Our Active Teachers in 2015

It's still hard to keep up with our former teachers.  Here's a little about what they are doing.  (Some of this material was included in the Class Update for our 60th Reunion).

ANGELA BELLANTE

Angela loves to travel.  She arrived home from her 2nd trip this year just 2 days before the reunion.  And she is already planning for next year, before she is even caught up from this year's adventures.  She speaks French and loves Paris, where this photo was taken and where she finished her most-recent trip.  Doesn't she look Parisian?  Her birthday occurred during this last trip, and she managed to celebrate it as often as she could.  Here she is celebrating with Terrance Gelenter, who writes a blog as the "Paris Expat."  You can read more about this dinner at:

http://paris-expat.com/bistros-restos/6th-to-10th-paris-arrondissements/bouillon-chartier/?utm_source=October+6%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Paris+News+from+Terrance&utm_medium=email
(Make sure you get the entire URL.)

BIANCA RATTO CASERZA

Another extremely active teacher, Bianca came to the reunion with her daughter Liz.  They usually do something special every Friday, but this was a Thursday.  Did they still go out the next day?
As Al Figone reminded us, she attends Mass every day at Holy Angels, where Al sees her when he is in town.  At the reunion, she recounted her recent travels.  First to Italy, to see more than one hundred relatives.  She hosted 3 separate luncheons:  for her father's side, for her mother's side, and for her husband's side, totalling 87 relatives.  The week before the reunion she returned from a magical trip to Hawaii with Liz:  4 nights in Honolulu, then a week-long cruise to other islands.  And she doesn't skip her daily walk.  No wonder she has so much energy!

GEORGE HINKLE

George is a great believer in fitness.  Here he is with the quilt of his racing shirts his daughter made for him.  The photo is taken from yet another newspaper article about him and his activities:

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/general-news/20141205/commit2fit-motivates-a-man-on-a-mission

He is still tapping, teaching ballroom dancing to seniors, working with the Cancer Society on the annual Relay for Life, etc.  He may overdo it a bit; he cracked a few ribs while designing a new tap dance routine.  And he did miss the reunion when his doctor told him to cut back a bit and advised against the long drive from Woodland.  But recent medical tests look good.

ELMAN ROSE

Elman did not like living alone after his wife died, so he moved to a senior living compound in Danville, near where his son lives.  His son, Ron, is retired, so is available to drive him to doctor appointments, etc. Elman is 102, the oldest in the facility, so he no longer drives.  Unfortunately, Ron was out of town for a family wedding at the time of our reunion, so he could not bring Elman.  I visited him a few days after the reunion.  We reminisced about our days at Jeff.  At lunch I was introduced to the ladies who came by to check me out as, "My former student from 62 years ago."  He also told me about some experiences teaching P.E. before he started teaching Geometry.  During the war (WWII), he designed and had the boys build an amazing obstacle course for their P.E.  I saw the photos; it looked like what the Marines have to go through on Parris Island.  He also recounted the amazing coincidence of the two Daly City boys who grew up near each other.  One went to Jeff, the other to a Parochial school.  In the same year, the one from Jeff, John Madden, won the SuperBowl over the Vikings, and the other, John Robinson, in his first year coaching at USC, won the Pac-8 Conference, the Rose Bowl, and was ranked #2 nationally.  I looked it up; it happened in 1976 (the SuperBowl took place in 1977, after the 1976 season).  Nothing wrong with Elman's memory.

60th Reunion Photos, Part 3

The last group of classmate photos:

Floyd Kvamme

Jo Ann Meadows Squeri

Allan Hale

Darrell Wilcox

Darlene Haynes Thorne

Maurice Sciaroni

 Attendees without pictures (sorry guys):  Babe Anguillo, Mike Cloonan, Larry Kennedy, Al Lagomarsino, Bob Mion, Bobbie Wheeler & Don Delbon.  Pictures of teachers in the next post.

60th Reunion Photos, Part 2

More photos -- they could all use some cropping & editing, but if you want to see them in this century, here they are:

 Donna & Ralph North

 Dolly Castellano Brush & Jack Brush

 Julie Landi Querin & brother Rich Landi

Mike Sibitz & Faye Orovitz Blatt

Nancy Vranich Stewart

60th Reunion Photos, Part 1

I did not take as many photos as I would have liked at the Reunion.  And, you will see that I am not the greatest photographer.  I started taking pictures, then noticed that the line was gone at the buffet.  I was afraid I wouldn't get any food, so I hustled over to the buffet.  By the time I finished eating, I had forgotten whose pictures I had taken.  Senior moments!  And then people were leaving.  So my apologies to those who remained unphotographed.  Here are a few photos:

Al & Jenifer Figone

David Durette & me

Marian & Jim Rector

 Wilma & Lee Berning

Bill & Alice Narlock

Jan Toole Bacigalupi & (sister) Marilyn Toole Fullam ('54)

60 Years!

Well, it's been two years since I posted on this blog, and I'm not quite sure how to do it any more.  But it's been 60 years since we graduated; we recently celebrated those 60 years with a reunion luncheon at Val's Restaurant on Junipero Serra in Daly City, not far from where many of us had lived and attended school, even before Jefferson.  There were 39 of us to enjoy the wonderful buffet prepared by Val's, including two teachers, Angela Bellante and Bianca Ratto Caserza.  George Hinkle was scheduled to attend, but at the last minute his doctor cautioned him to slow down & stay closer to home.  Elman Rose wanted to come, but his son had to go out of town, so was not available to bring him.  More information about our teachers in a forthcoming post.  And more information and photos from the reunion also coming.

Our reunion reminded Dolly Castellano Brush of a poem written by her Uncle Frank, on the occasion of his 60th Reunion from Balboa High School (18 years ago).  Dolly says that if her parents had stayed in San Francisco, she would have gone to Balboa.  But they moved to Daly City when she was in the 5th grade, and she is very happy to be from Jefferson!

Here is her uncle's poem.  Note that his class was just about the same size as ours.  Since it was still the Depression when he graduated, jobs were scarce.  I think it was easier for us.  Still the post-war boom.  But we are equally sad about our classmates who have passed away.


Balboa Class of Fall ‘37

Sixty years out of high school, and very hard to believe,
A milestone in our lives for others to see.

How quickly the years have rolled by,
To which we often release a sad sigh.

We were a class of 251 Buccaneers,
Smallest graduation class in Balboa in years.

We voted for caps and gowns,
The other option we turned down.

How many of us still remember that march called “Pomp and Circumstance”
    played on graduation night?
I will always remember that beautiful march, the rest of my life.

One thing I will always regret, is not attending our “Senior Ball”
Heard that everyone there enjoyed it all.

We were leaving high school for the “World of the Unknown,”
Where once Balboa was like our second home.

We graduated from high school in the worst of times,
Where jobs were so few and hard to find.

Many of us have climbed the ladder of success,
Others have failed in that quest.

Class of Fall ‘37 was instrumental in starting class reunions at Balboa,
From there, it took off like wild fire all over.

Many of us are Veterans of World War II,
We heeded the signs which read “Uncle Sam wants you.”

Many of our dear classmates have passed away,
Sad, that they are not with us to enjoy this happy day.

                Frank R. Castellano