Monday, April 30, 2007

COLORADO MESSAGE FROM MIKE SARFF










Mike's
Home








A Message from Mike Sarff
We are now living in our barn on 7 1/2 acres in Redvale Colorado. population
less than 100. No traffic lights for 125 miles in any direction.

JIM CONWAY IN FAR AWAY AFRICA SENDS GREETINGS





















Photo borrowed from Jim Conway's website.
Pyramids of the Nubian Pharoahs in the
Sudan.


Gerry,
I am still in Africa, in Congo Kinshasa with the USAID of the US
government; and trying to arrange home leave to coincide with the big 50th.

Can you post my website from the San Fernando Mission email like
Spenser Johnson's? Ask people to look at: http://www.webconway.com

Best to and up the Atonic League

Jim Conway

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

DAN BAEDEKER WINE MERCHANT

Just for ducks, I looked up Dan Baedeker on Google. I know he goes to Italia regularly on wine and gourmet food buying trips. Here's what I found. Dan is a regional account executive for Villa Italia, a San Francisco-based importer and distributor of Italian wines.

If I had known at NDHS that Dan was going into the fine wine business, I would have been nicer to him.
Jerry Fecht

OUR MOST FAMOUS CLASSMATE

Perhaps the most famous person from our Class of 1957 is Spencer Johnson. We all knew him as Pat.

Here's a statement on our classmate's career from the website: http://www.whomovedmycheese.com/spencerjohnson/

Dr. Spencer Johnson is one of the world's most influential thinkers and beloved authors. He is renowned for his brief, profound parables that help millions of people manage in changing times and rejuvenate their spirits. The former physician's stories focus on discovering how to enjoy healthier success, with more meaning and less stress, at work and in life.
His ten international bestselling books include three #1 bestsellers: Who Moved My Cheese? An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change, the most widely read book on change; The One Minute Manager, the world's most popular management method for over two decades, co-authored with Ken Blanchard; and his newest, The Present. Over 40 million copies of Dr. Johnson's books are in print in 42 languages.
The Internet bookseller Amazon.com announced that it's #1 all-time bestselling book, during it's first ten years of history, is Spencer Johnson's WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?
Referred to as "The King of Parables" by USA Today, he is described as the best there is at taking complex subjects and presenting simple solutions that work. The universal principles and practical tools found in his books have also made them record-breaking bestsellers in many other countries.
Dr. Johnson's newest book, The Present, a #1 New York Times Business Best-seller, was the #1 book of the year in 2004 in South Korea with over 500,000 copies of the Korean editions in print.
The New York Times Book Review, in a 2005 article on Chinese publishing, reports that Spencer Johnson's book Who Moved My Cheese? has become China's all time bestselling translated work with official sales of over two million copies to date.
In Japan, Who Moved My Cheese? has sold over 4,500,000 copies to become the #1 bestselling book in Japan's history by a non-Japanese author.
Dr. Johnson earned a B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California, an M.D. degree from the Royal College of Surgeons, and medical clerkships at The Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School.
He has served as Medical Director of Communications for Medtronic, the original innovators of cardiac pacemakers; Research Physician at the Institute for Inter-Disciplinary Studies, a medical-social think tank; Consultant to the Center for the Study of the Person, and to the School of Medicine, University of California; Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Business School and is an Advisor to Harvard's Center for Public Leadership.
Dr. Johnson is Chairman of Spencer Johnson Partners, a firm that puts his books to work, partnering with organizations to help them prosper from change.

Monday, April 23, 2007

WHAT'S THIS MUSEUM OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY ABOUT?

Some of you have asked me about this Museum of the San Fernando Valley through which this Notre Dame Class of 1957 Blog is coming to you.
In 2005, several of us re-incorporated a neglected historical museum at LA Valley College. In the process of renaming the Museum and laying out its goals, we decided that the whole San Fernando Valley and its 1,800,000 residents deserve a great Museum of history and culture. We became independent of the college in February of this year, with a double focus on creating both a virtual and physical Museum.
It's a lot of work, but a labor of love.
Visit the Museum's Blog to check out the Valley as is today and it was like when you were going to Notre Dame. It’s Blog addresses is:
http://museumsanfernandovalley.blogspot.com/

Yep, the Museum's Library collection has a whole section of Notre Dame High School, after all - Walt Griffin went there!

Jerry Fecht

A YOSEMITE ADVENTURE WITH FRED BLAU

Greetings Classmates,

I had the feeling that my high school friend from Notre Dame, Fred Blau (aka Freddy Nefer von Blauhart) would likely not respond to this Blog idea.
Blau was never quite as close to me, after I abandoned him during a small crisis that happened while we were camping one summer in Yosemite!
Fred had a "serious" butterfly and insect collection when he was at ND. He had secured a special collector's pass from the National Park and we camped out at Tuolome (sp) Meadows to catch illusive California Blues as well as a variety of high country beetles. Exhausted from running around all day with nets, we looked for a good camping spot, somewhere out of a really cold wind.
There it was.
A crab apple tree.
With all the meadow grass under it matted down.
A perfect place to camp!

Deep into the night, I heard a stifled noise.
"Jer, Jer, something's standing on me!"
It was Fred, or someone who sounded like Fred.

The moon was bright, and I could see a large, very large, black outline looming over where Fred was sleeping.

"A bear!" Holy s___!
(sorry about the censorship but this a Blog about a Catholic school)

I did what any loyal, strong, courageous, true friend would do. I struggled out of my sleeping bag and ran!
I fell into an upper tributary of the Merced river!
I was ice cold and I was unsure if Fred Blau was alive or not.
The sun rose mercifully early. Fred had survived.
Unexplainably, Fred was somehow more distant toward me after that event. But, what the heck (cleaned up here); he was alive, wasn't he? What is a little betrayal between friends?
For several years, the California Blues that Fred and I collected were on display at the Yosemite Museum.
Fred Blau went on to create synthetic blood for movies and tv.
He still lives in the Valley, in Woodland Hills. We are going to have lunch next week, so I guess he's over the bear.
JF

Sunday, April 22, 2007

IN MEMORY OF OUR CLASSMATE BILL WESTMYER

WILLIAM LEE WESTMYER
From the time Bill Westmyer was a student at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, he dreamed of being a policeman. He loved everything about being a cop. If he could have been a sheriff in the wild west, his life would have been perfect. His dad was a big, hard-working gruff old German-American guy with a big heart. Bill's mom was a sweet little Italian lady who loved to cook for the family and all of her kids' friends. At NDHS, Bill was a member of ND's underground Atonic League and pledged to making Brother Gordian's life more difficult. He introduced us all to Tiparillo cigars. His family lived in Encino.
After graduating from Notre Dame, Bill attended Piece College where he joined the Phi Delta Psi Fraternity. That Fraternity had chapters at Valley, Pierce, CSUN, LA City College and Virginia Tech. It was loaded with Notre Dame alumni. Bill stayed loyal to that group all his life.
Bill worked for his dad's pool-coating business. It was toxic as hell, and everyone who worked at it died young.
Our classmate was married three times. His last marriage was the most successful. At the time of his death, Bill was a retired police officer. Most of his police career was spent down by El Centro, California.
He worked for sometime as a private detective, so tracking down our lost friends wasn't very difficult. He belonged to several police-oriented associations and airplane groups. At the time of his death, our lifelong friend lived in the California mountains near Big Bear.

Note: Tormenting the Brothers of Holy Cross was never meant to be cruel or mean. According to Alex Bryant, "long suffering" was a virture, and our plots simply helped the Brothers advance in their spiritual lives. JF

TONY FADALE GETS ON BOARD THE BLOG.

Note from Tony

Thanks, Gerry, for the blog. I am sure there will be some of our
brethren who will contribute. I know I will.

How many people did you let know we have this blog? Do you think Katie
can create a link from the NDHS web site to the blog? Maybe that way we
may get more traffic from our class? Would you ask her if that is a
possibility? Tony

Note from Jerry Fecht
I've sent out a notice about the Blog to everyone on Katie's Ecel list. A lot of the guys don;t have email addresses, which is not to be unexpected. The stresses of modern technolgy are hard on those advancing with age. Speaking of advanced aging, Tony how did that knee replacement go?

This is a test to see if Katie is reading this Blog stuff. Can we link our Blog to the NDHS website? Jerry Fecht

NDHS MOVIE NEWS FROM SICILY



Olivia de Havilland and Patrick at her 90th birthday party - June 2006
Olivia de Havilland and Patrick - 1939

Pat Curtis says: I played "Baby Beau Wilkes" the SON of Melanie & Ashley Wilkes, (Olivia De Havilland, & Leslie Howard) NOT a girl!!!

Jerry Fecht says: Patrick, I always knew you were a guy.
In the little town of Mexico, Missouri where I was born, they did a Franciscan Chistmas pageant. In 1938, my sister Dorothy played the Virgin Mary and my brother Jimmy was a shepherd. I was the baby Jesus. It has been a difficult thing for me to have lived all these years in that type casting.

We need Mike Walls and Bob Trinity's email addresses.

ART McCULLOCH REMEMBERS DAS LIBERATOR

Ah, "Das Liberator' Lives!
Hey, that's Cassion er Cassien er Cassian. Wull anyway it's not Cashion.

As Pursley used to say,"Huh, that's a real knee slapper, Brother."
Regards, Art McCulloch

Greeting Art,
Or as we would have called you in those good old days, Artaton Von McCullocheart.
Saint Cashion (Cassion er Cassien er Cassian) was martyred by his students. They stabbed him
to death with their writing stylluses. Our poor teacher Brother Cashion er Cassion er Cassien er Cassian
was from Texas. He told the worst jokes ever! The Atonic League met to decide what to do about his
corny jokes. Alexagild Von Nefer KhufuBryantheart declared that any joke that Brother told was from
that time on funny to the Immortal Gods - so it has to be terribly funny to the League.
Ernie Pursley won everlasting adminiration by wiping away tears from his eyes and saying "That was a real knee
slapper, Brother!"

When Schmidt got him on the inside of his glasses with that spit wad, Alex muttered gleefully, "Offer it up Brother."
Jerry Fecht

NEWS FROM RON PERRY FROM MOUNTAIN CENTER

Thanks Gerry. The Blog is very nice looking.

On a sad note, in case you are not aware; we lost one of our NDHS people a couple of months ago. Dale Wyman (1957) died from complications to his heart and of being confined to a wheel chair for over 30 years. He was a good friend, and although I did not see him anywhere near as often as I should have, he was always in good spirits.
On the cheerful side, I have moved up to the San Jacinto mountains and am loving it. We live in Mountain Center, CA. Population 300 if you stretch the truth a bit! Between Hemet and Palm Springs and 4 miles from Idyllwild. That's about it from here for now.
Regards, Ron Perry (1957)

Hi Ron,
Sorry to hear about Dale Wyman. Maybe you can share a couple of your favorite stories about him?

It is lightly raining in Tarzana, so I'll bet it's snowing in Idyllwild? When I went to ND, I lived on Kittridge right across from the Van Nuys High School football field. (Actually, my future wife Janne Shreves was going to school there at the time.) Just north on Kester Avenue the actor Andy Divine lived. He opened a saloon-type place in Idyllwild. Alex Bryant and I discovered that we could order drinks there without being carded. I fell into a ditch on the way back to our rental cabin, but didn't feel any pain until I went back to school the next Monday. When I complained to my mother about my bruses, she said as any convert to the Church would have, "Just offer it up!"
One of my former students brought us four bags of daffodill bulbs from Idyllwild this March. Naturally, I strained my back planting the damned things. A voice from my mother said from the sky, "Just offer it up!"
Thanks for writing us Jerry Fecht

EUGENE LAMORE CONTACTS NDHS 1959 FROM THAILAND

Hi Jerry, this is Eugene LaMore. I was a non-outstanding student at
Notre Dame. I worked, paid my own tuition and bought my clothes while at
Notre Dame. I never studied or did home work and joined the Army a week
before graduation. I don,t think my picture is in the last couple of year
books because I didn't bother to have my picture taken.

I was barely 17 when I went into the army. I was sent to Germany and
was there when Elvis got there and was still there when Elvis left. I was
a PFC (private first class) when Elvis was drafted and still a pfc when Elvis
made SGT and got out of the army.

Notre Dame threw my H.S. diploma away because I didn't pay them $12.00
for the rental of the graduation gown which I didn't use but had ordered so
I don't have a diploma.

After three years in the army I still was to young to drink and became
a union carpenter. I then got a B.S. in business from San Fernando State
and a J.D. from Loyola Law School. Married for the second time at age 38
and had three girls. One is a lawyer in San Jose and gets married in
August, another is a C.P.A. in Washington D.C. and the third is a R.N. in
Dallas and married.

I was a lawyer for 33 years in San Jose got a second divorce, quit and
moved to Thailand where I have a condo, a girlfriend and a 4 month old baby
girl, Anonta Paris LaMore.

I have no money for the first time in my life and am happy.
Gene

Hi Eugene,
I wonder if we came up with the $12, if ND would give your diploma?
When I first went to anykind of reunion, everybody asked about diplomas
and the kind of impressive jobs guys had. Now people ask me about
what kind of health care plan I am on, and how to order prescriptions from
Thailand. You've answered the most important question for me, that you are
happy.
Jerry Fecht

Saturday, April 21, 2007

PAT (SMITH) CURTIS CHECKS ON THE CLASS OF 1957

Jerry,
I'm off to Palermo, Italy in the morning. I'll get in touch with you upon my return on May 3rd. Thanks for all you're doing for our class!! Patrick Curtis

Patricio (as they say in Palermo) glad to hear from you.
I went to Sicily for two week last summer and was just amazed! What a great place. Brother Eugenio would have been proud. The first thing I saw was a billboard for LoBianco cookies, so I bought Roy a package, but ate them on the airplane back to the States. Anyway, LoBianco (Class of 1956) never bought me any cookies in Sicily.
Brother Eugenio was really ticked on time with Al Aquino (Class of 1958). He said, "Aquino, why do have to be such a no good punk. Don't you know you have a holy name?" Aquino asked what Brother meant. "You never heard of Saint Thomas Aquinas?" Brother hiked up his cassock and muttered, "Saint Thomas Aquino!" From what I hear from Al Aquino, he is still working on that saint thing.

Did you guys know that Pat was a movie star before he was a year old? He played the part of the baby girl in Gone With The Wind.
Jerry Fecht

RICH MARRONE - FIRST BLOG CONTACT

Jer!
Good move!
Tell me about the Anchor Education Foundation!
Will check out the blog too, and looking forward to talking to you in October!
Be good! Rich Marrone

Rich,
Anchor Education Foundation is a California non-profit that works to teach other non-profits how to market themselves. Only since non-profits get scared about the word "marketing", we call it "public outreach." Anchor hosts the Maple Leaf Endowment Fund, that raises money for community college scholarships.
I think you are hiding out somewhere in Sweden, aren't you?
Jerry (Fecht)

Friday, April 20, 2007

WELCOME TO NDHS CLASS OF 1957 BLOG

Hi Ancient Friends,
To help us revisit our fading memories and to lay claim to who did what,
this is our very own Notre Dame High School Class of 1957 Blog.

You can leave comments at the end of each of the messages on the Blog, or
you can email comments or scanned photos you want posted here - send them to jerry@anchoreducation.com

These may help you get started.
Remember Mr. Martinka - and how the Atonic League voted to finish off what the god Zeus had failed to do. Martinka had been struck by lightning in Minnesota the summer before he began teaching at ND. Bert Falvo said to the League, "Jay Whitney ought to somehow be able to figure out how we could make lightning."
Or,
When Tom Schmidt won everlasting respect by hitting Br. Cashion on the inside of his glasses with a spit wad, as Br. Cashion was outlining the main battles of the Civil War on his blackboard. Schmidt got months of detention for owning up to the deed, but breaking the NDHS spitball record was worth it all!

If you want to contact the school re the Big giant 50th reunion, Katie Feeney's address is: Feeney@ndhs.org
My job is to stay alive long enough to see you all at the Reunion - Jerry Fecht