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1/16/02
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PHS Bulldogs On-Line
Jan 16, 2002
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5 Bulldog alumni notes today:
Joe Boyd (64)
Alan Taylor (67)
Cliff Brown (67)
Keven Sandquist (69)
Chris Sheckler (84)

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From: Joe Boyd (64)

  I have certainly enjoyed this site and the memories brought forth from the grads. I'll throw my few cents worth in.

  My parents moved to the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project in 1954, so I spent my formative years in Eltopia. Currently I'm working with the Eltopia Chamber of Commerce in an effort to revive the local economy after the horrific events of September 11, 1904.

  I met Miss Ogata (now Daniel) a few years ago in Pasco. She looks exactly as she did back in the PHS days; she even has a desk that probably has one of my old English essays in it still. Her husband is such a contrast--extremely tidy and organized. What a lady. I can still remember the soliloquy from MacBeth and the Old English version of the Canterbury Tales.

  A group of us old 64 grads got together last summer and took a trip up the Hanford Reach. D'Ova Wallace (sorry guys, I only remember maiden names), Candy Gregson, Russ Rehm, Lee Lewandowski, Carol Maxson, Allen Johnson, MaryAnne Finney, Janice Schauss and myself and various spouses went up the river and had a great time. We went by the flume, of course, and Ringold where I picked peaches in the hellish heat.  I remember the flume well. The first time I went down it was completely unintentional. As I remember, Larry Maulden, myself, and a few other idiots got in 'way up the hill where the "flume" was still a canal. We had a great time wading and splashing along (the water temp had to be in the mid-80's). When we got on the flume, I was having a great time sliding along. It seemed like I was picking up a lot of speed when it occurred to me that I had no way of stopping, except for going off the end of the flume, which didn't sound too good. I remember there was kind of a dip, which slowed me down near the edge. There was even a little back water pool there. The water would come in waves and, just as I would get back from the edge and collect myself, another wave would push me to the edge. Finally, I bowed to the inevitable and jumped. Now, hold that thought and fast forward to 1966 when I was in Navy Boot Camp. We are standing on this platform that approximates a carrier deck or some ridiculous thing and we are being told that the only way to abandon ship is to step off, keep your feet together, look straight out at the horizon, and maintain that posture until you hit the water. After this little lesson, the instructor asks, "any questions?" Of course the barely-able-to-dog paddle idiot next to me raises his hand and asks, "why do we have to jump off that way?" The instructor walks up to idiot and barks, "you keep your feet together so these (whereupon he grabs a handful of idiot's private parts) will not be hanging out your ears if and when you ever do surface. You keep your eyes focused on the horizon so you will not look down, which causes your body to follow your *&^% head, in which case your %$#& head will HIT the water (he emphasizes by slapping his open palm on idiot's forehead) and probably render you unconscious!" He then grabbed idiot by the trunks and threw him off the platform, where he looked down and moved his feet apart, providing a perfect visual aid for the rest of us. Now, back to the flume. I jump off and fall for what seems like a good three minutes. It seemed to me that I should have hit the water by then, so I look down, just to see where I am in relation to the water. Turns out I was still above it. I landed pretty much face first in what had to be the coldest water I had ever swum in up to that time. When I got back to the surface, I had to swim through that booming waterfall. I had a double-barreled nosebleed (at that point the area under my nose was the warmest place on my body), and just made it to the rocks near shore. When I looked around, I saw a steelhead fisherman about 20 feet from me whose eyes looked about as big as two AA eggs.

  I was sad to hear about Raymond Avery. His brother Larry was in my class, and his Dad drove potato trucks during the potato season. I worked on one of the loaders for two years, and remember him as a very hard working man. When I was getting discharged from the Navy, I was at Tachikawa Air Base in Japan, when a young black soldier came up to me and said "are you from Washington?" It was Larry's younger brother Henry, who had recognized me. We flew back to Travis Air Base together.

  I also remember something that seems so "PHS"; I was going to WSU in 1972, and was home for Christmas break. Prior to leaving school, I did some work in the film lab and packaged some film to go to Spokane at Alpha Cine lab, where the film classes had their film processed. Anyway, the shipment got scrambled somehow, and the lab manager knew that I was the contact person who knew what went where, and that I had gone home, which was Pasco. He didn't know my address or my parents' first names, but he called Pasco Information and explained his situation to the operator. She says, "Oh I know Joe. We went to high school together. He lives out on Chinook Road!" I think the operator was Mary Waite, but I never did find out who it was. The lab manager was certainly impressed. That's what I remember about PHS; it was a big school, but everyone seemed to know each other. Currently I'm living in Bellingham, Washington. I'm married with two children, one twenty years old and out of the house, the other (girl) fourteen years old and driving me crazy. My father died in 1993, my mother in 1998. My brother Jon (68) and I still own the property. It's currently being leased.

  I think the Tri Cities has some of the best smallmouth bass fishing of any place in the state. I still love to fish. Steve Spolek, Mike Gessel, and I spent a lot of time fishing in the canals for crappie and in the Potholes for trout. I also pulled some steelhead and whitefish out of the Columbia.

  Here in Bellingham, where the June temperatures soar to a torrid 73 degrees, and old people start dropping on the sidewalks, and everyone complains about the heat, I remember with some real fondness how wonderful it was to be outside on a summer's day, and to stay outside into the night. I remember playing baseball with Steve and Graig Spolek, Wayne Wilcox, Jake Lye, and Jeff and Clark Watkins. It was always dry and sunny; I feel privileged to have grown up there. I definitely miss Pasco, and cherish the memories of Pasco High School and the great kids who were there.

Best regards,

Joe Boyd (64)
Bellingham, WA
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From: Alan Taylor (67)

  OK . . my turn. Hooky bobbin in my neighborhood was centered around the intersection of Pearl & Meridian St (19th these days) The stop sign was the grabbing-on area. That was at the corner of Richardson Park. Had some good snow ball fights there, too. And a few dirt clod fights in even earlier days, as the "new" houses were built around the park.

  Anyone remember the 13 for a dollar burgers at the Arctic Circle on N 4th Ave? I hate to think what kind of meat they used in those things, but they sure sold a lot of them . . the Bobaloo Drive In . . where Tim Gray borrowed his dad's blowup doll (sorry Dale) and had her in the front seat with him while the car hops came out to get the order.

  I'm surprised there haven't been many memories shared about fluming. Now that was a rush! Wore out a few pairs of socks and the seat to a few pairs of shorts. You just had to stay clear of the right side if you went off the end into the freezing river.

  There was a lunch period at school when Mike Corrigan & I got the balance beam rolling across the gym floor and couldn't stop it. It rammed into the spit sink, causing it to have a permanent outward lean. We spent the rest of that lunch period somewhere else, scared to death we would be found out.

  I too am sad to hear of the passing of Dave Cherry. I have good memories of him playing alto sax in the PHS jazz band. We went to Bremerton for a jazz festival. The adjudicator was the up and coming Quincy Jones.

  Nice to see a returning of alums here and the sharing of stories. It is a new year! I'm looking forward to another reunion next year. 35years!

Alan Taylor (67)
Hood River, OR
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From: Cliff Brown (67)

  Anyone remember that physics teacher around 1965 or 66 who got busted for a phony resume, and for having an, er, relationship with one of his students? Always misused the word "ratio" in his class and impressed the heck out of lots of students. Jim Gladden spotted him for a phony early in the year and several of us were impressed big time when his predictions of a fall came true.

Cliff Brown (67)
Bogota, Colombia
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From: Keven Sandquist (69)

  Seeing some of the notes regarding how Pasco was brings several things to mind.

  How cold was the water when you didn't stop, missed the rope, or just said to hell with it and went off the end of the flume in early summer before the river warmed?

  Someone asked when kids stopped being crossing guards. When did CBC jocks quit driving school buses? Some of the best hicky bobbing was behind the school buses on the way to school. You could drop off at the next stop and get on if you got cold.

  Remember when anything past Gene and Jules, then the highway, was considered out in the country?

  How about an icy trip across the old bridge? Job's hill made for great sledding on snowy winter days.

  Hi Tim. Good to see you at the football game.

Keven Sandquist (69)
dark side of the moon
Tacoma, WA
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From: Chris Sheckler (84)

  We used to go to the Flumes over in Kennewick above the Lagoon, and the water tunnel that flowed into the Lagoon in Columbia Park. There was also a water slide on that far side of the tunnel. We'd stack boards to block the water, and once water level got high enough we'd push the boards down and slide into the tunnel. It definitely was our first water slide experience.

  The "Flumes," at least the ones we played at, were nothing more then an irrigation canal bridge, but boy was it fun to float through them.

  I read someone else was jumping off of the Blue Bridge from underneath. I was just talking to my son about this the other day. We crawled all over that bridge. Now just thinking about how high up it is makes me a bit dizzy. I can't believe we did that.
  One day we went to the river and these guys were doing flips off the Pasco side of the blue bridge up off of the sidewalk area. We had jumped on the lower level many times so while we were talking to them they convinced us into jumping ourselves. After we did it they all started laughing at us. We came to find out they were a professional high diving team that just stopped to practice.
  That had to be the most terrifying thing I ever did, but I wasn't going to let any of my friends know that. I can't believe we survived that one without anybody getting hurt.

  The crazy things kids do to entertain themselves in the summer time.

Chris Sheckler (84)
Huntington Beach, CA
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