Treasa Struble (Skiles)

Bruce is correct, row 2 #4 is Sandy Brown. It's a good thing I'm not in charge of IDing anyone. I remember Sandy as one who loved horses. At recess we would draw our "dream stables" in the dirt. It's crazy what memories are triggered when looking at these photos.

Terry Lee Maple

Yes, Barbara, I am out there. I regularly read the message forum and enjoy it immensely. I especially enjoyed the photos of our sixth grade class. Mr. Hall was one of the most influential people in my life. He was an incredible teacher and Hilltop Drive School was a wonderful place to learn. I had a lot of fun playing punt-back before school and enjoyed the after-school programs provided by the CV Recreation Department. Years later, as a student at University of the Pacific in Stockton, I had the opportunity to serve as an after-school coach, and it was very gratifying. Sadly, the elementary school where I worked, Cleveland School, was the site of a mad-man's massacre of many innocent children. The 25-year anniversary of this tragic event was observed a few weeks ago. In my semi-retirement I am consulting for non-profits in Califonria and I visit Stockton and San Francisco regularly. Here is a little information, requested by Bruce Wilson I beleive; Hank Sieradzki changed his name to Stevens during his college years. Most of us remember how smart he was and he demonstrated his intelligence by attending Brown University and later Bryn Mawr where he earned a Ph.D. in Classics. His entire career was spent teaching at a highly selective private school in Rhode Island. I saw him in New York in 1971 and I've kept in touch with him over the years. How wonderful it would be if he could join us in September!

Karen Etsuko Tachiki (Savel)

Hi to Treasa, Terry, Bruce, Barbara and Gail. At some moments it seems like just yesterday and perhaps at more lucid moments 50 years is a very long time ago. The messages about Chula Vista are most interesting and have been trying to remember those locations that have been mentioned. I am curious Bruce about Hilltop Drive Circle, not sure I remember where that was. For classmates who have moved far away from this corner of the United States, it surely would be a shock to see how much the area has changed, even in the last decade. I do hope that more and more classmates share memories. There is such a variety of what we  all remember. And it is most enjoyable to learn about what people have been up to for the past 50 years. A big thank you to all of you who have shared information.

Karen Tachiki Savel

Bruce Wilson

Terry is on to something there with  "punt back"* (long time, no hear) and influences. I thought long and hard on the matter and I can only come up  with three teachers that I felt were a positive influence. I'm starting at 4th grade because right now I can't get back in the prior arena memory-wise and I will have to think about college and postgrad. Mrs. Fuller (4th) and Mr. Hall (6th) were both positive, though not as strong as Terry has indicated for himself. Ms. Hassler was great and forced me to learn how to write which took me very far in the academic world post high school. All three obviously cared about what they were doing. All the rest were neutral and (many) negative.

*Terry, we also used to try to hit baseballs over the classroom building when standing next to the fence on J St. I don't recall anyone doing it.

I'm  eager to hear how others rate their experiences/influences...

Karen:

I'm out of town right now, but I will get back to Hiltop Top Drive Circle when I come back to CV. In the short-term, the housing project was where Hilltop Junior HIgh School is now. Frank Fernandez and I got called on the carpet by Mrs. McCann for  1) Leaving the playground 2) Breaking windows in the soon to be torn town decrepit buidings. I liked Mrs. McCann's discipline. A good scolding and an extracted promise not to repeat (which we honored.)

Note to me: my 5th grade teacher was Ms. Malecki (sp?).

Gail Eileen Dillon (Boone)

Terry Lee Maple

I'm glad to acknowledge the positive contributions of our principal, Mrs. McCann. She was a strong female role model in a leadership position that was not lost on me over the years. Thinking back I leared from some other female role models to help me become a better father to three daughters. I was tremendously impressed with Anna Teaff, ASB President when we were sophomores. She went to Stanford afer high school and I'm sure she was very successful in life. Mrs. McCann found me in the library one day when I was in fourth grade. I was too young to participate in the science fair but she noticed that I was checking out books on wildlife and she thought I could benefit from seeing the projects. She drove me to the science fair, somewhere in Bonita as I recall, and I wandered around in awe of the creativity of my older peers. This little gesture meant a lot to me at the time and demonstrated how much she cared about the education process and its effect on each kid. And, speaking of talented females, do you remember who the fasted kid was in sixth grade at Hilltop Drive School? Corinne McCall. She ran the fifty in 7.0 seconds, faster than all the boys.

George Bracey Gillow

Mrs Hassler

I remember Mrs. Hassler was a great teacher and had a good sense of humor.

She later married Mr. McDonald, another teacher at Hilltop in 1964.   They had a daughter, Amy, who became a good friend of our daughter, Michelle.  They were both graduates of Bonita Vista High School in 1988 and remain good friends.

We got to see Mrs. McDonald (Hassler) a few times over the years. 

Mrs. McDonald participated in CV political activities walking door to door and attending fund raisers.

Sadly she passed away a few years ago.

George Bracey Gillow

More on the Butcher of Seville

The Butcher of Seville, Norbert Stein, was interviewed by KUSI television in 2011 just before his 100th birthday.  See the YouTube video below.   At the begining of the video, Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox appears where she promotes the "Chula Vista Centennial" book and the Chula Vista Foundation.

Michele Adney Aldrich mentioned Doris Cox, the home economics teacher at Hilltop JHS (in message #58).  Doris Cox is the mother of SD County Supervisor Greg Cox, husband of Cheryl Cox.  His Father, Gordon Cox was a teacher and administrator at CVHS.

Mayor Cheryl Cox was a 1966 graduate of Hilltop High.  Her name was Cheryl Willett at the time and she can be seen on page 196 of the 1964 Idyll yearbook.

I remember one story involving the late Gayle McCandliss (she was a CV Councilwoman and elected Mayor in 1990, but sadly died of cancer just three months after being sworn in). 

The year that Cheryl Cox received her PHD in education, Gayle sent them a Christmas card addressed to Dr. and Mr. Cheryl Cox.

Here is the Butcher of Seville video:

Corinne McCall

Thanks for the morning chuckle Terry - and for remembering my 6th grade success in the 50 yard dash.  Speaking of the women's movement, at least in elementary school girls were participating equally in sports.  I remember my father (who had six daughters) complaining that HHS had no girl's track team. 

I was touched reading the personal memorial for Karen Kacergis by her mother.  Thank you for sharing, Corinne McCall

Bruce Wilson

I'm glad to see the web is expanding.

Fast times at Hilltop Drive Elementary indeed. Ms. McCall and Herr Wilson have a little bit of history; she was after all my first girlfriend. I never thought to ask who her first boyfriend was.

I never took the time to thank Martha Hassler either. Bad on me. Oftentimes, it's not the things you did, but the ones that you didn't that you regret. After graduating from high school and beginning the tours of The Long Bar and Hussongs's in TJ and Ensenada, I had occasion to run into Leo and Martha just off Revolucion one evening. For some reason I wasn't surprised.

One of the alumni sites I looked at a while back had an update on the status of a number of the teachers we all would recognize. Tom Rice was living in Coronado and had written a book as I recall.

I occasionally run into Ken Anderson at the YMCA, he swims there regularly. He tells me that Ted Testa has not been doing well, as of maybe a couple of years ago. Mr. Schanke lives in the vicinity of Nacion and Inkopah and we spoke with him a few years back. He went to Bonita Vista from Hilltop.

.

Bruce Wilson

"excuse me for a minute, just let me play my guitar, alright?"*

I spend phenomenal energy on music listening and collecting, so IMO Tom Waits is one of the most impressive fellows to attend the Hilltop High School (would have been in my 7-16 homeroom at CPJHS, probably would not have caught on with Mr. (temper, temper) Padelford.. He was born in 1949 and was right behind us in school. I've never read about his influences, but he did say this

"I thought high school was a joke, I went to school at Napoleone's." (National City Pizza House).

Sal and Tom around 2002.

* Jimi Hendrix at Monterey pop Festival, 1967.

Bruce Wilson

Keep 'em coming George. All the news that fits.

Regarding Martha Hassler, she was funny, inspiring, a little melodramatic, had that great southern drawl, allowed/encouraged visitors to her house, was noticably affected by the JFK assasination, so did she like Ike or Bobby.

Don't answer, I'm just wondering.

Bruce Wilson

Say Terry:

I'm thinking that my sister Diane was one of those after school rec leaders that you  mentioned as being among your influences. She was in the first graduating class at HHS, so the timeframe is right. Was it Vugner, Bugner in charge?

Diane suffered from Type I diabetes her whole life (onset age 8, insulin injections every day thereafter) and endured it amazingly, whilst providing an inspiration to hundreds of students. Corinne will atest to the number of folks that showed up at her service at St. Rose.

.

Terry Lee Maple

You should remember the after school coach who worked at Hilltop Drive School in 1958. He played football with my brother Brian at Chula Vista. He was an incredible punter and used to kick booming punts for us to catch (and they were tough to catch). His name was Walter "Buster" Brown. A few years earlier when I was in third grade, a young Bob Montgomery was our coach. He invited me to join the schoo ltrack team and asked all of us to submit tee shirts to be dyed green. He called us the "Fighting Irish" track team. It was my very first exposure to school competition and it was a lot of fun. Mr. Montgomery had a great sense of humor and related to kids very well. He later became a prominent school principal in the school district. As I grew up he would always challenge me when he saw me; he offered to buy me a malt every time I hit a home run. I hit quite a few over the years and whenever he caught up to me after a homer, I would get a quarter. This went on after I entered high school. I wonder how many other kids received encouragement in this way?

Bruce Wilson

Terry: Regarding the library, was it at the school? I have a foggy memory of maybe a small room and National Geographic magazines. I'm also remembering (?) perhaps having TB tests done there.

If you were at the CV library was it Carnegie? I remember my first excursion to a library was there to the children's section which was below grade. I think it was in operation till about 1955-56.

opened 1917
Public library from 1917-1955
demolished, 1960
grant amount: $10,000
architectural style: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival
architect: Theodore Kistner

Chula Vista's first library, an 1891 reading room formed by volunteers, was located in a building donated by the San Diego Land & Town Company. When Chula Vista incorporated in 1911 the city took over the library at the volunteers' request. A $10,000 Carnegie grant was received in 1916. Theodore Kistner who later designed the East San Diego Carnegie was the architect and L.E.C. Smith of National City was the contractor. Classical Revival and Mission Revival styles were combined, with Mission prevailing. An additional $1500 from the city and more than $300 in gifts helped meet the total cost. After construction of a new library in 1955 the Carnegie remained vacant until it was destroyed in 1960.

Terry take 2:

Apparently, you turned pro at a very early age :-}.

I remember Mr. Montgomery, but not Buster Brown (at least by that name), I do recall that somebody had a stopwatch and another memory of  a "play day" with Vista Square when a black kid showed up at Hilltop Drive Elementary School, maybe for the first time.  Blacks were banned by Chula Vista City Code from the Vista Square housing project (this may need some factual tune-up, which I will pursue).

Bruce Wilson

Frank Kimball and brothers Warren & Levi put up a library in National City, Aylworth Hall (circa 1905). A little known fact is that, whilst I was born in Chula Vista, we were actually living in National City at the time, before upgrading to the housing project in perhaps 1947.

Bruce Wilson

Congratulations are in order for Terry Maple, the only one of this entire group to get the appropriate (or any) photo into the Yearbook photo section of his profile.

EDIT: Me too now. It appears to me that you cannot just move a previously uploaded photo into the yearbook slot, but in fact have to upload your photo into it. Does it matter? Probably not.

1957/02/11 - Dozens of polio clinics being set up, $1 per shot for adults, kids free, first clinics in Cv are at Vista Square school and Woman's Club ( Chula Vista Star-News, Feb. 11, 1957. )

I got my first at Castle Park Elementary and second at Hilltop Drive Elementary. Sure hope it wasn't supposed to be three.

The Calvary in San Diego County? Yes indeed

DEFENDING THE BORDER, CAMP LOCKETT 1940's
The Cavalry at Camp Lockett

By Meredith Vezina

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gregkrenzelok/veterinary%20corp%20in%20ww1/11thdefendingborder.html

Early signs at Camp Lockett of the coming graffti deluge.

Bruce Wilson

Bruce Wilson

Bruce Wilson

Terry Lee Maple

There was a room near the principal's office that served as the library as I recall. There were plenty of books including dinosaur books (my favorites) and biographies. I remember checking out a neat book called the White Panther and biographies of General Custer and Booker T. Washington. BTW in the projects where HJHS now stands, I used to visit a friend of mine named Max. He was with me when I had a memorable fight with Bobby Sutton just as we approached my house at 667 Carla Avenue. I won the fight but it wasn't pleasant as I recall but my loyal friend Max ended up jumping on Bobby's companion, Chris Stark, who wanted to shoot me with his slingshot. This happened when I was in first grade, a memorable fight because I wasn't a target of bullies. I do remember the big city library on E Street (or was it F Street?). My brother Brian used to take me there and it was a very nice library.

Bruce Wilson

Carnegie Library was on F Street just east of Third Avenue. In the fifties there as a gang there, called, you guessed it, The Old Library Gang. I think later this gang morphed into The Park Gang and/or The Earth Angels. These gangs did not even approximate what we have today. There were no guns, knives etc. but there were some pretty tough customers in the lot. These fellows were referred to as "hard guys", but I think that term fell out of favor by the time we reached high school.

Two other characters from the Castle Park era, Bobby Williams and Eddie Wilson. Eddie was big and tough, whilst Bobby was the car guy. His father owned a car lot and Bobby drove around in a brand new T-Bird.

I wonder what ever happened to these four. I also wonder if they still have their "fingertip" jackets with the pinstripped sleeves. As long as I wondering around, where is Leon Stallings' brother Willie . Willie was truly a hard guy and I believe Chula Vista's first and only Hell's Angel. I do have to admit that I wanted one of those fingertips. They were not exclusivley the domain of hard guys and Donny Wilson let me wear his a few time. Might as well wonder about Donny too.

Terry:

Was it Les Stark with Sutton? He used to hang out wiht Ken "Ace" Boyer, who featured themselves as hard guys, but probably were not.

I do not remember you living on Carla, only on I Street. I recall going up into that area on my first (and probably only) scavenger hunt with none other the Corinne,  emanating out from a party at Swallow's house on Hilltop Drive. After which we played spin-the-bottle (which game was rigged).

Bruce Wilson

As long as I'm in the vicinity. Sixth grade Camp Cuyamaca. Likely not anyone we could know on the monkey bridge, but I do have another somewhere, that all primatologists would love.

George Bracey Gillow

Chula Vista Historic Homes

A good website describing historic homes in Chula Vista, including the lemon orchard houses is as follows:

http://www.historichomesofchulavista.com/index.html

One of the homes at 642 2nd Avenue is owned by Corinne McCall and she did an amazing job of restoration.    She is featured on Noah Tafolla's Wonderland TV show on Chula Vista.  His show was on a couple of San Diego TV stations including KPBS TV.  

The Chula Vista show has a good introduction history of Chula Vista and then shows the city today.   Allthough the show is not listed on the Wonderland website, it is still available for purchase  at:

http://diningoutwithnoah.com/wonderlandsd/?page_id=6

Or you can contact Noah at wonderland@cox.net and he will mail you the DVD.

For those of you who still live in the area, I recommend a short walk to view some of the historic homes.  Start at the corner of "I" st. and 2nd ave. and walk south.  The victorian home "Blue Castle" is at 613, then Corinne's homes mid-block.  Then turn right and head west on J st. then right again and head north on Del Mar Ave.  There are a bunch of great homes of various architecture types between J and I on Del Mar.  One is "El Nido" at 669 (The home once owned by Dr. Kellogg)

If you no longer live in the area, then a Google Map or Google Earth tour works well.

Another well restored home is the Haines home at 210 Davidson and worth taking a look at.

Also, Hazel Goes Cook's house is listed on the above website.  It is located at 62 Cook Court which is a gated community today.  But the house--which has been significantly expanded--can be seen from the gate entrance from Jacaranda Drive in the Pepper Tree area. 

Karen Etsuko Tachiki (Savel)

Thank you George for that site. I live behind one of those old Spanish style houses on San Miguel and always wanted to buy that one and missed the opportunity when it was sold. And my husband and I walk all over Chula Vista in the morning and walk by all those historic houses. And it is wonderful that they seemingly are all well maintained and will be around for future generations.

And Bruce, a funny story is I met my husband at sixth grade camp, he was a teacher for San Diego Unified School District. We worked at Camp Palomar and I did work one summer at Cuyamaca. The old buildings we had in sixth grade were long gone by 1970 when we worked there. It was by far the most fun job I had and made a lot of good friends who are still my very good friends. It's a bit sad that the program no longer exists for many sixth graders in the county because of severe budget cuts. It was certainly a great experience for me, a person who had not been away from the nest before that time.

And does anyone remember Jim Nolfi, I think he was an English teacher at HHS in 1961 and then moved on to Southwestern College. His daughter Jerilyn(Jeri) is a very good friend, who was a teacher for the Chula Vista Elementary School District. And Jim's wife, Violet Nolfi was an elementary school teacher for the district also I think at either Allen or Sunnyside for those classmates who grew up in Bonita. And Jim is still living, here in the South Bay and I think he is 96. He still manages to get around, but his memory is not as good as it used to be. Vi passed away I think in the early 1980's from complications of Parkinson's disease.

All of these entries remind me of so many things and I'm sure I'll carry on with entries as more memories come to me.

Karen Tachiki Savel