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Thanks to Betty Ohr Maxwell for sending this picture
of Oran Knowles and Colin Cook taken during junior high. Betty could not recall the occasion, but Colin did feel it
may have been taken at Rec Park. (Oran - I always thought only Oscar the Grouch lived in a trashcan?)
| FLYING A SWIM CLUB (CIRCA 1956) |
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A
big thanks to Herb Solomon for sharing this picture of the Flying A's Swim Club (circa 1956). The picture was taken
at the Fujikawa family's pool. Herb has been able to identify the following; please chime to help us put more names with faces!
Click on the picture if enlarging will help. (Names supplied by Herb appear first. Add'l info added later appears
below.)
Front row: Dennis Dummit, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown, Jimmy Solomon,
Unknown, Ronnie Fujikawa. 2nd
row: Coach Larry Delota (a student of the great diver, Sammy Lee), Bobby Walkman?, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown,
Craig Dummit, Bruce Dummit Back row: Unknown, Unknown, Unknown, Carol Fujikawa, Kenny Alban, Larry Moore, Steve Alban, Danny
Alban, Herb Solomon
UPDATE: Judy Wilson Jones added the following. The first child in the second row is Bobby Wachman.
The second and third girls in the back row are Leslie Watson and Sharon Ballagh, both class of 1961. Any more guesses?
Anyone? Anyone?
July 21 - thanks to Leslie Watson Botjer for adding this: " #2 in front row is Lorna Watson, next unidentified girl is a Walley
twin and second from last is Mike Walley. Back row is Lynne Walley, Leslie Watson, Sharon Ballagh. Great snooping!
"
July 31, thanks to Ron Fujikawa for confirming many of the above names, plus providing
the name of the 3rd boy in the second row - Bruce Watson.
| Thanks to John Mauger for this - Lee Elementary 57 |
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| Click to Enlarge- Can you help Identify ?? |
John sends along his list of names. More guesses welcome!
Row 1 unk, Val Sabin, Verna Albertson, unk, unk, Roger Wyatt, Paul
Nelson, Steve Farmen, Oran Knowles, Don Maroney, Wayne Dennis, Ronnie Hoffman.
Row 2 Frances Maceyka, JoAnn Broshear,
Susie Cottler, Bobby Johns, Monte Dennis, John Mauger, Bob Lawrence, David Delano, unk, unk, unk.
Row 3 Eddie
Johnson, unk, unk, unk, John Frederick, unk, Jack Miller, Sydney ..., unk.
Row 4 Bryant Bradshaw, unk,
unk, Jess Moreno, Chuck Hines, Kevin Long, Karen Kawaii, Judy Williams, unk, unk, Marla Davis, Vicki Hercus.
And as they are today: Back Row: Paul
Nelson, Jesse Moreno, John Mauger, Roger Wyatt, Steve Farmen Front: Val Sabin, JoAnn Broshear, Susie
Cottler, Marla Davis
AGING GRACEFUL - LEE
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| Val Sabin, Judee Williams, Susie Cottler and Roger Wyatt |
Roger used his family as an example to set the stage for the need
to stay in school. His nephew makes $6 an hour working a McDonalds, he makes $60 an hour teaching at the college, his cousin
makes $6000 an hour working as a surgeon. Of course all the kids wanted to make the $6000 an hour. He stressed the importance
of education and used statistics from the US Government to show the difference in dollars earned over a lifetime ($1,000,000),
if you have a college degree.
Val engaged in an interaction with the kids, creating a sense of
ease and allowing them to really feel what it was like when we attended Lee Elementary fifty years ago. She spoke
about the activities we participated in on the playground, in plays, special events, etc. She encouraged them
to participate in these types of events every time they get the chance to give them confidence to be more outgoing
and more fully enjoy their lives. She asked if anyone was a little scared to start a new school. Many hands went up. She talked
about how we also were scared about starting Jefferson and she did a great job setting their minds at ease.
Susie spoke about coming from a poor family, moving quite
often because her father could not pay the rent, and being homeless at times. She used the movie with Will Smith (Pursuit
of Happyness) about the father and son, homeless, he becomes stock broker, etc.) to set a rags to riches theme.
Then she used her own life to really bring it home ... poor, homeless at times, having the will to want something better for
herself. She spoke about becoming an attorney and acting as a judge at times. She put on her Judge's robe and used
the example of going from a High School graduation robe, to a college graduation robe, (becoming an attorney) to a judge's
robe. She stressed the fact that everyone in the room could be anything they wanted to be in their lives.
I also spoke about coming from a less than perfect childhood
(alcoholism, fighting, police visiting our home) that was not only embarrassing but scary as a child. The
good that came out of it was the strength to know that I didn't have to re-create that same kind of life when I got married,
and that I would never make my children live in that kind of environment. I suggested if any of them were having those kinds
of experiences, to know that they have the power to create a good life for themselves. My focus was on Drama Is Optional.
I passed out flyers about the book in the classroom, and the principal gave each of the students (160) in the graduating class
a book later that day. My message to the kids was, "You are the most important possession you have and I want you to know
how valuable you are as a human being. Make your lives count ... be the best person you can be to yourself and others and
you will create a life you can be proud of."
Roger wrapped it up by tying together our less than perfect
home life's as kids, wanting to create something better for ourselves, and fifty years later standing in front of them to
show them it can be done. - Judee Williams
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