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   Mason Mustangs '66 Reunion: Memories

Class Directory Updated Reunion News Classmate Bios Reunion Photos Memories

CLASSMATE MEMORIES

FLASHBACK COURTESY OF JIM ADAMS:
Spring of 1966, Jim pops lunch bag in auditorium. Football Coach Harold Naubert rushes in and asks Jim the name of the culprit. Unable to think quickly enough to blame Schumacher, Jim admits crime. Jim is hustled to the annex to Teacher Ray Selby's classroom. Coach Harold fetches Teacher Selby and the Konnawacasuma stick. Jim is paddled three times with the K-stick involuntarily moving approximately three feet down the hall. Jim does not cry or whimper. However, Jim requests that Coach Harold not tell Jim's Father or Mother of incident. Coach Harold agrees provided Jim turn out for football next Fall, be a lineman and be subject to periodic switching in the hamstring (no padding) by Other Coach Harold (Akam). Coach Harold and Jim each keep their side of the bargain. Jim looks back on the paddling and football with pride and an admiration and affection for Coaches Harold. Remember boys, keep your zipper and your morals high and stay away from Suzi.
FROM COY ROBBINS
To Dennis Wahlen:
Yes, Wilson was never going to make the cover of Architectural Digest. But I think it is now being completely rebuilt, with the exception of the auditorium and possibly the gym ( not sure). They had the opportunity to at least design it after the auditorium, which is pleasing to the eye. The ugliest high school was Mt. Tahoma. It is now on a new site and is quite a facility. Lincoln is going through a remodel/addition, keeping with the original styling. Ditto for Foss. When you are in town, check out the Stadium remodel. They have put up a new building for classrooms across the street (now a plaza) from the front of the school. It is a good looking building but has no resemblance to the "Hotel" and hides the front of the school from view. They botched on their choice for that building and also for Wilson. Had they made a different choice for Wilson, I tell ya...... "We coulda been a contenda".

Other memories of good ol Mr. Naubert:
In the lunchroom and auditorium at lunch time he would patrol the area with a keen eye. Calling us pigs and telling us if we didn't clean up our act he would put a pig trough on the stage and make us eat out of it. Remember him giving out hacks if our shirt tails weren't tucked in?

Telling us how harmful it was to smoke, while his cigarette pack was clearly visible through the pocket of his white shirt. And then the time he was instilling the horrible effects of venereal disease into our young minds full of mush. "You know where you get gonorrhea? You don't catch that stuff off of toilet seats! No! You get it from those back alley girls! You know the ones I mean, the ones you see leaning against the lamp posts!"

Even back then I had to laugh.
He was quite a character. We need more like him today.


FROM MARYANN CONKLIN CROSSMAN
Oh just a note here. I have enjoyed reading all the bios also. Scott Jones, I do still have the scar. Thanks!!! So many of you seem to have had such interesting experiences in your lives and such diversity in the careers and paths you have chosen. You should all be thankful for the quality education you received in a time when it was valued by most parents and students. It is a different story today in the education field. But I find it rewarding and the high school students I work with keep me young at heart. Ok--trivia time--Which teacher had the worst breath? Who was the hot young male teacher all the girls had a crush on? And. which teacher wore her (or it could be a him) in braids? Just a few odds and ends I can still remember.


FROM NANCY JONES FOOTE
One of my favorite teachers was Mr. Brisbois. I learned a lot from him. I also had a nice encounter with him, similar to Laura's with Mr. Naubert. This was two years ago. A gentleman was subbing at my school who happened to be the brother in law of our of our teachers. Since she and I both had student teachers, the sub and I spent a lot of time in the staff room chatting (needed to give the student teacher's time to teach without our prying eyes). He told me he had been a teacher years ago in a junior high. I told him how much I enjoyed junior high, especially two teachers, Mrs. Hawley and Mr. Brisbois. His eyes kind of twinkled and he smiled and told me he was Al Brisbois! (we hadn't exchanged names yet). He remembered me and, as proof, told me that I used to live just a few blocks away from him and used to walk to LaPore's Grocery Store with a black mutt (our dog, Blackie). We had a wonderful time talking and remembering those years. I must say, he is a very handsome older man now in excellent shape! Anyway, that was a fun time!

I also have fond memories of Mr. St. Clair, Mrs. Birkeland, and Mrs. Anderson. I loved our drama classes. You know, when I was at Lowell my older sister was in drama classes with Mrs. Anderson. She was putting on a religious play for several churches in town and used her students as the actors (having rehearsals after school). Anyway, the lead was a young child so my sister suggested me. So, when I was in 3rd and 4th grade I was the star of a junior high play! I can still remember some of the lines! Mrs. Anderson used to come pick me up at Lowell after school and take me to rehearsals!

I have many fond memories (and yes, some not so fond) of Mason and am looking forward to seeing everyone next week.

PS - I believe the teacher everyone had a crush on was Mr. Harris - I had him for a math class (not his field, I know) and he made it such fun! I remember he drove a sporty car and even remember him getting a ticket in front of school one day!


FROM TED LIND
I've enjoyed some of the Mason Musings along with more bios. As classmates have mentioned teachers, memories have resurfaced about teachers I had at Mason. Here goes:

Mr. Naubert
I had him for Boy's Health in fourth period which was right after lunch. Keep in mind that Mr. Naubert was also the lunchroom monitor, he kept law and order in the lunchroom during lunchtime. These logistics are key to the story.
Sometimes Mr. Naubert had a bad day in the lunchroom. Maybe he had to break up a fight, discipline some students, whatever. I'm sure he had plenty to keep him busy to keep the peace.
You could tell when he had a bad day at lunch because he would come right into our classroom and start lecturing us. He would talk about how stupid some people were in general, that we should have manners, and behave at school like we did at home. It was a little tirade, and you could tell he was still fired up from whatever happened in the lunchroom. You would think we were the perpetrators of whatever happened. Talk about kicking the dog after a bad day at the office. You just paid attention to the guy because you didn't want to get on his bad side now. This would go on 4-5 minutes, then he would proceed with the day's lesson.
Fair guy that he was, at the end of the period he would get up front again and kind of apologize for what happened earlier. He would just say he gets worked up sometimes and he shouldn't take it out on us. True. I give him credit for straightening things out at the end of the period. This happened four or five times when I had this class.


Mrs. Hawley
I had Mrs. Hawley fifth period one year for English. One day she came into the room and started to tell us that if we didn't study hard and get good grades, we could end up going to war in Southeast Asia. We would have to go into the Army rather than college, carry a gun and go to war. Now I had never even heard of Viet Nam at this point, and to be honest wondered if she was just making up a fairy tale just to make us study harder. I really had no idea.
It was really a wake up call because now I was curious to find out more about this war that she was talking about. It was really a hard dose of reality and a transition of thinking like a kid to thinking like an adult. There are choices we make and consequences too. You have to give her and other teachers credit for making us think about things.


Mr. Cannell
Marc Blau and I both took Journalism at Mason and went on to do so at Stadium also. Mr. Cannell was the Journalism teacher at Mason and transferred to Stadium after we finished 9th grad in 1966, so we continued under his guidance at Stadium. At both schools we took our Journalism classes and also got on the school newspaper staff. I enjoyed the classes and being on the newspaper and really thought of being a newspaper reporter one day.
When we would turn in an assignment, or a story, we would get it back a day or two later. What you thought was a pretty good piece would often come back all red-lined, words crossed out, re-phrased, grammar corrected, it was very humbling. He would write in the margins things to remember, rules of grammar, etc. I learned so much about writing in this class. Mr. Cannell emphasized getting the facts, bringing out the five W's (who, what, when, where, and why), not being to wordy, getting to the point of what you are stating and using good grammar.
Read my biography and you'll see I ended up selling propulsion control systems on boats. I have to write quotes, proposals, system explanations, and trouble shooting sequences periodically. I look back to how Journalism study helped me in this regard for my work now. It made me a pretty good writer and people where I work have recognized this. As a result, other salespeople in our company will come to me when they have an important document and ask me to proofread it. Just like Mr. Cannell, I cross out the wordiness, correct grammar, remove prepositions at the end of sentences, or rewrite entire paragraphs. I feel a little guilty when I hand it back, but they did ask. I just tell them that I would suggest they do it this way and explain it to them. They are always very appreciative and make my suggested changes to the letter. It's rewarding.
Thank you Mr. Cannell.


Jack Beer
Jack Beer?! Ted went to Stadium, Jack was principle at Wilson! True, but I grew up two blocks from the Beer family. Tom Beer is a good friend, we fished together commercially and golf together occasionally. Both Tom and his sister Susie went on to become educators in the Tacoma School district just like their father.
Jack Beer died in September of 2004 and I attended his funeral service. Several teachers and administrators; both retired, and presently teaching, were there for the service. Many of them got up and spoke about Jack Beer. They expounded upon his dedication to teaching and to young people, and what a great leader he was during his career. One man spoke and I will never forget it. He said that Jack was a great disciplinarian. Whenever this man had a problem with a student in class, he would push the intercom button to Jack's office and say he was sending a student down to see him. That act alone was usually quite sobering for the student. He said that when they came back this student would be "visibly changed" and he rarely had problems with them again. What he said next floored me. "Sometimes," he said, "they never came back at all."
Tom told me that periodically through his dad's career, an anonymous phone caller would call the Beer household and ask for Jack. Jack would come to the phone and just listen for a minute or two. On the other end was a disgruntled student telling Jack what he thought of him and sometimes would top it off by threatening to come over and administer some "whoop-ass" on Jack. Tom always knew when there was a threat at the end of the call because Jack would always say something like, "I'll be waiting for you," or "I look forward to it." Then he hung up and went on about his business at home. Tom said this never scared his dad, he just felt there was a young person out there doing a little venting.
Heaven help any soul who might come to the Beer household in the wee hours. Jack Beer slept with a 45 caliber Colt semi-automatic pistol on his bed stand; every night, his whole life. Jack believed in the right to protect his household. One night the Colt 45 and Jack went into action when he discovered a burglar stealing a neighbor's lawnmower. The thief was confronted by Jack and found himself looking down the wrong end of the Colt 45. Tom said the guy was quite shaken as Jack lectured him on the error of his ways. Jack felt that he scared this guy enough that he didn't have to call the police. He figured this guy learned his lesson and just let him go.
Jack Beer's weapon of choice was the Military issue 45 because that was his side arm during World War II. At age 22 Jack was a Marine Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was in the third Company of Marines to storm the beaches at Iwo Jima. The fighting was intense and many of the senior officers of his company were killed. Tom told me that Jack led the company for about six hours until they could regroup and another senior officer was put in charge. He was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his efforts. Tom didn't see these medals until later in his dad's life. Jack, like other members of the Greatest Generation, didn't talk about the war much. He went on to serve in Korea and attained the rank of Captain.


Well, we're about a week out now. I look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.


FROM LAURA CHADWICK FAGERNESS
After reading these memories of others concerning Mr. Naubert, I feel this overwhelming need to at least tell you about an encounter I had with him after I had just finished college. It was summer and I was working as a hostess at a restaurant when I seated this "old" couple. They were very cute with one another and very sweet to me. I told him that he sort of looked like a teacher I had in junior high to which he responded with a laugh and made it seem as though him being the teacher was not a possibility, but asked what this teacher was like. I said his name was Mr. Naubert and he was the toughest teacher I ever came in contact with, except maybe the study hall teacher at Stadium. Anyway, I told him how this teacher MADE everyone tow the line in the lunchroom and that he was strict in the classroom as well. I said he "scared the dickens'(they were old so I used no profanity!) out of me, and I would never have done anything to get on his bad side. I told him how everyone was afraid of this teacher and many couldn't stand him, but that many respected him.
His wife's eyes started to tear and he told me that he was Mr. Naubert. I felt like an idiot but he and I talked for quite a while. He was sooooo nice and he told me he loved the students and his life as a teacher. Wow! I was blown away. I told him that I had just gotten a teaching position in University Place for the fall and he told me that it would be a very rewarding job, but that it wouldn't be easy. How right he was. This is my memory of Mr. Naubert, a fine old gentleman who remembered his life as a teacher as rewarding and hard. I will never forget that conversation with him...one adult to another....realizing he was a good person and not scary at all.



FROM ROB BENEDETTI
A few days ago we sent out six photos of innocent looking males. They have been identified by Roberto Benedetti and he follows the ID with some observations.

Jerry Culpepper, John Laurent, Roger Price, Bruce Pirrett, Pete Brady, Dennis Whalen!

These were my true friends and they all lived in my neighborhood. Roger Price and I were very best friends. He rode his bike to my house excitedly when he learned how to throw a curve ball. Jerry Culpepper and his brother Ron played touch football with my brother Dick, Jim Kors and me on the median strip on Union avenue where we used the evenly spaced trees for first downs and it taught us to throw low spirals. Bruce Pirrett and I played clarinet together in the Mason Band, and I remember spending a lot of time at his house. His mom died young of cancer. His dad was a really fine man. Pete Brady showed me how to pour an inch off of the top each of bottles of his father's liquor cabinet to make a potent, but awful tasting intoxicant. John Laurent lived two blocks down from me on Lawrence St. and we played together a bit in grade school. Dennis Whalen, Pete Wonders and I played "war" until Kathy Curry and Molly Hill shamed us by telling us to grow up.

These pictures bring a flood of memories. Wow


FROM JOHN WINSKILL
I felt the need to come to my father's defense after reading Dennis Whalen's comment that he suspected my father knew of the pilfering of the contents of his wine cask. [As an aside, Bob and I used to sell bottles of his wine for 25 cents. Our enterprise came to an end when kids began returning the wine and asking for their money back. Didn't speak well for the quality of his wine.] Years later when we 'fessed up he got a big kick out of it. Mom, of course, was mortified.

I remember the clothing and ketchup dummy we threw in front of cars because it was our house the police showed up at (not a bad presumption on their part). Given the possible elicit uses of dummies, snowballs and rotten pears I remember more than once huddling under bushes as irate drivers searched for me, Bob, Dennis Whalen, Pete Wonders, Bill Lunke, and Eric Kerrin.

How many of you remember Mr. Glue(sp?) cutting off his fingers in woodshop demonstrating how not to use the bandsaw?

I remember making a sword-cane as a joint project in woodshop and metal shop. The day it was completed it was confiscated. Oh well. Nowadays I would've been thrown in jail and kicked out of school.

Everyone has such great things to say about Naubert but I just didn't get the guy. Of course it didn't help that, after getting switched a couple of times during football practice, I told him he could put his switches "where the sun don't shine" and walked of the field. He never liked me much after that.


FROM AL CAMP
Um, I remember being in a bb gun fight in the gulch, and getting shot in the leg. Stupid BB stuck in the calf. Went down to the railroad tracks and got some nickels smashed, too. Fun jumping into the sand on the side of the gulch. Remember selling Rob some stuffed animals in high school. He wondered how I delivered them. Rode with no hands from Alder to his house up Lawrence. Couldn't do that in my sleep now.

If it matters, I was paired with Andy Friedline for boxing. It felt like a hail storm the amount of blows he put on my noggin. Hey, I told the softball team I needed to rest my knee. I am coming over Saturday and will be at the reunion Sunday (Besides, I suck at softball and they won't miss me anyway). See you all Sunday!!


FROM DICK CVITANICH
Speaking of Mrs. Russ, Steve........Chris Tollefson and I were fortunate enough to have that stellar math experience as well. One of the first highlights of junior high was having Mrs. Russ yell at Chris and I on a regular basis. That was only topped by the wondrous day to day entrance of Edgar Herberger. He was invariably late, slipping in on tippy toe, only to be undone by Christopher(as Vi liked to call him) yelling "Edgarrrrrrrr". What a way to start the day! Finally, I admit I was one of the gulch bb gun boys......so were nice boys Jimmy Adams and John Hickey. Was that fun or what? I also remember spending the night in the gulch in a tent Chris and I and someone else pitched. We were rained out and headed home early. I think we chopped down about 10 alder trees with our handy hatchets that weekend.


FROM SCOTT JONES (Editor's Note: Must be nice to be retired because Scott definitely has way to much time on his hand-he gets the award as the biggest contributor to the trip down memory lane).

AS for BB gun's in the gulch: I never went to the gulch with Al Camp. And never saw him in the gulch let alone point a gun at him. And since my cohorts have not made them selves known, either to lack of memory or perhaps current social standing, or other reasons not known to me, I will not reveal their names.

AND

Rumor also has it that all surviving members of the Grotesque Mommies have agreed to meet, forgive Pat O'Day for leaving the gym that night, have a long conversation with Coy Robbins, (the stage crew guy who actually pulled the plug that night, rumor again) and then get onto the future by spending the entire weekend practicing in the Jungle Room at Bob's Java Jive in South Tacoma. Another rumor is that this practice will be open to the public. However let it be known at this time that over the years the previous meetings of this group has always been accentuated by the consumption of large amounts of alcohol and several incidents of minor(?) violence and property destruction. Among which are remembered but never before recorded incidents such as the Chest bumping challenge with retired military personnel (E9), Take down of other members in a public place (E9) to avoid impending brawl and potential arrest, couch flipping with flying bodies (private home), Seahawks Squander, (the King Dome) (who did win the game?) (how did we get home?) swinging from the Chandeliers in the Great Room at UPS, Naked Table Dancing (Magoo's Annex) and the ever famous Full Frontal Nose Bite (show the scars). So Beware! Remember the Jungle Room at the Java Jive has always been full of animals! Attend at your own risk!! So those incidents notwithstanding by Sunday we plan to be ready to emerge into the music scene as the New Crusty Nostrils performing LIVE at the Harmon! They do allow live music don't they??

And since the plan is for this to be a non stop practice we would very much like to request that all attending MD's (Rob and Jon) be prepared to provide as much in the way of stimulants as possible because of course we can't play QUITE the way we used to or stay awake the way we once could and none of us have any experience with street drugs any longer!

Cause Hey We're the Mommies Daddy!


FROM LAURA CHADWICK FAGERNESS
I walked past Janis Skinner's and Steve Richards' houses and wondered if they would be there. I wish Janis could make it. Has anyone heard from Steve Richards, Robert Wendt, Faye Young, Robin Mars? I spoke with Marion Hill and Cathy Curry. Marion has a funeral to attend, but she just might make it. She lives in Bellingham so it is a possibility. Cathy will not be able to make it....she has an operation scheduled for Monday. She said she would love to read the bios and see some of the photos. Next time, whenever that may be, she will attend!


FROM KAT SCOTT WILLARD
OH MY GOD I TOTALLY REMEMBER IRONING MY UNI IN WISEMANS' ROOM!!! And it totally reeked! I also remember her growing her fingernails for sale. ARGH! Walking the halls of the new Mason as an employee of the District it always seems bazaar. Memories always pop up like hours in the Vice Principal's office (L. Holden) for protesting air raid drills. Laurie Payne eating pigs feet or frog legs? for lunch and having way too many crushes on way too many boys so that I couldn't concentrate on school work.... but, then I doubt I would have concentrated on work anyway.

The gulch? Laura C. memories? Backyard carnivals? treasure hunts? wow! Strip poker in Miss Purdue's class (grade school stuff: Danny Cormany and John Omen)

Teen Time... liking someone else's boyfriend and getting in a cat fight in the bathroom on the monday after the dance. again visiting the vice principal's office. Earthquake!

Being yelled at by Mr. Lloyd in Band for talking too much. Visiting the vice principal's office again. What's really amazing is to have two kids that have walked the halls of Mason (and Stadium) too and they talk of their memories all the time. The beat goes on. See ya al there..


BRIAN PAYNE
Memories of Mustangdom:
    Mr. Gilmore's Earth Science class adjacent to the kitchen with the bottle of mercury on the desk
    Mr. Naubert constantly asking, "How many get the idea of that?"
    Getting a "C" on my poker in Mr Moffat's metal shop
    Picking up Darrin and Darci Krewson every Sunday for Sunday School
    "Teen Time" and playing basketball while the rest of you were dancing
    Mr. Martelli's gym class in the church building across the street
    The earthquake (Mr. Sinclair's class)
    Mr. Feuchter transferring to Mason after being my 6th grade teacher at Washington
    Dick Cvitanich running for class president
    Tom Clough taking a voluntary "hack" from Mr. Brisbois
    Mr. Angelel and our new gym
    Lunch in the auditorium with the World Series on TV
    Buying the carton of milk for 4 cents.

DICK CVITANICH
Just thinking about Teen Time has caused me to develop blemishes. Someone remember to bring some Clearasil. I always wondered why no one would dance with me after a rousing game of basketball down in the gym. No matter how much Jade East I used the smell of teenage spirit prevailed. Come to think of it I was too petrified to fast dance. That left the slow dance. You could get closer at Teen Time than you could at the Proctor Theater. Mr. Spencer,the owner, practically ripped my arm out of the socket when Diane and I snuggled while watching Psycho. Wow! Thank goodness Diane Michelson liked me then and loves me now. Ain't life grand?



 
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