Alumni Sandstorm ~ 05/14/05
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9 Bombers sent stuff and 1 Bomber funeral notice today:
Betty Hiser ('49), Mary Evelyn Kingsley ('49)
Ann Clancy ('50), Gloria Adams ('54)
George Swan ('59), Nancy Stull ('59)
Freddie Schafer ('63), Roy Ballard ('63)
Betti Avant ('69)
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Shirley Watts ('49)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Claudia Stoffel ('68WB)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Randal Southam ('82)
BOMBER LUNCH Today: PDX/Vancouver
BOMBER CALENDAR: Richland Bombers Calendar
Click the event you want to know more about.
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Betty Hiser Gulley ('49)
I have lived in Richland for 60+ years and would not live anywhere
else - I may have to change my mind as I get older. The only
disadvantage is that it has grown too much in the past 2 years.
Springfield IL - My (x)husband and I picked up Route 66 in Springfield
and followed it all the way into CA (not Los Angeles) and saw a lot of
these US of A states - some I had never been in. Would love to see the
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. If you go back buy me a
postcard. Thanks.
Speaking of postcards - I never did thank Pete Overdahl ('60) for the
postcards you send me. I was getting ready to do out of town for the
holidays. I really like those Union Oil Cards - I have over a 100 of
them. Thanks again.
Mike Howell ('68WB) - other than my children you are the only one who
said it was OK to take an additive drug. THANKS!! If I could let those
people have my pain for a week they would not say such nasty things
to me. I only drive around town - have never done much night driving.
Everything I need is about 6 blocks from my house.
-Betty Hiser Gulley '49er - south/government Richland - got up to 83
yesterday. NICE!
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Mary Evelyn Kingsley Spradlin ('49)
Re: Birthday wishes
Please put my Birthday wishes to Shirley Watts James ('49) in the
Alumni Sandstorm on Saturday, May 14th.
Thank you,
-Mary Evelyn Kingsley Spradlin ('49)
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Ann Clancy Andrews ('50)
To: Wally Erickson ('53)
Re: Sonics
Once more a team in Green and Gold prevailed. Defeating their
opponent by a margin of three games to one, sent the Kings home to
wait until next year~~~~~again.
I congratulate the Sonics. Was a great series. Great team.
Seems to be one little problem now~~~down two games to one with
San Antonio Spurs. They have to win on Sunday or they will be cleaning
out their lockers also~~~~~until next year.
Showing I can be a good sport ~~~~~ "GO SONICS!"
Re: Dick Harris ('49) and saddles shoes that EVERYONE wore (well,
almost everyone, I never saw my brothers in a pair) brought to mind
that he and Freddie Barker ('50) were a couple of fine Bomber cheer
leaders.
-Ann Clancy Andrews ('50) ~ 84° and just about perfect in Sacramento.
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Gloria Adams Fulcher ('54)
Re: Moving "Home"
You know the old saying "Never say Never". I was so happy to get
out of the Tri-Cities in 1980 when a job promotion was presented. We
had moved once in our marriage, to Joliet, Ill. from 1971 to 1974. I
told Clarence ('51) when we were there he could take me anywhere but
just don't take us back to Richland. Of course that's where we went
back to after 3 years.
In 1980, as I say, we had another opportunity to move away and did
so. We lived in Yakima for 2 & 1/2 years and then another promotion
took us on to Seattle. We lived there for 10 years before deciding to
retire very early to begin traveling. We traveled for 10 years and
then came home to our home in the Mountains, on Chinook Pass.
That was great for a while but we weren't used to being in one
place all the time so we bought a condo in Edmonds. We went back and
forth between the 2 places a couple of times a month for another 2 &
1/2 years. Then travel for us became restricted so we sold the condo
in Edmonds and GUESS WHAT?? We bought a home in Pasco!!!!!!!
We still have our mountain home but it's going back to being a
"summer home" and we'll be here in Pasco most of the time.
Yes, I can honestly say we're glad to be "home". It has a security
to it along with the memories of Marcus Whitman and Carmichael Jr. Hi.
for me and Columbia High for Clarence and I both. We fell in love
here, married here, had all 5 of our children here, the death of one
child and a start to everything else that has evolved for our family.
We have one daughter, Karen, who still lives here with her husband and
3 of our grandchildren. Son, Jeff, hopes to make this his home base in
2 years or less and son, Scott is no longer completely sure he won't
come back "home" some day. Never thought he would ever say that.
Daughter, Deanna, is happy in Florida and that’s what counts. It seems
the places in between were stopping points that helped educate us and
expand our views and understanding of the world but Tri-Cities is
still "home".
Look forward to seeing some of my old classmates at the luncheon
one of these months when we get settled.
-Gloria Adams Fulcher ('54)
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: George "Pappy" Swan ('59)
Re: On the ping-ponging of a Bomber Yo-Yo
You can live here, you can live there but ya doesn't has ta call's
me Johnson (that ain't me name anyway). But, you could call me the
Bomber ping-ponging Yo-Yo.
Upon graduation in '59, I couldn't wait to get out of Dodge (I mean
Richland). I was far from being a "down on the farm" kid but they
couldn't keep me there anyway. So, I joined the Marines and visited
sunny southern California. Next, I visited various countries of
the Far East (where the weather varies to extremes) all on a tour
sponsored of by Uncle Sam. Upon discharge, I returned to Richland and
attended Columbia Basin College. After two years of enlightenment, I
moved to Seattle and attended UW (usually carrying a Bumbershoot -- it
rains a bit there). After that graduation, I took a six-month (June
through December, 1970), temporary, US Fish & Wildlife Service job in
the remote end of Alaska (the Pribilof Islands, Aleutian Islands, and
the Alaskan Peninsula), where the wind makes the occasional 60+ mph
winds in the Tri-Cities look like gentle breezes wafting o'er the sage
(What's left). In that area of Alaska, it was rumored that the wind
blew so hard during WW II that interlocking steel runway mats were
lifted and rolled up into giant rolls (like huge rolls of fencing) at
the end of the airstrips. I could almost believe that. And, it rains
and snows a bit there too -- horizontally. When I trekked out along
the beaches or across the tundra whether to perform research on Fur
Seals, guide wildlife photographers, or count geese, I always wore
chest waders and a rain jacket over warm clothes, with stocking cap
and gloves, even on a dry day just to break the wind. My next job was
-- Well, guess what? -- back in the Tri-Cities with The National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) at a research station based in Pasco.
I lived in Pasco for about three years. Then, I served a year as the
Benton County Parks and Recreation Department Director and lived in
Columbia Park for a year. Too much "Politics" for this ol' kid, so
back to NMFS and I lived in Kennewick for another year. Then I was
transferred to the Lewiston, ID/Clarkston, WA area for three years
(weather somewhat similar to here with wetter and colder winters).
Finally, I was transferred back to the Pasco field station (I'm
comin' home Mamma!) so I bought the place where I now reside in
Burbank, WA. It was close to my duck hunting and bass fishing
"puddles" and my parents, then still living in Richland. Over the
years, I visited much of the continental United States. Oh, and I
almost forgot, I once visited Hawaii. As a Marine coming home, we
pulled into Honolulu on our troop ship. While the Navy unloaded and
loaded military families, personnel, and gear, we Marines were taken
ashore (on the dock), where we did one hour of calhoopies and some
running, loaded back on board, and sailed out past Diamond Head on for
the "Golden Gate." Awe, so much for my visit to beautiful Hawaii but I
hear it is not cheap to live in Paradise today.
The point of all this description of myself as the human Ping-Pong
ball on the end of a rubber band or a yo-yo on a string perpetually
returning to the home area is that I have lived, worked, or traveled
some, over a good portion of planet Earth. So, my lovely wife, Jeanne,
and I looked forward to retirement and began deciding where to plunk
down for the "Golden Years." The way I see it, after paying your dues
and earning the right, the point of retirement is to be able to enjoy
the rest of your life doing what you love to do, preferably without
distraction. In October of '96 after my finally pulling the plug
(except for occasional projects for fisheries consultants), we often
sat watching the news and weather channel on TV. It seemed as though
everywhere else was experiencing either fires, floods, tornados,
hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, severe seasonal weather, too dang
much traffic or too many people, or (insert additional whatever here
____ ). Of course the Tri-Cities is not without growth either. We have
a four lane highway going in about a quarter mile from "Pappy's
Puddle" now. The elves are constantly down on the corner lobbying for
noise abatement and protesting air pollution with their little signs
but no one seems to notice them among all the heavy equipment. But
that's another story.
So, we decided to stay right here. Jeanne and I like it here, and last
summer was my final fisheries project. Sure it's hot for part of the
summer but they make air conditioners nowadays that beat those old
"Swamp coolers" that we endured when growing up and the winters are
usually pretty mild. But, I'll take our dry cold over the wet cold
anytime. Also, during the hot season, if I get up early in the morning
and do my stuff, I have the rest of the day to enjoy the warmth and
sun even if from under a shade tree. Isn't that the very thing that
some folks pay good money to go experience elsewhere yet the same
thing that they would complain about here. Didn't someone once say
that "Variety is the spice of life?" You may have noticed that I like
the outdoors life (a lot) and I plan to keep doing it until I croak or
can no longer crawl out there -- Wonder if they make those electric
wheel chairs with enough "get go" to propel an old pleasantly plump
guy up the mountain? Anyway, most important to me, is that I have
plenty of hunting and fishing locally and I can drive in most any
direction for about an hour or two and be in my beloved mountains.
There, I can camp, hike, observe wildlife, hunt, and fish, or just
simply get into that "outdoor thing." The outdoor activities suited to
the arid Columbia Basin are all around within one-half to an hour's
drive. I chuckle when "Coasties" complain about the "ungodly heat" on
this side of the Cascade Mountains but I sure see a lot of 'em coming
over here to dry out and provide competition come fishing and hunting
seasons. And, for this ol' sun-bleached codger, the ocean is not that
far away from here if I'm craving the feel and smell of salt air
and water. There is much more competition in hunting and fishing (or
camping for that matter) now than when we were growing up. But, it
seems to be that way in most places so it is pretty much a "given," no
matter where you live or go. No, all things considered, y'all can have
your culture that comes with big cities, too many people, and heavy
traffic. I like it fine right here, thank you very much. Here, I have
built a lifetime of memories, have a lot of friends, and things to do.
I guess it boils down to -- What's important to you?
-George "Pappy" Swan ('59) ~ in Beautiful Outside of Town, Burbank, WA
(nearby suburb of Richland, WA, located on the far side of
Pasco, WA which is really just another suburb of Richland, WA
but across the river from the somewhat isolated southerly
metropolis of Kennewick, WA) where life is good enough for me.
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Nancy Stull Knutson ('59)
About moving back to Richland. Never say "never." I did and now I'm
eating my words. After being gone for about 25 years (California, Wash
DC, NY, NJ), I began returning to Richland annually around Mother's
Day or my mom's birthday in June for a few days. She and I discussed
"stuff" -- who would get her house, etc., after she died -- and I
always said my brother could have it because I didn't plan to live
here. Events conspired against me and I've been back for almost 6
years. Boy! Do I miss New York! I miss my friends, the house I had
there, the money I made, the culture. But Richland isn't so bad. The
summers are hot and sunny (NY has hot and humid UGH), the winters are
cold but usually little snow (except for winter of 2003-2004 Yikes! --
NY always has tons of snow that seems to last until March!). Traffic,
in spite of local complaints, is nothing compared to commuting to NYC
from NJ. Culture? Well, that's another story. That's what I miss
the most. The fashion, art galleries, show openings, Broadway plays,
Central Park and the Great Lawn there -- just everything about events
and happenings In Richland the stoplights begin flashing at 8 PM :(.
There is a dearth of clubs to go to. HOWEVER, Paul (Knutson '59) and
I reconnected in 1999, married here and are both adjusting to small
town life and being near parents and siblings. There are worse places
to live. I didn't have to face head-on the events on September 11.
Yesterday there was 6" of snow in North Dakota. This year we will have
some concern over watering our lawn. Now that's a huge worry! We may
not stay here forever, but for now, we're okay with it. You may not
be in the place you love but love the place you're in -- to coin a
phrase. It's another day in Paradise -- 65° at 8 AM with an expected
(dry) high of 82, and tomorrow's the Balloon Stampede in Walla Walla!
Yahoo!
-Nancy Stull Knutson ('59)
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Freddie Schafer ('63)
To: Maren
I say home is where the heart is. I (like you) am going to
live where my children and grandchildren are.
-Freddie Schafer ('63)
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Roy Ballard ('63)
To: Bill Berlin ('56)
Bill, I thought that Naknek, AK reminded me of Anacortes, WA... worked
there for 3 months while I built a dorm for Nelbro. I enjoyed the
statement that "If you didn't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes
and it will change", and so it did.
-Roy Ballard ('63)
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
>>From: Betti Avant ('69)
Like I said yesterday; the rhodies are in bloom. There are several
around my complex and by far this is one of the prettiest.
http://richlandbombers.com/Xtra05/050514-Avant.jpg
-Betti Avant ('69) ~ Eugene, OR
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
Funeral Notice scanned from the TCHerald
by Shirley Collings Haskins ('66)
>>Melodie Jade Pierce ('71) ~ 5/29/53 - 5/8/05
http://funeralnotices.tripod.com/
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
That's it for today. Please send more.
*******************************************************