Alumni Sandstorm ~ 04/05/05
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10 Bombers sent stuff: 
Joe Wood ('48), Jim Jensen ('50)
Donna McGregor ('57), Bonnie Allen ('59)
Burt Pierard ('59), George Swan ('59)
Larry Mattingly ('60), Judy Willox ('61)
Helen Cross ('62), John Bixler ('64)
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BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Ann Pearson ('50)

BOMBER CALENDAR: Richland Bombers Calendar
    Click the event you want to know more about..
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>>From: Joe Wood ('48)

Re: POW
    I came by a used undershirt that must have been retrieved from a
rag barrel sometime in the early '40s. Anyway, it had big bold letters
stamped on it POW and it was my understanding it came from the camp out
by Benton City. Used to wear it in the summer time and my Mom would
give me fits when I did. So I agree with Dick, cause I'm sure he
approved the place.
    Didn't anyone's Dad guard the place?

-Joe Wood ('48)
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>>From: Jim Jensen ('50)

Re: Thayer Drive/Flat Top/Etc.
To:  Louise Avant ('69)
    Your 4/2/05 posting about your hike to "Flat Top" brought back 
a lot of memories. The fact that your trek began from your house on
Torbett and Thayer captured my attention as well. Our family lived 
at the corner of Thayer (1603) and Van Giesen from May 1948 to August
1950. I accompanied a number of friends - Bill Hinson (RIP'50), Jerry
Arbuckle (RIP'50) and others - down Van Giesen to Flat Top. Most of 
the time we would have foot races up and then down (with a few tumbles
thrown in). Bill and I tried it with bicycles a few times, but found
that downward excursions could be hazardous and on occasion subject our
bikes to troublesome damage. There were no buildings of any kind close
around there in those days - just a lot of brush (sagebrush?). We 
used to wonder whether native Americans had ever used the "Top" for
observation purposes. Wonder why we never looked for arrow heads, etc.?
    On Van Giesen, west of Thayer, friends and I used to enjoy the bing
cherry orchard (on the north side of the road). Ate 2.6 tons of those
babies. I haven't seen bing cherries anywhere near as good as those
were since my last visit there.....size, color, flavor!!!! Superb.
    As for Thayer Drive...walking to school I would pass by the Vogel 
home, the Masters, the Richeys (Don RIP'47, Alan RIP'49, Marilyn RIP), 
all on the west side of the road, just in the first few blocks.
    Thanks for the memories.

-Jim Jensen ('50)
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>>From: Donna McGregor Salazar ('57)

Re: United Protestant Churches
    I may be wrong, but I was always under the impression that each one
of the United Protestant Churches sort of leaned towards one Protestant
denomination or another, such as it seemed like Central UP leaned
towards being Methodist, etc. I'm wishy-washy about this because it
didn't seem like it was a strict thing???? Maybe you just went to the
one closest to you or where you like the preacher the best. Reverend
Uphoff at Central was fantastic in his delivery of sermons done in
layman's terms. That's why I went there and plus they had a good youth
program.

Re: "Alumni" E-Mail
    I think this has been brought up before, but "educate me again".
It is an e-mail from webmaster@alumniarchive.net with the subject of
"New Richland High School Alumni Archive".
    Is this a legitimate thing?  I haven't opened it.

[Donna, The guy running the site is not a Bomber and the site has 
NOTHING to do with any RHS alumni. We think he's just out to make a 
buck. We think he's harmless -- I didn't "register".      -Maren] 

-Donna McGregor Salazar ('57) ~ Cheers from the windy (but not as windy 
                  as the Columbia Basin) Espanola Valley, NM
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>>From: Bonnie Allen ('59)

Re: Website from Iraq
    I don't remember who posted the website with the pictures from
Iraq, but "Thank You." I've sent it to many of my friends and have
saved it on my "Favorites" and look at it often. Too bad CNN, NBC, CBS
& ABC don't run pictures like that to remind us what we're all about!

-Bonnie Allen ('59)
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>>From: Burt Pierard ('59)

To: The Milkman (45,46)
Re: POWs at Columbia Camp
    First, Conscientious Objector (CO) is a specific term referring to 
a particular class of United States Draft Refusers, so your reference 
to "nearly the whole Italian army" was totally irrelevant.
    Second, you asked if I "also believe that the powers that were
would not cover up the POW situation?" Reread the last two paragraphs
of my 3/21/05 posting. In this particular case, I believe that "the
powers that were" not only WOULD NOT cover up POWs at Columbia Camp but
they COULD NOT! Please kindly explain how the alleged POWs could obtain
Security Clearances and how Leslie Groves could have been unaware of
their existence when he was complaining about German POWs in Walla
Walla being too close to the Project?
 
Bomber Cheers,
-Burt Pierard ('59) ~ Richland
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>>From: George "Pappy" Swan ('59)

Re: POW Camp, camping in the camp
To: Dick McCoy ('45) and that other kid about my age, Burt Pierard ('59)
    I can't offer much as to whether the camp was for prisoners or
objectors but I know it was there because I camped among the concrete
slabs with my little buddies as we pursued our own learning adventures
about the great outdoors. Also, I camped and hiked there with the Boy
Scouts several times. It was another one of those great places for
adventure that seemed to abound around Richland for a sub-teen kid 
in those days. We learned things like: how to convince yourself that
sleeping in a rain-soaked sleeping bag could still be "really fun" (?),
if you keep stirring the pork 'n beans on the campfire, they don't burn
quite so badly on the bottom, and what was all the adult fuss about
steak 'n lobster when boiled crawdads and rabbit roasted on a stick
(although slightly singed) ate pretty good for a hungry kid! In that
stretch of the Yakima River and what we referred to as "Down Back", the
area between the river and the by-pass highway, we caught Smallmouth
Bass and other fish in the warm months and Whitefish in the winter.
When we were old enough to carry a gun on our own, we honed our skills
as hunters by taking waterfowl on the river and upland birds along it
and the surrounding sage area. I encountered and gained respect for my
very first "up close and personal with a rattlesnake" on the foot of
Rattlesnake Mountain (About where the Tri-Cities Shooting Association's
ranges are today). The only information related to Italian Prisoners,
that I recall from those days, was adults mentioning that they had seen
an advertisement that read, "Italian Army Rifles For Sale -- Never been
fired and only dropped once."

-George "Pappy" Swan ('59) ~ Burbank, WA -- Where the puddle is filled 
         again after last night's abundant rain. Today, the sun also 
         shines. Be well, fellow Bombers. 
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>>From: Larry Mattingly ('60)

To: Betty Hiser Gulley ('49)
    You may be right about the free use of school's rooms. We had some
neighbors that went to one of the churches that used the school rooms
until they were able to build their own. However, I do remember hearing
conversations about taking up collections for the school rooms. But
that may have been to pay for janitorial services or something.
    You mentioned the Lutheran Church, remember the one on Van Giesen
and (Stevens?). Murph Manolopoulos (Bomber Dad-RIP) and the Knights of 
Columbus took that old church apart for the salvage. It was an old 
building, a former Grange Hall from the '30s I think, with a full 
basement. There were huge, long beams holding up the floor. Tons of 
used bricks and piles of lumber were eventually sold with the proceeds 
going to several good causes. I worked on it several days taking the 
roof off and the rafters down. There were a couple of close calls when 
various parts of the structure collapsed while being removed. We were 
very lucky nobody got hurt. But it was a fun job and for a good cause. 
Old buildings seem to all have some secrets revealed when you take them
apart. You never know what you may find between walls and floors. The
Knights of Columbus got the old Post Office building in the mid '60s
and moved it out to the bypass location. When we started to pull walls
apart for the remodeling, I found several pieces of mail, one from
1949. We turned them over the Post Office and I think they were able to
deliver one or two of them. We also found an old Seth Thomas "Postal
Regulator" clock in the attic. It was about 3 feet tall and very
ornate. We had it restored and last I heard it was still hanging in the
K of C Hall.
    Betty, I also think you may be right about the AEC in those early
days. Many felt they had some kind of mandate to get the job done and
were sometimes a bit "high handed" about it. Setting aside the debate
of right or wrong, their ability to get most of what was needed for
Richland/Hanford to exist is to their credit. While the waste problems
at Hanford are a negative, the legacy they left in the City of
Richland, was not all that bad. Personally, I feel the City and it's
citizens pretty well earned what they received.
    And, Richland and the Tri-Cities continue to flourish despite
predictions it would dry up and blow away as things began to shut down
in Plutonium production. I go to, or through the Tri-Cities a dozen or
more times a year and it seems like most times I see something new each
time. I follow the LIGO experiment on the internet as much as I can.

"Happiness is the sky in bloom"
-J Larry Mattingly ('60)
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>>From: Judy Willox (Classic Class '61)
mailto:JudyWillox@charter.net

To: All Bombers
Re: Green & Gold, Red & White
 http://richlandbombers.com/Xtra05/WineTastingForm.jpg
    Taste the wines of renowned vintner Charlie Hoppes at Club 40's
Spring wine tasting event! Join us on Saturday, April 23 from 6-9pm at
the Hampton Inn, Richland. We'll be pouring wines from Fidelitas, Canon
de Sol, Gamache and Gooseridge wineries. Tickets are $25, and include
wine, light hors d'oeurves and a silent auction to benefit the Richland
High senior graduation party. Tickets are available at the Hampton Inn,
or by calling Maggie Shallman at 627-4295. Only a limited number are
available, so get yours today!
    If you are from out of town and want to attend, attached is a form to
send in to the address on the form.

Bomber Cheers,
-Judy Willox (Classic Class '61) ~ Richland
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>>From: Helen Cross Kirk ('62)

    Well, I think I'm caught up on my Sandstorms again. It's the worst
part of my computer being down, in that I will miss so many issues, 
but the library is just a few miles away. It's 75° here in SW Indiana, 
and in SE Ohio, I know I was there too today, and it's great. No 
sweaters needed, in fact, sunglasses are in order now!! My daffodils 
have popped and the few hyacinths I have are up (these are the few that 
remain from the ones Carol Rice Forister ('62) and I got when we made 
it to Holland together in l999.
    I am going to be driving down to North Carolina to see a friend who 
is not a Bomber, but a good friend nevertheless. Hope to maybe see the
rhododendrons along the Blue Ridge Parkway in bloom this time??? But
then Spring is pretty everywhere. I noticed we have 2 Canadian geese
who look like they have made a nest on our little lake. I've never seen
a baby Canadian goose before, that I knew anyway. Should be fun!! 
    The foster cats and I will enjoy it, anyway. Happy Spring,

-Helen Cross Kirk ('62) ~ W. Harrison, IN - Hey Max Case ('57) are we 
         going to try another Indiana Bomber get-together this spring 
         or summer, like July? 
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>>From: John Bixler ('64)

Re: Meistersingers
    Peg Sheeran Finch ('63) and I have been working together to 
digitize the Meistersinger records she and I had. I just had Casey 
Jones she had the rest. Six of them can be found on my web site – 
   http://john.bixler.home.comcast.net/ 

They are: Adoremus Te, Casey Jones, Old Man River, Omnipotence, 
       Russian Snow Song, and The Lord’s Prayer.

There five others that I don't have room for on my site they are:
   March of the Men of Harlech, One Alone, Pilgrims Chorus, Unlabeled, 
   and Winter’s Song.

The ones left out total about 13.8mb of mp3. Total there is about 30mb 
of mp3 and 325MB of wav. If anybody wants to distribute copies of the 
music or post the remaining songs I would be happy to supply by email 
or snail mail the required files. Enjoy

-John Bixler ('64)
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That's it for today. Please send more.
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