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6/4/02
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PHS Alumni On-Line
Jun 04, 2002
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5 Bulldogs today:
Linda Hensley Boblet (58)
Fred Larsen (59)
Roger Plockelman (59)
Shirley Deweber Swan (62)
Linda Wellman Mathisen (64)

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From: Linda Hensley Boblet (58)

  It has been fun reading all the messages from everyone. And, Ana Harris, of course I remember you and your family. I told Julie you had written and she would like to hear from you, too. My e-mail is [send request for Linda's e-mail address to PHS Alumni On-Line]. Send me your e-mail and I will make sure Julie gets it. Ok?

  Does anyone know where Dottie Dixon is?

Linda Hensley Boblet (58)
Kennewick, WA
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From: Fred Larsen (59)

  As a member of the class of 59, but one who hasn't lived in Washington since I joined the Navy following graduation in 1959, I've really enjoyed reading the notes from Pasco High alumni. I wanted to share this message with you since it certainly reminds me of the "good ole days" growing up in calmer days.

[It sure reminds me of good ol' days in Pasco. The first several lines are included here. The complete entry has been added to the Special Archives page on the web site. - Paul]

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I am so grateful I lived when:

Mom was at home when the kids got home from school;

When nobody owned a purebred dog;

When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a huge bonus;

When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny;

When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done and wore high heels;

When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked and gas pumped without asking, all for free, every time, and, you didn't pay for air, and, you got trading stamps to boot.

When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents;

When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in The bathrooms, flunk a test or chew gum;

When a `57 Chevy was everyone's dream car, to cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races;

When people went steady and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped yarn so it would fit her finger;

When no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked.

When you got in big trouble if you accidentally locked the doors at home, since no one ever had a key.

[continued in Special Archives on PHS Alumni web site]
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Sincerely,

Fred Larsen (59)
Chula Vista, CA
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From: Roger Plockelman (59)

Greetings PHS Oldtimers:
  In response to Dennis Cresswell's comments on old Longfellow. I lived across the street from the school on Bonneville and my mother was one of the neighbors that called in the fire. It was the summer of 1949, and I had just finished the second grade in Mrs. Lewis's class. I loved that old school with it three floors and huge cafeteria in the basement. The playground was just what Dennis said, dirt, sand and rocks but plenty of room to run. That school had many great teachers. For the third grade we had to go to the new Captain Gray Elementary with Mrs. Rowena Chess as the Principal. Man she was a tough lady. The next year all Longfellow kids had to go to the old Navy Base for class. We had to have recess on the cement runway and taxiway areas. Try playing softball on that sometime! After two years the new Longfellow was finished and we all went back to our school, a one-story L-shaped building with a combination gym and cafeteria.
  How many of you remember that the hot lunches were cooked at each school in those days? Anyway, Longfellow was rebuilt a third time but nothing could replace the great old 3-story yellow brick building that Dennis remembers.

  Another great memory was the flood of 1948 and the pontoon bridge. But that is another story. Good health to you all.

Roger Plockelman (59)
Puyallup, WA
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From: Shirley Deweber Swan (62)

Hi,
  I have sure enjoyed reading all the memories of Pasco High from so many different people. Some names I recognize and many I don't. I loved going to school in Pasco from Kindergarten through graduation in 1962. Thanks for sharing. I also remember Lower River Road and Upper River Road. I lived on Road 36 and when we went to town I remember a couple of little roads that went off to the right of Court Street, one around Road 20 and not sure where the other one went off. Maybe around where the high school is. Seemed like they were short cuts to Lower River Road. Guess it was too long ago to remember for sure. Also remember my brother Ron used to go to Whittier and Longfellow, but when I started school I got to go to Captain Gray School and I think Miss Walters was my Kindergarten teacher. Also remember being in PE class when there was a bomb scare and we had been jumping on the trampoline and had to leave without our shoes or purses. I went to Deanna Dettmann's house until time for school to get out then went back to the school to catch the bus and go home. Couldn't go back in the school until the next day. Thanks again for this website. It is fun remembering.

Shirley Deweber Swan (62)
St. Maries, ID
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From: Linda Wellman Mathisen (64)

To Dennis Cresswell and Don Goulet,
  I remember the night the old Longfellow School caught fire (I was about 4 yrs. old) - the sky was lit up, so my folks, my brother, John and I got in the car and drove as close as we could get. I think most of Pasco was standing around watching it burn. Mom and Dad were talking about it being the original high school until the "new" high school was built (McLaughlin Jr. High). My Dad got into a lot of trouble painting the top of the flagpole at McLoughlin as a prank, back in 1922. I've got a photo of my father and the rest of Pasco High's Football team from 1923. They wore leather helmets back then. Dad always said he didn't get hurt much during the Pasco/Kennewick Homecoming game - it was after when the fights broke out that he sustained a broken nose and loose teeth.

To Don Goulet,
  I remember Miss Chess very fondly. She lived right across the street from me with a 6th grade teacher (I can't recall her name). I remember kindergarten with Miss Williams, where we had to line up at the door to our classroom following recess, and often the first one in line would be "rewarded" by getting to pick an activity, or something. One day I was racing to the door trying to be first, and Sandi Maurstad (64) got there ahead of me. Because I wasn't the most coordinated individual on the planet, and couldn't stop myself, I hit Sandi full on, knocking her into the glass door thereby breaking the glass. I was called to the Principal's office - Miss Chess - and I just knew my school career was over.
  Thankfully, Miss Chess was very kind, assured me that Sandi was going to live, and that I just needed to be more careful. My folks enrolled me in ballet/tap classes with Mr. Hoffman in the hopes I would become more coordinated shortly thereafter.

  I also remember Mr. Kosnick, his fingernail on the blackboard routine, and his "spat" board. I believe Frank Robinson received 3 spats one day for dropping a dead bee in my lap. I remember this bee flying around the room and landing right by my desk. Frank got up and stepped on it - and became my short-lived hero. He apparently went back to his seat and peeled the carcass off the bottom of his shoe, then dropped it over my shoulder into my lap. When I looked down and saw it there I yelled, "Oh, Mr. Kosnick!" then burst into tears. Mr. Kosnick came running back to my desk, removed the offending critter, then looked around the room and said, "OK, who did this?" in a VERY unpleasant voice. Frank raised his hand, and out the door they marched. We all heard the 3 hits - and I felt guilty for being such a wuss.
  I'm still deathly afraid of bees, so I guess we don't necessarily grow out of childhood fears.

  I remember Mrs. Walters - do you suppose that red hair was natural? - and Miss Johnson. I didn't ever want to leave her class. Anyone remember Miss Elrod (she became Mrs. Hawkins)? I remember how we were so in awe when she became engaged, then got married. She seemed to be so "proper" some of us girls just couldn't imagine her being "in love." When I was an adult I joined the Columbia Chorale. Mrs. Hawkins sang with the group as well - she had a marvelous voice - and we did some reminiscing. How perspectives change as you grow older!

  Lastly, one of my fondest memories is gathering wood for, building, then guarding the Homecoming bonfire. We were told it was our responsibility to make sure the Kennewick folks couldn't get near it to burn it down before the pre-game activities. We certainly didn't want to fail at this momentous task, and I remember "patrolling" the perimeter with a baseball bat in my hand (I don't know what I would have done with it), ready to raise the alarm should I spot a Kennewick-ite. Those really were fun times.

Linda Wellman Mathisen (64)
Scappoose, OR
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