I first met Joe in Oct. of '61 when he moved to Woodland from Merced. We were enemies as we were vying for the same position on the basketball team. A month later, we were close friends. We both lost that position to Bing. We had a few beers together and double-dated. We spent many days together. When his Mom's car was unavailable for school, I got up early and drove to Yolo to bring him to school.
After we graduated, Joe's Mom moved back to Merced but Joe didn't want to leave Woodland. I talked my parents into allowing Joe to live with us through the summer. He worked as a box boy at Stop'n'Shop and gave my parents a few dollars for food. When I left for college in Sept. '62, Dale Lackey took in Joe until Joe could join the Navy. Joe joined the Navy in October. I saw him the night before he left for San Diego for 'boot camp'. That's the last time I saw him. In May of '63, he died aboard ship in a tragic accident.
For those of you who didn't know Joe, you missed out on a super nice guy who would do anything for a friend. Joe Salas, great guy, great friend and I miss him. "vaya con Dios, mi amigo".
Don Murdoch
I first met Joe in Oct. of '61 when he moved to Woodland from Merced. We were enemies as we were vying for the same position on the basketball team. A month later, we were close friends. We both lost that position to Bing. We had a few beers together and double-dated. We spent many days together. When his Mom's car was unavailable for school, I got up early and drove to Yolo to bring him to school.
After we graduated, Joe's Mom moved back to Merced but Joe didn't want to leave Woodland. I talked my parents into allowing Joe to live with us through the summer. He worked as a box boy at Stop'n'Shop and gave my parents a few dollars for food. When I left for college in Sept. '62, Dale Lackey took in Joe until Joe could join the Navy. Joe joined the Navy in October. I saw him the night before he left for San Diego for 'boot camp'. That's the last time I saw him. In May of '63, he died aboard ship in a tragic accident.
For those of you who didn't know Joe, you missed out on a super nice guy who would do anything for a friend. Joe Salas, great guy, great friend and I miss him. "vaya con Dios, mi amigo".