Name: Mary Sloan ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Jan 18, 2013, 4:09 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Prodin
Class: 1960
City & State: Laguna Hills, Ca

Message: We have lost a wonderful teacher, mentor and friend. Kathleen McDannel, Shorthand/Typing teacher at HHS from 1958 to 1961, passed away January 15, 2013. Some of her former students, including myself, were fortunate to have had an ongoing friendship with her until her illness. She never forgot her students or her memories of HHS. She will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. Services for Mrs. McDannel will be Monday, January 21, 2013 at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church, 14020 Foster Road, La Mirada, Ca. 90638 (562) 921-4911. Rosary - 10:00 a.m.; Mass - 10:30 a.m.

Name: Donald Scheliga ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Jan 18, 2013, 3:39 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: West Covina

Message: Yup! I remember officer Glass. My dad got a ticket from him late in the afternoon going East on El Segundo crossing Prairie where the afternoon sun obscured the over head traffic signal. Dad argued with him but got a ticket anyway. After reading the ticket and found that Glass had misspelled so many words Dad became even more angry. He took the ticket to Captain Mac and I remembering him saying "how can this guy tell is a light is green or red, hell he can't even spell. Mac excused the ticket. Dad knew both Mac and Harry, I think from Inglewood High.

Name: Al Murphy ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Jan 18, 2013, 7:55 am - HHS Time
City & State: HELENA MONTANA

Message: John, you guys had Broadway & Lions strip!! ALL we had was 120th to clean out the carb! The best one I ever heard (excuse) "But officer the carb was loading up & I had to blow it out"! LOL Jim Raines, could have been me! Always had a soft heart for a CRY BABY!! Know it wasn't our friend Fred!! Fred liked cry babies LOL!! Hi Steve! John, you still get your haircuts from Jim? Tell him HI for me!! Easy Man, MURPH

Name: Chris Prewitt ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jan 17, 2013, 11:11 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1967
City & State: Fullerton, CA

Message: Greg Jones, you might try to contact Thone Ritch or Sharon Ritch Stowe (or any of the other Ritch kids). Their father Herald was the first president of the Aviation Little League and they may have some records from his era.

Name: Greg Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jan 17, 2013, 2:42 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Hawthorne, CA.

Message: District 37 encompasses Hawthorne, Lawndale, Westchester and a small part of Gardena. Hawthorne National and American would be part of the District. Other leagues include Holly Park, Sportsman in Inglewood, Lennox, North Inglewood, Compton, Wiseburn (National), Tri Park, Lawndale, Aviation, and 2 leagues in Westchester. Sorry I didn't specify in my earlier post. Old age catching up (or passing) with me.

Name: Greg Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jan 17, 2013, 1:04 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Hawthorne, CA.

Message: John, I don't add too much but read at least once a day. Great source of information, etc. I have a problem that maybe some Cougars out there can help me with. I am the Webmaster for the District 37 Little League website and have some holes I need help filling in. What I'm looking for are the District All Star Champions from the following years: 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966-72, 1974 and 1977-78. These would be the Major Division but any other champions in other divisions would be helpful. Maybe some Cougars from those years can let me know which leagues won and how far they got after that. Thanks John. Keep up the great work.

Name: Steve Fraser ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jan 17, 2013, 10:35 am - HHS Time
Class: 1966
City & State: Laguna Woods
No E-mail
Message: We would drag on Broadway (now Northrop) between Prairie and Crenshaw. Somebody had marked a quarter mile on the street. And hi Murph!

Name: Mary Ann Martin ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jan 17, 2013, 9:45 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Walton
Class: 1961
City & State: Nashville AR

Message: Bette - I'm donating editions of the Cougar '60 and '61 editions to the Hawthorne Museum, along with other items from the Hawthorne Air Faire and the 1984 Olympics ... my dad Reese Walton was the torch bearer. I used to work for Tom Quintana and he's the perfect person to direct this venture. I'm still going through my parent's memory boxes and'll have a box of my own to send Tom in the immediate future.

Name: Jim Raines ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jan 17, 2013, 9:32 am - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Taylorsville

Message: Hey Murph, My cousin Danny Kieffer got pulled over west of Hawthorne on Imperial heading west for speeding. The officer was checking out his driver(s) license when Danny said he started to cry. The officer felt sorry for him and let him go. Danny knew how to turn on the tears in an emergency and laughed all the way home. Was that officer you?

Name: Al Murphy ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jan 17, 2013, 8:32 am - HHS Time
City & State: HELENA MONTANA

Message: Carl Johnson, I remember you at the A&W in the late 60's!! Also the great Patty Melts & fries!! You can't get one like that anymore! The guy that had the Healy was a couple yrs. older, had blonde hair. He went with one of the girls that worked there. I remember when the owner's son would bring in his drag car (rail) & brag how fast it was!! (never seen any trophys from Lions) LOL! I think in those days everyone wanted too "DRAG" the Blvd.! Some of us Motor Officers would race on 120th, east of Prairie Ave! One of the guys put airplane gas in his M.C. to race me, all it did was blow his engine!! One time the Chief caught me standing on the M.C. going down 120th st. My pardner bet me 20.00 I could not do it! Him & I got a week off without pay!! Have A Good one, MURPH

Name: Glenn Crist ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jan 16, 2013, 7:31 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: Sonoma, CA

Message: Ken, thank you for your acknowledgement and support. I was so happy to hear that your copy has surfaced. I queried Cougartown to see if my original list was out there but didn't get a positive reply. I reassembled the list posted on the Cougar Sports History page from the records I could gather. I have many people to thank for what they shared. I spoke with Coach Bravo and he said the records he had were passed to his successors. Kye Courtney's widow provided me with the spectacular records of the 80's. But I've always felt the records of the 50's, 60's and 70's might not be complete. I'm really happy that you and Coach Bravo kept the history intact. Those records truly belong to Hawthorne High School and the athletes who set them. John has done us all a magnificent favor providing us this platform, and for that I thank him, again. There isn't an HS alumni website that comes even close.

Name: Cheri Longanecker ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jan 16, 2013, 11:32 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Longanecker
Class: 1965
City & State: Yuma, AZ
No E-mail
Message: Dean Stafford did have a sports car. It may have been an MG? I believe it was white, as was his German Shephard. He was active with the Hawthorne Youth Canteen.

Name: Ken Mercurio ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jan 16, 2013, 8:38 am - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Monroe, OH

Message: I've continued to pore through old mementos that my dad saved, and I came across the "original" HHS Track and Field All Time Best Performances listings, dated 17 May, 1966 and compiled by none other than Glenn Crist!! Others of us updated this over the years, and Glenn's authorship got dropped. Glenn needs more credit for originating the list that I now have as a personal keepsake since I'm in there. Alex Bravo's handwritten updates are all through this edition, as are mine. I see Rich Sloan in C shot put, and Al Jardine in the B shot put. I could go on and on. Lots of names of you alumni in there. I also found the 1966 CIF So. Section Record Book, covering all sports. Joe Contestable (HHS 53) held the all-time touchdown pass record with 32. The 1954 football championship is in there, with Hal's name listed as the coach (beating Basic, Nev 39-13). Our runner-up game in 1959 (losing to Long Beach Poly) is there. The only other HHS mention I found in the book was Dave Capelouto representing the Bay League on the CIF Council.

Name: Andy Archibeque ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jan 16, 2013, 7:42 am - HHS Time
City & State: HUNTINGTON BEACH,CA

Message: REGARDING GLENN CRIST CAR COMMENTS, DENNIS WILSON TRADED HIS 63 STINGRAY FOR A 64 JAG COSTING $7400. HE GOT $1600 TRADE-IN FOR HIS 63 STINGRAY. DAVID MARKS HAD A MGC, I THINK IT WAS A 6 BANGER. HE BLEW THE ENGINE ON EL SEGUNDO BLVD. LOUIE MAROTTA AND I TOWED IT TO LOUIES HOUSE. LOUIE BOUGHT IT FOR $105 AND RESTORED IT. I LOVED CRUISING, STARTED AT 13 HITTING THE BLVD AND I DO REMEMBER SEEING THAT DUDE WITH THE V-8 AUSTIN HEALY, DO NOT REMEMBER HIS NAME..

Name: Carl Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jan 15, 2013, 8:54 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Torrance, Ca

Message: Al Murphy, I worked at A&W in the late 60s and remember a guy with an Austin Healey with a V8 in it. I can still remember his face but not his name. I specifically remember him saying that it had a Jag rear end. I can't remember the color but metallic green doesn't ring a bell. I think it was still a work in progress and may have been painted later. I do recall that it was very cool and not something you saw everyday. Might be the same one.

Name: Glenn Crist ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jan 15, 2013, 8:22 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: Sonoma, CA

Message: Whoops, meant to slip this into my last post (the aging brain, you know). Gun turrets sure, but somewhere in my grade school field trip recollections, is one to the Nike missle bunkers in the San Pedro hills. They may have made guns defunct by that time. My grandmother's cousin lived on the the street across from a strip of park where there were asphalt trails that led down to the tide pools. I think all of that has slipped down the cliffs and is gone now. My dad was snorkeling for abalone and on approaching the shore with some managed to trade for a baby octopus, that we kept as a pet in a five gallon aquarium, driving to the beach nightly for as long as it survived (several years) to obtain fresh sea water. My family kept desert tarantulas, desert tortises, burrowing owls. sparrow hawks and even a juvenile barn owl, released in the Mojave desert, back in those days. Unthinkable, today (and perhaps, maybe even back then).

Name: Glenn Crist ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jan 15, 2013, 7:42 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: Sonoma, CA

Message: Shortly after moving to Sonoma in 1971, finally getting a driver's license at age twenty-five, then buying a boxy Ford Bronco from Ira Escobar in Manhattan Beach, I bought an add-on cassette player from CarTunes in Santa Rosa. There was a poster in their showroom of the B Boys in a semi-circle with five cars behind them (shot from above). Now, being that it was more than just yesterday, I'm not sure if I remember which cars were in the picture. If I had to guess, I might pick a "Vette and possibly and XKE (Dennis owned one, I believe). The car I do remember was an MG-TC. And, I only remember that because "Little Rick" Cooper (c/o '62) had one that he took completely apart, then completely restored, and I wondered at the time and still do, I that might be the "one." Googling BB cars, I didn't come up with much, but Mike Love professes to own a 1948 TC. I remember Rick saying he hand carved a black walnut steering wheel for it and I can certainly believe it was perfection. Cougars of that era, including Rich Sloan might provide a dossier of cars the Boys owned and drove. JB, the "Where We Lived" map is wonderful, but I don't think we need an addendum, "The Cars We Drove." Possibly the Hawthorne Historical Society can enshrine those.

Name: Patrick Trullinger ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jan 15, 2013, 7:12 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Dayton, NV

Message: To those who knew my brother Doran Trullinger (Class of 1975) He passed away last Oct. John can you add him to the tributes page? Thank you, Rick Trullinger

Name: Kathy Downer ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jan 15, 2013, 4:35 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: peterson
Class: 1970
City & State: marietta ohio

Message: Maybe this has been mentioned before but does anyone else remember the gun turrets left over from WWll? I think PV and one in Malibu? In the 60's and 70's you could see them along the coast. John. Keep up the good work.

Name: Cal Kappen ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jan 15, 2013, 12:53 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1959
City & State: Oceanside CA

Message: Dean Stafford had a small sports car. I wonder if that Austin Healy was his?

Name: Al Murphy ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jan 15, 2013, 8:53 am - HHS Time
City & State: HELENA MONTANA

Message: Boy, do I remember the 60's!! I rode Motors in the early to late 60's! I still can smell the exhaust of the vehicles on the Blvd. Friday & Sat. nights were really great, vehicles backing up from A&W to 132nd St. sometimes almost to El Segundo Blvd. (Lots of easy pickings for tickets!!!) LOL! Really, with all of the vehicles, the drivers were great!! A ticket getter was an unsafe lane change, that caused alot of rear-end accidents. I stopped a vehicle one night for making an unsafe lane change just north of 136th St. on the Blvd. The driver got out of the vehicle, came back & was very nice, I had his license & was about ready to advise him & kick him loose. About this time an older male got out of the passenger side & started to chew me out, saying "don't you know who we are!!" ETC, ETC. The driver kept trying to get him to shut up, anyway, the driver got a ticket. Afterwards, I found out it was one of the Wilson boys (Beach Boys) & the Running of the lips was his dad! Anyone remember a green metallic Austin Healy?? The guy had a Corvette motor & trans in it. Just wondering, he took me for a ride in it one time!! Lots of neat cars on the Blvd. Does a Yellow Ford coupe or a 55 Chev. ring a bell, They were fast ones!! Have A Great one, MURPH

Name: Art Lamere ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Jan 14, 2013, 7:50 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Bettendorf ia
No E-mail
Message: Well I went to Texas to drive to LA with older brother, been in El Segundo for a couple of days. Boy o boy the place has changed with lots going on at the high school, city has sure changed. Old house that I grew up in is totally changed so it is back to the corn field in the am. God bless all, Art