Time
Class: 1963
City & State: Cerritos, CA

Message: I remember mail delivered twice a day during the Christmas season only during the late fifties. That was on 118th Place between Prairie and Doty. It happened maybe two or three years.