Name: ron withers () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 20:59:15
Email: toodles8@webtv.net
City and State: tulsa, okla
Maiden: central high tulsa
Class: 1963
Message:
hi you all, just wanted to say how much i enjoy this website. i found it a while back looking for the beach boys [my all time favorite group]. you truly are a blessed bunch of people to have stayed in touch all these years. my dream in high school was to live in a beach town where i could surf everyday but to have that and the beach boys as classmates, i think, is the ties that keep you 50 and 60s classes in touch, along with mr baker's well run website. i won't take up any more space but wanted to let you know there are people in mid-america that really enjoy reading about hawthorne and the beach boys. sincerely, ron withers --- p.s. mr baker, if you have a looker's fee i would be glad to pay.
Hey Ron, Glad you found us and enjoy the site AND the early CA lifestyle. I will have to charge you a lookers fee if you don't call me John. Mr Baker was my dad. Name: Mary Ann Martin () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 20:58:47
Email: mary-annmartin@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Nashville AR
Maiden: Walton
Class: 1961
Message: Steve, Jan, Cindy & others ... how true your thoughts are. All of us contributed to Hawthorne and HHS. However, Brian was just a very special person and I'd feel the same way even if there'd been no Beach Boys. You had to know him to understand and, Dean, you obviously did not. So log out and get a life as you're missing the entire purpose of Feedback and what JB's diligently created for all of us. Your armpit remarks were rude and totally out-of-line. Trash your Stanford alumni if you can't be less offensive to us Cougars. No more, okay?
Name: Cindy Colby () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 20:13:23
Email: cindycolby@adelphia.net
City and State: Seal Beach, CA
Maiden: Maxson
Class: 1963
Message: Wow Jan, I couldn't have said that better. I have always said that in trying to forget any of the bad part of my childhood, I lost some of the good memories too. Since reliving so much of others memories I have been able to remember the good stuff from that time. The Beach Boys are the embodiment of our youth, I wouldn?t change that for the world. Dean, maybe you should get off your high horse and remember where you came from.
Name: Dean Morris () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 19:59:49
Email: dmorris@stanfordalumni.org
City and State: Reno NV
Maiden: Wrong Side of Bed When it is 102!
Class: 1972
Message: Hey Keith Jones! You get it too. I loved your famous felon bit and wonder when his parole comes up. What ever happened to Tim Fye?
Wayne Bryan was/is a fantastic coach who was a Parks and Rec leader when I was just a junior high schooler. He used to coach our rec football team and threw passes at varsity speed to me and Mike Scott to toughen us up. Still recall how Scott and I used to imitate his QB play calling in the Johnny Unitas style. We had him down to a T- "Set, red 80, red 80, Johnny U-U-U Hike! Ticked him off so bad one time he nearly decapitated us with a damn good Roman Gabriel special. All was forgiven the next day. Anyway, the Bryan family story continues in tennis with Carl a judge somewhere in CA, Wayne a tennis pro in the Sacramento area and his two twin boys being regulars on the pro doubles circuit. One of the Bryan boys played with Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon. Not bad.
Other memorable HHS alums who coached Parks and Rec in the days where they funded the parks and kids spent a ton of time having fun, playing sports and learning from HHS athletes: John Warner, a great guy, good glove man with a light bat, and could do a stellar Neil Young imitation.
Bart Graves, brother of Tom Graves of Miraleste fame, was also a great guy who taught us a little about basketball and maybe more about life.
Ditto for Ron Peterson, big brother of Pico Peterson who had the best LL nuckleball ever seen.
I guess my theme is that there was a lot of mentoring going on from some real good folks when I was growing up in Hawthorne. The generations connected through sports and the Parks and Rec. Thank you Mr. Chauncey and those who built and managed these great parks.
Memo to Steven Anderson: I applaud you for teaching local history to your students. The BBs are a big part of it and clearly a cultural force in SoCal and beyond. I just hope they can look at history as more than famous names in popular culture such as sports and entertainment heroes who "made it big". If they dig a little, they will find some pioneers in a lot of fields and people and families who, although they did not rock the world, made big differences in small ways to the lives of those around them.
JB, that's my story for today.
Thanks Dean...
Name: Steve Fraser () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 19:50:56
Email: sfraser53@lworld.net
City and State: Laguna Woods
Class: 1966
Message: Alas, poor Hay Towners. Mr. Morris believes we folk are nothing more than boorish armpit sniffers. If that's the case, perhaps he should take his vast knowledge, verbosity, ego and "stanfordalumni" email and log out.
Name: Rick Rael () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 17:32:46
Email: rickcycln@netzero.net
City and State: Phoenix, AZ
Class: 1979
Message: Stumbled upon this website; I am enjoying the memories that come back to me reading the feedback!
Hey Rick, Glad you found us...
Name: Tom Buckingham () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 16:17:02
Email: dukebuckingham@bigfoot.com
City and State: Clovis,CA
Class: 1964
Message: I was in town last weekend to take my son to the Dodger/Giant game. Saw a few sites as well. Funny to drive by Imperial and Haw. Blvd corner and see the infamous Cockatoo Inn being obliterated. We had to go bye Fosters and have a Root Beer Freeze too. In 1964 I can remember getting a Foster burger, fries and freeze for less than a buck. What are the plans for what remain of the mall? Anybody know? I worked at the Hawthorne Press during my college years. Our building was directly across the street from Whites Bakery. Mrs. Whitestone, the owner of the Press would send me across the street to Whites for her morning bagel and coffee. The editor of the Press was
Bob Klein who later taught Journalism and English at LHS. A few former Cougar editors got their professional newspaper start at the Hawthorne Press.
Name: Keith D. Jones () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 15:03:05
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, Hawaii
Maiden: always been Jones
Class: 1976
Message: Wayne Bryan was one of my heroes as a kid. He taught tennis at Holy Glen and I rememer I got to help him a couple summers. I liked tennis allot. At night I would go practice serving. I had a really good serve he told me. I had a Wilson T3000 alumimnum raqcuet which was pretty fancy back then. Remember when him and his dad beat Pancho Gonzales and his son in an exhibititon match. His brother John was our tennis hero at HHS when I went. How is he doing. I heard they own a tennis club in Pacific Palisides or something.
As for our famous felon, Ed Paul comes tomind. He is still on witness protection program I'm sure. He chopped up his future father in law who was a mafia guy.
Name: Steven Anderson () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 15:00:54
Email: myhistoryteacher@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Hawthorne, CA
Message: I realize that the Beach Boys may seem like an exhausted topic to some, but let me try to explain why its important. One of the previous posts stated that Hawthorne in the 1950's WAS America, that, in a sense, those glory days represented the American Dream. Kids at Hawthorne High School today have a difficult time tapping into that for a variety of reasons. Their town and their campus "ain't what it used to be". And yet, when they go to the tributes page, or visit the pages chronicling the brave Cougars who gave their lives in Vietnam and who were their age when they did so, there's a sort of psychic connection that makes them see Hawthorne and HHS a bit differently. I'll take whatever local history there is-- Dixon's new book, old photographs from the library, an old yearbook, or-- in this case-- the current interest in Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the landmark went up and SmIle was released-- to help my students connect with that. You wouldn't believe how many current Cougars go on the Cougartown website and come back with stories they've read from the pages or the feedback. And, not only does it help them connect with a community from the past, but-- and finding out where Brian Wilson sat if it helps a kid connect can do this too--it helps them to think that such a community is possible again. Good things are happening at HHS! Our campus is beautiful with the new grass planted and the new cafeteria up. And, while we may not be a Mrs. Marks a Mr. Pizzaro or a Mr. Courtney (who I had the privilege of teaching with for a few short years at the beginning of my career), there are good teachers at HHS who are inspired by a community that once was, love our students and just want some help finding out where Brian Wilson might have sat so we can inspire the next set of H-town geniuses!
Hi Steven, Thank you and I'm so happy to hear that Cougartown is making a difference when it comes to the history of Hawthorne. May it help instill the present day students with a feeling of pride and history for our Hawthorne.
Name: Jan Peterson () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 14:40:51
Email: jpeterson50@aol.com
City and State: Carmichael, CA
Maiden: Freeman
Message: WOW, Dean did you get up on the wrong side of your bed? Is the summer heat melting your "good side?" I suppose if there is anyone out there that does not want to hear about The Beachboy's" they should probably remove the bookmark for Cougartown.Com off their computers. The Beachboy's are one of our nations largest bands in music history, and they came from Hawthorne. Sadly we have lost Dennis & Carl Wilson, but Brian is very much alive and making more history and this former Haytowner is very proud to log into this site and read everyone's memories of The Beachboy's. And I don't mind hearing it over and over again. I also love when I read about other Cougars news, babies, grandchildren, awards, deaths, marriages, vacations...the list goes one. So if this is armpit sniffing, consider me a armpit sniffer. Thank you John for all that you do! All of the Cougartown memories keep us young. There is nothing better than going back in time, even if it is only in your thoughts. I have never thought so much about my childhood and teen years until I discovered Cougartown.Com, and we are able to share our memories with others. Hugs to all, Jan
Thanks Jan....
Name: Al Rocca () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 13:09:00
Email: afred.p.rocca@boeing.com
City and State: Mesa, AZ
Class: 1970
Message: Anyone know whatever happened to Cindy Appleton???
Name: Tammy () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 11:28:06
City and State: Aliso Viejo, CA
Message: I'm looking for an old friend who graduated from HHS in 1980. Her name was Donna L. Rogers. Married Scott Brown later on. If anyone out there knows her whereabouts, please let me know. Donna, if you read this, please e-mail me at tam_tam_9250@yahoo.com.
Name: Dean () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 09:46:20
Email: dmorris@stanfordalumni.org
City and State: Reno, Nevada
Maiden: Exhausted Topics
Class: 1972
Message: One of my buddies put it like this: we seem to like to sniff the armpits of our heroes. Is it really fascinating history where BW sat in third grade or whether he like the monkey bars or handball? We are just about there....!!
I just gotta believe we have many more unexplored fascinating personalities around Hawthorne and HHS than the BBs. WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Persian Gulf heroes. Fascinating felons. How about the Bryan dynasty and what Wayne's kids are doing in the tennis world. Great teachers works for me. Who has written a book, made a movie, made something of themself after a fall. How about looking for a story in the ordinary? Let's dig down a little more before I go insane when I hear about BW bowel habits during his studio years.
Saturated on BB Trivia
Well Dean, at least they have an armpit to sniff. Verbalizing and expounding what should and should not be written about, isn't that like sniffing your own armpit? How about a STORY from you.
Name: Mary Ann Martin () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 09:42:08
Email: mary-annmartin@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Nashville AR
Maiden: Walton
Class: 1961
Message: Jake, you really opened up the Memory Lane ... our dear Mr. Nyman and Mrs. Ton, Dragnet tv actor Mr. Nelson, Coach Means never giving up on my lack of math skills, Mr. Hamilton, strange Mr. Gaier, Tim Lutz hitting on Ms. Zalowski, Coach Chauncey and coaches, proof reading the Cougar every Thursday night in Mr. Chaffey's print shop and my mentor, Ms. McGinty, who changed my life with journalism. Never had any dealings with Wetzler or Selz, but still chuckle at the story about her sternly sitting behind her desk with her three inch black roots, chastising Betty Bell about her (beautiful) blond hair. HHS is those days was kinda a "home town feeling." Probably my best Cougar memories were about "our" Brian as Penny Prouty put it, HHS upsetting Santa Monica for the South Bay title in fall 1959, The Myk, choir, Backwards dances, proms, pep rallies, grad parties at the Palladium, student council, Frosties, the Centinela drive-in, cruising, the Cougar newspaper and good friends who knew how to have fun! How about the rest of you?
Now that's one great memory floggin' Feedback. Thank you Mary Ann.....
Name: Raymond Smith () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 07:27:03
Email: Kawabunganorth@juno.com
City and State: Portland, OR
Class: 1981
Message: Just a word of note straight from the horse's mouth. My German Teacher Mr. Graham had one of the Wilson boys as a student. He told me this when ABC News was on campus doing a story about the Beach boys back in 1980/81. I just order me a book from Walt Dixon "Images of Hawthorne". I had a Really REALLY good talk with him on the phone lasting over 30 mins. It seems he has quite a story to tell about himself and during the war. He was able to give me informations on airfields(Kelly's Field and Northrup Field). I was impress with his service record flying B-24(naval version PB4Y-1) out of Europe. He survive 55 missions and got shot down 3 times. A true hero in my book if you ask me. I can't wait to get the book/pictures of Hawthorne.
Thanks Raymond. Yes, Walt Dixon is a great guy....
Name: Cindy Colby () on Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 00:56:39
Email: cindycolby@adelphia.net
City and State: Seal Beach, CA
Maiden: Maxson
Class: 1963
Message: Just wanted to tell you all that I got Walt Dixon?s book "Hawthorne", I am really enjoying it, there is so much that I didn't know about our town. Anyone who isn't sure about buying it, do it, you won't be disappointed.
Thanks Cindy, I agree....
Name: Paco () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 20:38:48
Email: doo4usc@cox.net
City and State: LF
Class: 1961
Message: In 1959 I sat next to Brian in Geometry class, Mr.Ernie Silcox was our teacher.I have no idea what the room number was, I remember where the class was but that's it.
Name: EL ROJO () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 20:36:58
Email: JAKEJUDE YOU KNOW
City and State: Kuna, IDAHO
Maiden: JAKIESTER
Class: 1960
Message: Mary Ann, it's good to see you on Cougartown, writing some very true words I might add. I too thought that Manny Pizzaro was one of the neatest teacher's in the world. He along with Mrs # 1, Ginger Mark, taught me how to start to learn life. Funny how I had two classes with each. I loved how Mrs Mark would cry when she gave a bad grade to someone. Who me? She cried! She cared. Manny Pizzaro was the same. He cared about his students. I can't tell you the amount of time he spent at one of JJ's and my favorite places, that being Centinela D.I., just to make ends meet. He worked at the Snack Bar. He would see us and give us a Home Ec. Lesson right there at the counter. " Now you two better be good"! Great person. Taught me that patience is golden. You never know what you'll find. Anyway, I guess here we are " back to SCHOOL
MAY THE COUGAR BE WITH YOU! Jake n Jude.
Yep, I too had Mr Pizarro for Spanish II and Mrs. Mark for Senior English. They were both very classy teachers.
Name: Chris Prewitt () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 16:26:08
Email: cjprewitt at juno dot com
City and State: Fullerton, CA
Class: 1967
Message: ...unlike Olympians, Cougars don't stick their gum under the seats. Yeh, if we got caught with gum it ended up on our noses. Who was the teacher that did that? I never got caught but I do remember someone with gum on her nose!
Name: Jerry LaForce () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 16:16:32
Email: lranch@naxs.net
City and State: Fortblackmore VA
Class: 1977
Message: Not enough electricity to tell it all. Hawthorne was America.
AMEN to that. Thanks Jerry....
Name: Suzanne Reynolds () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 15:30:19
Email: Ispywriting2004@yahoo.com
City and State: Palmdale, California
Maiden: Jokela
Class: 1966
Message: I love this site! There were great times back then!
Hi Suzanne, Thank you and there are STILL great times going on here in Ctown.
Name: David Neuschafer () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 12:08:53
Email: Dendan2@aol.com
City and State: Vista, Calif.
Maiden: Leuzinger
Class: 1959
Message: Hey John...So what was wrong with the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile as a topic? I enjoyed it! I know, I know!...Being from LHS, I wouldn't understand the importance of knowing where The Beach Boys all sat! Maybe they can find the exact desks they all used and save them for the BB's Museum! Now that's a good idea! Check the chewing gum under the seat for DNA!!! Weinermobile topic has been done, I thought, and unlike Olympians, Cougars don't stick their gum under the seats. Name: Chris Prewitt () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 11:39:37
Email: cjprewitt at juno dot com
City and State: Fullerton, CA
Class: 1967
Message: Marilyn J - Welcome! There is a list of the FOUND click on the "Alumni List" at the top of almost every page then click on the year of the person you wish to look up. For your 40th reunion click on the "Reunions" at the top of the page. It's all here, take some time and look around.
Thanks Chris for helping out our fellow Cougs.
Name: Mary Ann Martin () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 06:21:42
Email: mary-annmartin@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Nashville AR
Maiden: Walton
Class: 1961
Message: Brian and I had Spanish I&II together in Juan Pizzaro's class. Brian would always ace tests right away and then sit there tapping out tunes with his pencil or quietly singing Down By The Seashore to me. The room was 2 or 3 buildings up from the cafeteria and 1 over. Mr. Pizzaro was the coolest teacher and wore Pat Boone type white shoes.
Name: Marilyn () on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 05:20:41
City and State: Anaheim
Maiden: J
Class: 1965
Message: Just found COURGARTOWN website. Wow! Do wish all names of classmates were listed so I could see all "found" people. Glad to see so many Lost are now Found, but who was found earlier? Trying to clear a path to join/visit the 4oth this year. mj
I wish you would've left YOUR name, as Marilyn J doesn't say who you are.
Name: Steven Anderson () on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at 22:17:41
Email: myhistoryteacher@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Hawthorne, CA
Message: Hi All! I'm hoping someone out there can help with a pet project of mine. I am a teacher at HHS trying to find what rooms the Wilson Brothers (especially Brian) might have had classes in. There has been a resurgence of interest about the Boys since the landmark and it would be great to know which classrooms the Wilsons had classes in. While I can access all three brothers' transcripts, all that's listed is the course taken and the grade. What I need is anyone that remembers a classroom or even a teacher. Any information on Brian, Dennis and/or Carl would be appreciated. You can email me directly if you wish. Thanks again! I love that our current students are interested in the history of H-town and HHS!
Hey Steven, I'd like to know too, so any info from anyone, please leave it her. AT LAST we have a topic!! Name: Sharon Stowe () on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at 18:46:54
Email: sharons39 @hotmail.com
City and State: Lawndale, CA
Maiden: Ritch
Class: 1972
Message: Just had a 'flash from the past' when someone mentioned Art Linkletter in feedback. When I was in Kindergarten, Steven Dunn and Kathleen Franken (both from class of 72) where in my class at Trinity Lutheran in Hawthorne. They were chosen to be on the Art Linkletter show. I don?t remember too much about the show except that Kathleen had a very interesting interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve. Anyway, they got a ?Surrey with fringe on top? which was used on the playground at school for a while. Two kids could ride in it side-by-side and peddle it like a bicycle.
ss
How about a STORY from you.
