Name: Clark Millman ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2014, 6:40 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Manhattan Beach. CA

Message: Just got home from Coach Semon's memorial at USC! Unbelievable! A great HHS event! Every coach you can imagine was there, Chauncey, Capelouto, Plum, Bunyard, Bravo, Minami, Coach T. Athletes across the ages. Tons of Sid's' NFL peers, lots of his USC teammates. A great event, very upbeat, good speakers, food and drink for all in a nice shady park and the USC band even performed to honor Sid! Saw Dennis Kilroy, Lee Leonard, Rich Sloan, Mr. Ormondroid, Nicest memorial event I have ever attended! Sid would have been pleased! The family slipped in a few Beach Boy tunes like Be true to your school too!

Name: Petey Smith ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2014, 1:32 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1972
City & State: OR

Message: Cougar sighting? Ricky Montaubon Davidson and Eric Moondoggie Monson were here in the Great Northwest! They stayed a few days in our home and hey aren't "The Lost Boys" anymore. ha

Name: Clark Millman ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Jul 22, 2014, 12:49 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Manhattan Beach, CA

Message: Cougar sighting! I attended a wedding last Friday evening in Mission Viejo and I bumped into Bob Duel(HHS'77) and previous ASB president back in the mid-70s. Hadn't seen Bob in thirty years. He is a big wig with Disney and has been there 21 years. Just when you think the " Cougar Stalker" is on summer break he gets back to work!

Name: Richard & Mary Sloan ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Jul 21, 2014, 5:27 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Prodin
Class: 1960
City & State: Laguna Hills, Ca

Message: Congratulations to the Hawthorne Historical Society Committee who put together the Hall of Fame dinner. Everyone had a wonderful time, (and the tri-tip and chicken were delicious.) Congratulations to the first group of honorees. Thanks also to everyone who entered cars in the car show on Saturday and a special thanks to Chris Montez (Zeke) for his great concert on Saturday. It was enjoyed by everyone.

Name: Glenn Crist ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Jul 21, 2014, 4:07 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: Hawthorne, CA

Message: JB we are only eleven T-shirts away from having them ordered. I'm sure there are Cougartowners out there that are looking for the perfect Christmas gift for a friend or family member.

Name: Tom Nadal ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Jul 21, 2014, 10:36 am - HHS Time
Class: 1977
City & State: The OC

Message: Had a fun weekend. Heard some great stories about and from the inductees at the Hawthorne Hall of Fame Banquet and got to meet some cool people, including our Cougartown leader, John. I honestly wasn't familiar with Chris Montez before, but enjoyed his concert and recognized his songs. My uncles and aunts knew his family growing up. The museum is well worth checking out. Didn't know that Sonny Bono's first wedding was at St. Joseph's or that Coach Chauncey wore the same scarlet and gold tie to every HHS football game. He wore it to the dinner and then donated the 60 year-old tie to the museum. The weekend had a nice small town feel and confirmed the motto of City of Good Neighbors.

Name: Clark Millman ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Jul 19, 2014, 8:57 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Manhattan Beach, CA

Message: The Cougar nation suffered a great loss with the passing of Coach Semon. The Cougar/Trojan family suffered a double whammy with Sid passing this week and we lost Louis Zamperini,('36 Olympian and famous WW2 vet) last week. No one else is permitted to pass away this month!

Name: Maurine White ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Jul 19, 2014, 10:32 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Endicott
Class: 1959
City & State: Riverside, CA

Message: Just wanted to say "hi" to all my Cougar friends. So sorry to hear about Sid Semon. He came to HHS my first year away at college so I didn't have the pleasure of knowing him. My brother really liked and respected him and is saddened by his passing. Newell plans to go to the service at USC, and I would go too, but I will be leaving that day for Key West to help my son-in-law celebrate his 50th birthday with my daughter Allison, sons Conner, Christopher and Teddy! I look forward to future doings with Cougartown. So until then, I will continue to enjoy all your site has to offer, John.

Name: Mike Effler ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Jul 18, 2014, 11:52 am - HHS Time
Class: 1967
City & State: El Ssegundo, CA

Message: Sid's passing is a loss to all his former athletes and students. He was gentle, but a driven man. All three Effler brothers played for Coach, Skip and I in baseball, and Geno in golf. What a great teacher he was! My best post school memory of Coach was a day about ten years ago when Sid, Skip, Geno and I got together to play a round of golf. Green fees $240, the company, PRICELESS!

Name: David Barboza ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Jul 18, 2014, 9:41 am - HHS Time
Class: 1974
City & State: Long Beach, Ca.

Message: A big Happy Birthday to Analisa Escobar Hunt and to the rest of the 74 birthday Cougars! Hope you all have a very special day!

Name: John Pritchard ~~~~~~~~~~ Fri-Jul 18, 2014, 8:12 am - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Clayton, CA

Message: I've seen no mention of Coach Semon's military service. With his crew-cut and squared-away appearance, he seemed the very model of a former marine, but I think that he told us once that he was an air force veteran. Some of us will recall the wild games of Semon-Ball in P.E., his version of rugby, on HalCap Field. 1966....

Name: Michael Flatten ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 7:15 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: waddell,az.

Message: My prayers and thoughts go out to coach Semon's family. I played one B season of football and one season of varsity baseball for him. He was truly a good coach and a fine man. He will be missed.

Name: James Gibson ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 7:09 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1967
City & State: Redding, CA

Message: "He earned his love through discipline A thundering, velvet hand His gentle means of sculpting souls Took me years to understand" Lyrics from Dan Fogelberg's, "Leader of the Band" captures the essence of Sid Semon's coaching style. I played baseball for him in '67, and proudly, along with the rest of the team, responded to his favorite "term of endearment," "Meat." He encouraged me to continue playing baseball at El Camino JC, under his cousin, Coach Serge (Chuck) Freeman, which ultimately translated to a paid-for education at Cal State Northridge (CSUN). I owe you, Coach, BIG TIME. You were a huge factor in molding my life, and for that, I'm forever in your debt.

Name: Jim Cherry ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 6:52 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: san juan capistrano, ca

Message: I have as much respect for Sid Semon as anyone I have ever met. I played on Coach Semons' 1962 B Football team. I'll carry that experience with me the rest of my life. RIP Coach Semon

Name: Jim Sloey ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 6:44 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1966
City & State: solvang

Message: I have known Sid for nearly 50 years and the word that pops into my head is respect. He didn't demand it, he didn't command it, he just received it. His presence, his booming voice, his strong confidence were much emulated traits that Sid had. As I got older, I especially liked the way he interacted with his wife. She was special. We have definitely lost a compass with Sid's passing. With that I would like to tell a story related to a group of us following his first year as an NFL referee. As Sid told the story, he was the new guy on the crew so if something needed to be carried, cleaned, requested or fetched Sid did it. In his last exhibition game his crew drew the 49ers and Raiders a hated rivalry. It was a game that meant nothing to anyone. The head linesman [Sid] and line judge line up on the line of scrimmage on opposite sides of the field, Line judge chooses which side he wants in the first half and by default the head linesman [Sid] gets that side in the second half. Many of you may remember that the Coach for the Raiders was a Cal Poly Slo alumni John Madden. First half was uneventful the Raiders were up something like 25-0. 49ers kicked off to start the second half it went out of the end zone so the Raiders got the ball on the 20 yard line first and 10. Raiders run the ball first play just short of the 22 yard line. Sid marks the ball and the ball is set down for a second and about 8. They are playing in Candlestick on the bay famous only for its howling wind, and before the next play the wind blows the ball off the mark, Sid and the gang blow their whistles remark the ball, sid heads back toward the sidelines when he hears, "109! 109! You mismarked that ball by two inches, two inches 109! I hope that doesn't cost us the game 109!" Sid recounts this didn't stop for the whole half and it was 6'5 300 pound John Madden throwing his hands in the air screaming for the entire half. Years later I reminded Sid of this story he just smiled and said, "that was my welcome to the NFL." Sid did two Super bowls games [the NFL grades their refs the best do the super bowl and the playoffs] and many playoff games. God bless us everyone!

Name: Clark Millman ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 4:21 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Manhattan Beach, CA

Message: Just a little more background on Coach Semon: He was an outstanding athlete as a young man and played baseball at UUSC in the early 50s. After graduating he stayed on at USXC to coach the freshman baseball team in '55. Many of the athletes he coached that year went on to win the NCAA championship in '58 Many of you lady Cougars may not know that Sid was an NFL official and was a ref at multiple super bowls. He was a trainer at the annual NFL officials school every summer. A life well spent and much appreciated!

Name: Carl Harrison ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 3:25 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1972
City & State: CA

Message: Just heard from Duff Means that Coach Sid Seamon passed away yesterday. He was my freshman PE coach in fall of 68, and one of my favorite HHS teachers. RIP Coach.

Name: Don D. ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 1:32 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1975
City & State: South Bay

Message: Coach Semon was a decent, intelligent, professional motivator and his influence was strongly felt by many. I wish much comfort to his family.

Name: Carl Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 12:13 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Torrance, California

Message: John, Back in May, Lee Leonard was nice enough to email me a copy of the poster for this weekend's Hawthorne Good Neighbor's Day. That poster states that there will be "music from Hawthorne's own Chris Montez". I haven't heard anything more on this subject so I thought I'd ask. Is Chris Montez scheduled to perform in Hawthorne on Saturday and, if so, when and where?

Name: Glenn Crist ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Jul 17, 2014, 12:51 am - HHS Time
Class: 1964
City & State: Hawthorne, CA

Message: Leo I too was reminded of that last year at the HHS Class of 1963 reunion. Coach Semon and his wife were there and I asked them about that accident. It was very clear to them even though it had happened in 1963.

Name: Tom Chadwick ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 16, 2014, 10:43 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1972
City & State: Templeton

Message: I would like to express my sincere condolenses to the Semon family, I'm very sorry for your loss. Coach Semon, Thanks for the help molding our character and having a positive impact on our lives. Rest in peace Coach.

Name: Richard Sloan ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 16, 2014, 9:33 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1960
City & State: Laguna Hills, Ca

Message: We've lost one of the great ones. Mr. Semon was straight out of USC in 1959 when he was hired at HHS as one of Coach Chaunceys Assistant Varsity Football coaches and as a Varsity Baseball Assistant for Coach Means. What a way to start your coaching career - Bay League Football Champs and CIF finals at the L. A. Coliseum. All of his players took pride in breaking in the "rookie coach"; just 23 when he started at HHS. The following year Coach became the Head Coach for B Football and Varsity Baseball. His teams won multiple Bay League championships in both sports. All of us who played for Coach Semon, or attended one of his many guest speaking appearances, will miss his many stories and gentle ways. At his 50th wedding anniversary party, he once again apologized to his lovely wife Dauna for a comment he made at one of his first HHS banquet dinners when he introduced Mrs. Semon as "the one who opened the cans for dinner at home." She has a good sense of humor. She was a gracious hostess at their parties and get-togethers in Torrance for years. The coach played golf with his buddies at Western Avenue Golf Course and played in Tom Graves (HHS '58) annual golf tournament for 30 years. Family, teaching, coaching, golf and NFL officiating were his passions. If you ever had questions about the NFL rules, he was your "go-to guy." We both raised our families in Torrance. There were a number of red squirrels roaming the neighborhoods. Each year the Coach would laugh and tell me that the squirrels beat him to the fruit off his trees again. The Coach always had the can-do attitude. Mr. Semons smile and many stories will be missed; he will never be forgotten.

Name: Patty Saville ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 16, 2014, 9:13 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Valencia
Class: 1974
City & State: Laguna Beach, Ca

Message: The end of an era. RIP Coach Semon.

Name: Linda Huthmaker ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Jul 16, 2014, 9:01 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Huthmaker
Class: 1963
City & State: Torrance, California

Message: Dear Everyone, I am so very sorry to hear about our Coach Sid Semon. I just sent a card to him, after hearing of his ailment, last Saturday. My heartfelt condolences to Dauna and his family. My prayers are with you. We were so happy to have Sid and Dauna attend our 1963 "50th" Hawthorne High Reunion, last October. It was wonderful to have them there-such a joyous evening. Please let me know about a Memorial Service, when it is arranged. God bless Sid Semon-we love you! Linda Huthmaker