Alumni Sandstorm ~ 05/26/05
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11 Bombers & 1 Bomber Mom sent stuff and 1 Bomber funeral notice today:
Dick McCoy ('45), Betty Hiser ('49)
Betty Bell ('51), Lenora Hughes ('55)
Margo Compton ('60), John Browne, Jr. ('61)
Billie Cummings ('62WB), Helen Cross Kirk ('62)
Dave Hanthorn ('63), Chuck Crawley ('67)
Ken Staley ('68), Teri Kessie (Bomber Mom)
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BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Millie Finch ('54)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Cecilia Bennett ('65)
BOMBER CALENDAR: Richland Bombers Calendar
Click the event you want to know more about.
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>>From: Dick McCoy ('45)
Re: Pools
Swimming pools in any school is bunk. I saw both the old, old
gym built as well as the one at Carmichael. The only pool was down
in the park till they built the one on swift.
To: Laura Dean Kirby Armstrong ('55)
I am glad you loved those wondeful peaches in the prefab area.
However, I disagree about Rainier cherries. The only true cherry
is the Bing, when fresh off the tree, taste like a bite of wine.
Incidentally, Bro Pat was in your class.
-Dick McCoy ('45)
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>>From: Betty Hiser Gulley ('49)
Cherries: The Rainiers and the Royal Annes look a lot alike - the
Royal Annes are used to make maraschino (I can't spell today) cherries
are tart while the Rainiers and SOOOO good and sweet.
Carmichael was visited by Senator Hickenlooper from Iowa. He was
furious that a school would cost $3,000,000. Even in 1950 that was a
lot of money. It was hard to explain to him that it was not material
costs that were so high but labor costs. They pulled everyone off of
jobs that were not essential to operating the Hanford Plant and had
them work on building the dike to keep ole Columbia from washing us
away.
Carmichael was a huge orchard and most of the individual fruit trees
around Richland were dug up from the Carmichael orchards. The school
was named for the family that owned the land before Uncle Sam took
over the Village of Richland.
Greenway - it still makes me sick that they tore that down just for
cars (I walked everywhere in Richland and did not get a car until
after my youngest daughter was born (a '55 Chevy with moonspinner hub
caps)).
-Betty Hiser Gulley '49er - south/government Richland - supposed to
get up to close to 90 today - our highest this year.
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>>From: Betty Bell Norton ('51)
Just a reminder that on Sunday May 29th the Richland Seniors
Association (RSA) will be having another Fifth Sunday Dance at the
Richland Community Center. The Easy Swing Band will play from 1:00 -
4:00 and tickets are only $4 at the door. All ages are welcome, and
kids under 12 are free. Great music and lots of fun! From 12:15 - 1:00
Helen Nash, a former Columbia High/Richland High teacher, will be
teaching the Fox Trot and Two-Step to taped music while the band is
getting ready. Hope you can join us for a fun afternoon!
Other events the RSA is working on are an Antique Auction Fair at the
Center on Saturday June 25th from 1:00 - 4:00 where your hidden
treasures can be evaluated, and a downriver lunch or dinner cruise.
For those of you that belong to a non-profit organization that needs a
good fund raiser, we also co-sponser Pancake breakfasts, where 70% of
the profits go to your group. Hanford High School has earned several
thousand dollars over the last couple of years doing this! It seems
like a great way for Bomber Boosters to earn needed money. Contact me
if you are interested.
-Betty Bell Norton ('51)
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>>From: Lenora Hughes Bejarano ('55)
Hi Maren, could you do me a favor and put this in the Sandstorm?
Would appreciate it so much.
WHAT: Las Vegas, NV. Bomber Alumni luncheon Pot luck/BBQ
WHEN: June 4th from 1 PM until "whenever"
WHERE: The home of Jim and Ginny Nelligan
For information contact either Lenora at lbejarano3@cox.net or
Robbi Hill Karcher ('49) at RobbiKarch@aol.com or
Jim and Ginny Nelligan at jimgin59@msn.com
Hope to see many Bombers there for the great time we plan to have.
-Lenora Hughes Bejarano ('55)
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>>From: Margo Compton (McCord) Lacarde ('60)
Re: Bing Cherries
At one point in my life, I thought I would never touch another
Bing Cherry. In August of 1960, my mother-in-law went cherry picking
and brought me a large bag. Having very little control when it came to
cherries, I managed to eat almost the whole bag in one evening. Later
that night, I had the worst cramps I had ever had. I thought I was
going to die and vowed I would never ever eat another Bing cherry.
Ended up in the hospital the next morning with a beautiful baby girl.
Guess it wasn't the cherries after all.
-Margo Compton Lacarde ('60)
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>>From: John Browne, Jr. ('61)
Re: The berries
To: Larry Mattingly ('60)... I'm unmuzzling my pedant for a moment to
address the common names (and the nomenclature) of a couple of the
Rubus tribe: to wit, Rubus leucodermis, the black raspberry (or "black
cap"); and Rubus ursinus, the trailing blackberry (our regional native
blackberry). Both be yummy... but they're distinctly different
species. A peculiar thing about the trailing blackberries is that the
plants are either "male" or "female"; and the male flowers are much
showier. So, when you find a patch in the Spring covered with big
flowers, and go back later to find NO fruit, you can understand Why.
To: Jim Yount ('61)... my thanks for the "heads up" re the Golden Age
Passport. I got one- and it's gotta be the National Bargain, hands
down, in this day of National Parks, etc. run like museums, and the
burgeoning "user fees" at National Forest trailheads, etc. I'll be a
happier camper, for sure... and never want for companions as I head
off to the high country of Mt. Rainier, and the coastal wilds of Cape
Alava. (What next-Medicare? Bring it on!) ^..^
-John Browne, Jr. ('61) ~ Vashon Island, WA
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>>From: Billie Cummings Christian ('62WB)
My brother Charles "Chuck" Cummings was in the class of '72. He
passed away May 6, 2005 after a short illness. He was such a bright,
funny all-around super nice guy. I thought his old classmates would
like to visit his memorial page.
The world dims a little without him in it.....
Thank you,
-Billie Cummings Christian ('62WB)
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>>From: Helen Cross Kirk ('62)
Wow, all these comments about the Bing cherries, do bring back
wonderful memories of picking the fruit off the trees. I remember
walking home at night after swim team practice and getting some of
those big yummy peaches right off the trees, as we walked by. And
apricots. Sadly, I finally realized I just can't eat those Bing
cherries which I do love, without serious after effects, so now maybe
I buy 5 or 6 single cherries for the taste. Yes, they are wonderful
frozen too, as is any fruit. We walked to swim team twice a day M-F
and practiced swimming for at least an hour, so we were always hungry,
and no wonder we never thought about getting into trouble. We were too
tired for that.
I had heard that rumor about the swimming pool under Carmichael's
gym floor, but I know when I went there, they never offered any swim
classes, so I felt it couldn't be true. But I never did know the half
of it... I loved that boat trip I took at my 2002 reunion where we saw
where the ferry used to go out in what used to be forbidden water by
the area, I'd never been up there before.
I was telling my 24 year old son that when I was in grade school, I
used to mow lawns for neighbors who were on vacation with a push
mower, non-electric. He can't believe I did that, and I can hardly
believe I did it as I can hardly move after a full day of mulching the
property around the house by the little lake. I tell myself that it is
good exercise, and it is, but I just can't bring myself to sign up to
work for a lawn-service.
On a more sad note, I did hear from my friend, Billie Cummings
Christian ('62WB) I guess she would have preferred to graduate from
Columbia High rather than Pleasanton, CA. that her brother Chuck
Cummings ('72) died of cancer on May 20 and was buried in Lacey.
Sadly, we didn't get to go on our trip to Montreal. We still aren't
sure if we will get to Boston and Vermont yet. But we have been having
great weather here, with sunshine and light breezes, and no rain or
humidity, in the 70s. Love it.
-Helen Cross Kirk ('62) ~ West Harrison, IN in the house by the little
lake where a few ducks and many birds keep flying by.
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>>From: Dave Hanthorn (G.M.C. '63)
Re: cherries
With all the recent talk about cherries, I am surprised that nobody
has mentioned something about cherries that is very important to me,
and that is that cherries grown in Eastern Washington are different
than cherries grown anywhere else. I have eaten cherries grown in
South America, Central America, Mexico, California, Oregon, and
many other places, and none of them, not one, can compare with a
magnificent Eastern Washington cherry. They are quite simply the best
cherries in the entire world.
As for the preference for either a Rainier or a Bing, it is my feeling
that although the Rainiers are quite tasty and I do truly enjoy them,
it is only the Bing cherry that has the built in Time Machine that can
transport me instantly back fifty years to the hot summer nights in a
little town called Richland, where some young boys "sleeping" out in a
back yard are busy "snitching" those glorious, fat, juicy Bings from
an unsuspecting neighbor's tree sometime in the middle of the night.
Ahhh, those were the days, and those stolen cherries always seemed to
be the sweetest. With our "loot" tucked safely in the "sack" of the
upturned tail of our T-shirts we would go back to our sleeping bags
and lie there munching cherries and stare into the great starry dome
of the sky and contemplate whatever it was that 9 or 10 year old boys
used to contemplate in the 1950s. And as good as Rainiers are, you
just don't get that rush of childhood memories from them.
-Dave Hanthorn (G.M.C. '63)
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>>From: Chuck Crawley ('67)
Re: Cherries
With all this talk of cherries, I was wondering how many other Bombers
earned their summer folding money working at the Staples cherry
orchards and packing plant out on the slopes of Badger mountain. I
heard about jobs out there from Fred Hinkle and Scott Hartcorn (both '67).
I Started out picking, then swamping. Worked there 2 more summers in
the packing plant. I learned how to drive a fork lift and bought my
first car, a '53 Chevy, with money I made there. My brother Mike and
Dave Sledge (both '69) worked there too. I remember Chris Woodward
worked there. The rest is.. well, a little fuzzy.
I do remember they were good people who worked us hard. Is the outfit
still in operation? Or has it been converted to grapes like so much
around there has?
-Chuck Crawley ('67)
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>>From: Ken Staley ('68)
Re: Blackberry Picking 101
To: Wynell Williams Fishburne ('55)
Take it from an OLD hand! Stalking the wild blackberry for jams and
pies is much akin to warfare! You must ARM yourself!
1) Get an old pair of garden gloves. Better are an old pair of rubber
gloves that are no longer useful in the kitchen. Cut the first two
fingers and the thumb off of the glove to the FIRST KNUCKLE. I do both
hands, but doing just the right (or left for you lefties) works just
as well.
2) Get a SMALL bucket (kids peanut butter buckets are perfect!) to
transfer your small cache into a larger flat. Using a LARGE bucket
makes for mashed berries... which is fine if all you want is jam or
the juice.
3) Take very good GARDEN SHEARS. These are a MUST! Remember, berries
only grow on LAST YEAR'S CANES. You have to prune away THIS YEAR'S
RUNNERS before you reach your goal! In wild brambles, I always cut
lose the berries from the main bush and move AWAY from the brambles to
strip! Prune with a VENGENCE! There is NO way you can hurt the
brambles!
4) You ARE going to get punctured... and have purple fingers! Resign
yourself to it. NO berry gets picked without exacting some measure of
revenge! High boots (or thick soled shoes) and long sleeves (yes...
even in those hot September days!) can reduce the number of scratches
and punctures... but... do be prepared... they will happen.
Four cups to a batch of jam... or a good pie. I've often picked with a
package of quart zip lock bags and a couple gallons of water, washing
my 'catch' and bagging it on the spot. Talk about vine fresh!
There is nothing that beats home made blackberry jam... or better...
blackberry pies for Thanksgiving dinner! Happy Picking!
-Ken Staley ('68)
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>>From: Teri Kessie (Bomber Mom)
Re: Small gym
http://richlandbombers.com/Xtra05/050526-Kessie/00.html
Thought you might like some pictures of the destruction.
-Teri Kessie (Bomber Mom)
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Funeral Notice today
>>Chuck Cummings ('72) ~ 12/7/53 - 5/16/05
http://funeralnotices.tripod.com/
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That's it for today. Please send more.
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