Thanks to Nick, Mary, Becky and Phil for being such gracious hosts!

Thanks to Margo who did a great job on the name badges.

Thanks to Ken, Bill, Mike, Margo, Claudia & Chuck Elliott and Phil Smith who helped get the Smith backyard ready for the big party. They built, moved, set up, planted and did whatever was needed.

Thanks to Ann who prepared delicious appetizers and then served them!!

Thanks to Connie Carter for the Memorial to our classmates who have passed away.

Thanks to Phil Smith for his downtown tour.

Thanks to Patrick Smith and Doug DeGeare for helping to make sure everyone had what they needed during dinner.

Thanks to all who brought ice chests, lights, purchased food, drink and other supplies.  We hope we did not forget anyone.

 

Your help was deeply appreciated and made our 40th class reunion a success!!

 

 

Our 40th Reunion

  We were all 18 once, and we all lived to tell the tale. Many of us look back on our high school days with a mixture of pride and embarassment. We can't believe we wore those clothes, got those haircuts, hung out with that crowd, said that to our dates or spent so much money on that junk. These experiences are universal, and you'll discover how universal once you start swapping notes at the reunion. If you have lingering feelings of inadequacy or embarassment from your high school days, listen to what the others are saying. More importantly, listen to what the others are NOT saying. They are not recalling all of your earlier mistakes in painful detail. They are not holding you up to the same ridicule you may have experienced 'back in the day'. If anything, reunion stories about high school tend to be much more reaffirming and light-hearted- a feeling of 'hey, we were all in this together'. Take adult comfort in the fact that very few people even remember all the 'dumb' things you did as a teenager. Reunions should be and are about people coming together to celebrate a bond that was established at the most important time in their lives.

For some of us, that bond began at a very early age and even though there were times we did not give it the attention it probably deserved, it remained. As we have gotten older, alot of us recognize how precious these relationships are.  We all have family, friends, co-workers and other acquaintances we interact with on a daily basis. But there is something special about the people with whom you experienced so many firsts. We have shared experiences with one another that our spouses may not know.  We hope you will come to celebrate that bond and all of the memories that go with it.  Love to you all!! 

  

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More Tehachapi history-

Some of you may know that Bill Arnold's dad Gus was the caretaker at Camp Earl Anna for many years.  Gus' devotion to the camp and it's upkeep made it possible for generations of 6th graders to go to camp in our nearby mountains and enjoy the beauty in our own backyard.  Many of us were campers and then became counselors in high school.  Lots of memories, as recounted on our website, were created there.  Bill's love of photography probably came from his mother Pat who was always taking pictures of kids at play or of her beautiful surroundings.  Fortunately, she took many pictures of the camp which Bill has kept safe all of these years.  Below are some of the pictures.  Bill also recounted a special memory of his father which demonstrates Gus Arnold's dedication to the camp.  You will find it on the Our Early Years page.   Thank you Bill for your generosity in sharing your special memories.  And thank you Pat and Gus Arnold for touching the lives of so many young  6th graders.

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 T-HACHA-P

  

 

 

Carrie with her beloved corn popper at the BEEKAY.

Remember how good the popcorn smelled?

 

 

Carrie Guinn Quiroga remembers:

 Beekay-- I'll have to get together with Darlene, we worked there for her uncle, Joe Niccoli, who owned it for a short time -I think we started when we were about 14 or 15--what a great opportunity to earn some pocket money. Then Pam and Walt Bray bought it and we worked with them for a while. We were the "candy counter" girls and sometimes ticket sellers. Best popcorn machine in the world!! (I wonder what happened to it?) There was a supply storage room up on the second floor where the projector room was and there was also a little balcony that sat about 4 people or so--if you were lucky enuf to get to sit there, it was a good "make-out" spot, but I seem to remember we had to ask permission to use it.... If that wasn't available, the back two rows were the "gettin busy" spots i.e., holdin' hands and kissin....
Remember the men's and women's bathrooms? tiny little closets on the northwest corner of the lobby--eeyyooo -they had that old dank smell, don't think there was ever a way to get them really clean -and a really yucky little drinking fountain (I'm sure we were all pumped full of good minerals drinking from those pipes) really the whole place was kinda grimy. Darlene and I would sometimes help sweep the auditorium-yikes-no telling what was on those floors...one time we volunteered to clean all the seats- what a job!! There was no way we could get them really clean-it's a good thing the place was dark most of the time.
I seem to remember a lot of little kids getting dropped off to watch movies and people complaining that we never had any new releases..but it had a steady clientele - occassionally filling up most of the seats. We had a lot of fun working there tho, both the bosses were sticklers for showing up each day, on time and making sure the money all balanced at the end of the day-it was a good lesson in work ethic. (But you know, I can't remember the price of admission or the refreshment prices ---waaaaay less than today tho)
Another thing I remember is my Aunt Marce telling me she was one of the first customers when the BeeKay opened. My dad's family came here during the dust bowl days - and she was gah-gah over the movies.
I also have a clear memory of watching Bambi there as a kid, I remember crying and my mom thinking I was crying cuz I couldn't have any popcorn!!
I still love popcorn- but microwave is not the same as the stuff coming outta those old corn poppers.

 

Memories from Darlene Grounds:

 

well the beekay as you all know was the only happening show in town. lots of hand holding and what nots in the back row. it brings fond memories for me because thats where my husband hung out waiting for me to notice him. he always bought a ticket and small orange drink and stayed in the lobby and watched me.
i think one fo the funniest times was whne we played the beatles movie and most of the girls went crazy and were screaming and climbing up to get to the screen and we had to shut it off and tell them to calm down or no more movie. i cant think of her last name but her first name as ann(not martinez) went crazy and we had to practically carry out. i do know the beekay holds lots of memories for most of us because thats where we all met up with our boyfriends. my uncle used to say all my friends did was take up space but never by anything.that they just came to make out.

darlene

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tehachapi is celebrating 100 years since it's establishment on August 13, 1909.   Many activities are planned throughout the year.  The most anticipated project is the completion of the new depot, a replica of the old depot which burned to the ground last year on June 13, 2008 at 3:10 a.m. The depot should be done and ready for dedication in November 2009.

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Poll Results - there were 19 responses to the question - "Where were you born?"

 

In Tehachapi

Bill Arnold

Andy Cortez

Phil Drain

Darlene Grounds

Becky Markey

Ann Martinez

Lina Montanez

Ken Perry

Yvonne Valdez

 

Parents lived in Tehachapi but was born elsewhere

Marie Bauman

Nick Damian

 

Family not in Tehachapi when I was born

Nancy Baxter

Connie Carter

Jerry Dugan

Claudia Galloway

Margo Huff

Donna Mathews

Bekki Pena

Jacque Van Nortwick

 

News Flash - 40 Years Later

THS Class of 2009 has 272 Graduates

CLICK BELOW TO READ THE TEHACHAPI NEWS STORY

http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/102734

 

 

 

 

 

And thinking back to Junior High, girls, do you remember "Dam Dolls?" That was what "troll dolls" were called in the beginning and I always wondered why. Now I've learned that it was because they were first created in 1949 by a Danish fisherman who needed a cheap Christmas gift for his daughter because he couldn't afford to buy anything. He used sheep's wool for the hair. His name was Thomas Dam, thus the dolls became "Dam Dolls." I'm sure our mothers were relieved when they started being called "troll dolls," instead. Here is a picture of a Dam Doll from 1964 that's selling on eBay now for at least $76. Connie, do you have a box of them somewhere? You could get rich!

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Do you remember, Up With People?

It took Tehachapi by storm, I think it was in the Summer of 1967...who has some Sing Out memories to share...

(Becky's mom thought it was a cult...Becky thinks now it might have been!)

 

From The Warrior, June 7, 1968

(Connie thought we should set a good example!?!-
How'd we do, Connie?)

Do you remember...In junior high, walking downtown to Partlow's Variety to buy Beatles' Trading Cards? They came (like baseball cards) in a pack with a slab of yucky gum. Don't I wish I had those cards today. The one in the picture here is selling on eBay for $14.99. I think we paid maybe five cents for a pack with at least five cards (plus the gum). A complete set of the first 60 cards recently sold for more than $500. But if I still had mine, I wouldn't sell them. I'd bring them to the reunion!

More sad news about our pool

If you read the note with the picture from our great indoor pool (on the Photos of the Day page), you will know that budget problems recently closed the pool. Now there's more bad news from the Tehachapi News, skateboarders broke in and have apparently ruined the pool, perhaps for good. Read about it here: http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/87055

Historic train depot burned to the ground

Anni Hansen and I once rode the train from the Tehachapi Depot. I was going to visit my grandmother in Modesto and Anni was going only as far as Fresno. I recall that she was worried because her AFS rules said that she couldn't ride public transportation without a "parent" and she was making the trip by herself and worried that she would get caught. Of course, Anni was already 18 and had finished her basic schooling in Denmark before she came to Tehachapi. It was a pretty silly rule, but she was worried. She pronounced Fresno like, Fresss-no, and had to practice saying Frezzzz-no so the conductor wouldn't recognize her as a foreigner and call the authorities! Ha! It was great fun to be able to ride a passenger train from Tehachapi and something you can't do anymore, even before the depot burned down.--Claudia

 Remember Golden Hills Country Club?

Another sad story... If you haven't been back to Tehachapi in awhile, you might not know that the once beautiful Golden Hills Country Club is no more. Tom Sawyer Lake is a slimy mudhole and the neighbors are trying to get the county to tear down the dilapidated buildings. Here's a story and pictures from the Tehachapi News...http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/85600

Something old, something new...

Well, Golden Hills Country Club might be a sad sight, but the location we've chosen for our reunion has happier news. The Souza Family Vineyard won awards at a recent event. Here's a story from the Tehachapi News...http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/86136

Do you miss the trains?

There are no trains where I live now, and I miss them. Well, at least I miss the sound of the train whistles; I probably don't miss sitting at the crossing and waiting for the train to go by. But those are some of my Tehachapi memories. Remember seeing hobos? And the big train wreck; I think it was in our freshman or sophomore year. We had actually moved away, but I heard great stories about people getting color TV's, etc. There are dozens, maybe hundreds of youtube videos of trains going through Tehachapi or around the Loop. Must be lots of people with too much time on their hands. In case that's you, here's one for you. See if you can count the cars!--Claudia

   I think the youtube train video must have evaporated...will have to find another!

CONTEST! Special prize at the reunion to person who comes closest to counting the number of cars on this train! Send your guess by e-mail to: ths69reunion@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Boomer Blues

It was fun being a baby boomer... until now. Some of the artists of the 60's are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby Boomers. They include:

• Herman's Hermits--- Mrs.. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker.
• Ringo Starr--- I Get By With a Little Help From Depends.
• The Bee Gees--- How Can You Mend a Broken Hip.
• Bobby Darin--- Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash.
• Roberta Flack--- The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face.
• Johnny Nash--- I Can't See Clearly Now.
• Paul Simon--- Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
• The Commodores--- Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom.
• Procol Harem--- A Whiter Shade of Hair.
• Leo Sayer--- You Make Me Feel Like Napping.
• The Temptations--- Papa's Got a Kidney Stone.
• Abba--- Denture Queen.
• Tony Orlando--- Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall.
• Helen Reddy--- I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore.
• Leslie Gore--- It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If I Want To.

And my favorite:

• Willie Nelson--- On the Commode Again

  No reason to be stressed

  We are definitely past the time of getting stressed over the thought of a reunion…it’s time to get together just to have fun! Read on…

  High school reunions can be a time to renew old friendships and relive glory days.
  But for some, an impending reunion can spark sheer terror, bringing on desperate crash diets and some tough self evaluation.  Any, for many, a reunion can give way to a tendency to embellish the truth a bit.
  Especially susceptible to such problems are the five and ten year reunion-goers, for whom salary comparisons and claims for overnight promotions are fodder for any number of television sitcoms. "At the earlier reunions, they're still on the road to their own life," says Alan Dezen, executive director of The Counseling Center in Bloomfield, Pa.  But those attending five and ten year reunions, he said, have become "somewhat established in their careers, but they don't feel completely secure."
  So getting ready for a reunion can be stressful. "You haven't had contact with these people for ten years," says Dezen.  "People try to pick up where they left off, and they regress momentarily to when they were 17." Even confident, self-assured types may find themselves feeling pangs of teen angst, he says.
  But, happily, reunions tend to lose some of the threatening qualities as years go by, gradually becoming more of a party than a milestone, says Bob Crytzer, a professional reunion organizer. "As you drift away from that (five to ten year) time frame, it becomes more of a reunion in the true sense.  People put aside their egos." By the 10th or 20th, for example, the cliques that existed in high school are totally dissolved.
  By then, however, one problem may be replaced by another.  For example, Dezen says, by the 20th year reunion many classmates may be going into mid-life crisis, "looking to rekindle something from their youth that they feel is missing."
  Dr. Douglas Schiller, a psychologist who has survived his 20th year reunion, has some insights into why mid-life reunions can be such an emotional experience.
  For one thing, he said, people attending a 20 year reunion aren't always prepared to see friends looking more like their parents than their yearbook pictures.  "The first thing people notice at the 20th reunion is that people look older," he says.  "One is immediately struck by the passage of time."
  The 40, 50 and 60 year reunions tend to have less pressure associated with them.  By then most have stopped seeing reunions as a kind of yardstick for personal achievement and are ready to have fun. But then these can be stressful occasions, too: Usually death has claimed former classmates. 
  The best advice for any reunion-goers, whether you're 23 or 83:  Lighten up and enjoy it.  "It's one evening.  You probably won't see these people again, or at least not for 10 years," Dezen says.  "What you say or do isn't going to make any difference.  You might as well have a good time." –Article by Adrian McCoy

   

  Some 'ageless' jokes...

  Then: Long hair.
  Now: Longing for hair.
  
  Then: Keg
  Now: EKG.
  
  Then: Acid rock
  Now: Acid reflux.
  
  Then: Moving to California because it's cool.
  Now: Moving to California because it's warm.
  
  Then: You're growing pot.
  Now: You're growing a pot.
  
  Then: Watching John Glenn's historic flight with your parents.
  Now: Watching John Glenn's historic flight with your kids.
  
  Then: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Elizabeth Taylor.
  Now: Trying not to look like Marlon Brando or Elizabeth Taylor.
  
  Then: Seeds and stems.
  Now: Roughage.
  
  Then: Popping pills, smoking joints.
  Now: Popping joints.
  
  Then: Our president's struggle with Fidel.
  Now: Our president's struggle with fidelity.
  
  Then: Paar.
  Now: AARP.
  
  Then: Being caught with Hustler magazine.
  Now: Being caught by Hustler magazine.
  
  Then: Killer weed.
  Now: Weed killer.
  
  Then: Hoping for a BMW.
  Now: Hoping for a BM.
  
  Then: The Grateful Dead.
  Now: Dr. Kevorkian.
  
  Then: Getting out to a new, hip joint.
  Now: Getting a new hip joint.

   

  CONTEST #4

  Help Solve the Refrigerator Door Mystery & Enter Our Latest Contest

  Earlier, someone left a message on our new "Refrigerator Door" (Now Moved Further Down the Page) which said something about the "Fantastic Four." We thought Nick posted this mystery message but he says it wasn't him. Who was it? But the contest is really this...

  AT THIS POINT, IMAGINE GAME SHOW MUSIC AND A BOOMING ANNOUNCER'S VOICE ASKING...

   In the classic 1969 Kinder-produced short film, what are the missing words in this memorable phrase: The fickle f________ of f________. 
  BE NICE.

  Send your entry to ths69reunion@yahoo.com

   

  WOW - That Was Quick

  We Have a Winner...Jacque!

  The answer is on the fridge!

  Does Anyone Happen to Have a Copy of the Film?

   

  1/25/09 - We have two contests going. The winner of each will get a special prize at the reunion. Check the site often, and let us know if you think of other contest ideas.

  1. Whose car is pictured in the color photo "69 of bust"

  

  Nick is the first with a guess and he think's it's Dave's car.

  1/26/09 - Bekki thinks its John V's car.

  1/26/09 - Margo says she's sure it was Phil's car.

  1/26/09 - Well, the jury is still out. Phil says he had a white 1962 Corvair, but our photo is not too clear and he can't be sure if it's his car. What do you think?

  Here's a picture we found online of a 1962 Corvair:

  

   Here's the best image we can get of our Mystery Car:

  

  This, below, is an image of a 1960 Ford Falcon.

   

  2/3/09 - Margo still think's the car in the field is Phil's car. Phil says he had a 1962 Corvair. We posted a pic of a '62 Corvair and Connie, who certainly ought to be the experts on Chevy's since her dad owned the dealership, said she thought the car might be a Ford Falcon. So we've found a picture of a 1960 Ford Falcon and posted it above and it sure does look more like the car in the field than the Corvair, except for the white wall tires, of course. In fact, getting a better look at the car helped clear the clouds for Connie. Yes, she remembers riding in a car like that to go to a dance senior year and so her vote is now that the car belonged to....

  Rick Olmstead!

  What do you think...   now we just have to find Rick to find out for sure.

  And we have a winner!

  Coca Cola Connie will win ???, Well, we don't know, we'll have to think of something, but here's the official word from Rick:

  "Yes, The car is my old Ford Falcon!!! A dive of a car for a high school kid but it worked!" RickO

  2. How many cars on the train in the youtube video on the Miscellaneous page?

  1/26/09 - Bekki has guessed 74 cars in that train.

 

A Special Report by Mork from Ork

 

On the Class of ’69 Reunion

Stallion Springs Lodge, Tehachapi

Originally “Published” Sometime in 1979

 

“This is Mork, calling Orson. Mork calling Orson, come in Orson…

Orson, I have a special report to make tonight on a strange Earth phenomena called a Reunion. I’m here at the ten-year-reunion of the Tehachapi High Class of 1969—that would be the Class of 598,732 in Ork.

This place called Tehachapi is a little town, but ten Earth years ago it was even smaller. The reunion, which is really just a big party, is being held at a place called Stallion Springs, which doesn’t make any sense to me because I haven’t seen any horses jumping.

Some of the kids here tonight—I’m calling them kids because, after all, they’ve already learned that 27 or 28 years old is not nearly as old now as they thought it would be when they really were kids—anyway, some of these kids left their hometown ten years ago and haven’t been back since, until tonight. Some have been here all along—and they’ve been waiting ten years so everyone else would have to come back, too.

These kids tell me a lot has happened in the last ten years. Like right after they got out of high school they discovered not only a great big world waiting for them, but a great big war, too.

Some of them went to fight the war, and some of them went to fight the world, and after a while the war was over, but the world just kept on keeping on, as they say.

These kids are very special—they were born smack dab in the middle of the Baby Boom which was caused by their mothers and fathers when they got through fighting an earlier war.

Twenty-five years ago, the Baby Boom didn’t mean much more than crowded classrooms and hiring a few more teachers, but now that these kids have grown up, they’re finding out what it really means—more competition for the “finer things in life” like jobs and houses and all that stuff they were brought up believing they had to have because they saw it on TV.

Earth is light years behind Ork in technological advances, but it’s remarkable how much things have changed during these kids’ lifetimes. Television was in its infancy when they were born. Earth’s space exploration program grew up with them, and Earthmen landed on the moon the summer after they graduated from high school (roughly 137,560 years after Orkians gave the little globe up as a total loss, of course).

Now, fortunately, some of these kids are demanding their government use some of that expensive technology for other things—like cleaning up the environment, replacing and replenishing natural resources, and other stuff like that. Unfortunately, they won’t be finished with that war for a long time.

I’ve reported about Marriage, another peculiar Earth phenomena, earlier. Some of these kids got married and found out it wasn’t quite like it was on television, either. But, typically remarkable Earthlings that they are, others found ways to shape their own marriages—either on the first or later tries—so they could survive in the ever-changing society.

Some of these kids, too, have discovered there are many other ways to live a life and haven’t bothered to get married at all. Others made that same discovery after marriage and went their separate ways.

The one thing all these kids’ parents had in common was the fact that they had children. But these kids are not producing a Baby Boom of their own. Where their parents averaged three-point-something kids per family, the average now is one-half-a-kid per family (don’t take that literally, Orson, what it means is that for every couple having a child today, another couple is not going to have a child.) Things have really changed in the last two decades here on Earth.

But, getting back to the Reunion, I have been trying to discover why so many of them have come. It reminds me of the return of certain migratory animals to their spawning or breeding grounds each year. Although the human society is much more sophisticated, there is something almost instinctive in this Reunion business. These kids shared their early, formative years together and no matter how many separate ways they have gone since, there is a strong, invisible bond which holds them together.

Whether they have remained friends with their fellow classmates or drifted light years apart, they belonged together once, existed as a unit, and the bond will never truly be broken as they also share, forevermore, the common human destiny.

Well, Orson, that more or less concludes my report on Earth Reunions. I might say more, but I really have to go now. The party’s on and I don’t want to miss the fun.”

 

—Translated from the Orkian by Claudia (Galloway) Snow [now Elliott], Summer 1979

I forgot all about writing this until Donna mentioned it. As I was typing it in, it started to seem familiar and now I recall that I drove down to Bakersfield to go to the big library to do the research...unbelievable!

Perhaps "Ork" will return for an 2009 update...