John Weigle's Blog

Brown Bag Reunion 2006 pictures up

2006-08-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the 2006 Brown Bag Reunion are on the Web site, along with a funny item distributed at the event about "you know you're a Ventura High grad if ..." Check it out and see what you can remember or if you're a "mature" grad.

Web site updated

2006-07-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

It's been longer than it should have been, but I've finally updated the Web site. The biggest change is the addition of an article that appeared in The Star about Karen Grassle's appearance in Ventura's Rubicon Theater. There are also some minor changes in the Found, Missing, and In Memory pages.
If you can help us find any of the missing folks or can correct any of the listings, please let me know.

Karen Grassle to appear in Ventura

2006-06-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

I just sent the following message to everyone I thought I had e-mail addresses for, and a bunch of them have already bounced, so I'm posting it here, too. (If you see this and want to be added to my list for notices of class news send me an e-mail or add a comment to this item and I'll get a copy of it. My e-mail is on the class Web site at venturahigh59.com.)

Hi, everyone: I forwarded a fan letter from the VHS 59 Web site to Karen a couple of days ago and just got a response from her about an appearance in Ventura. Here is the pertinent part:

Thanks for the e-mail. Have been meaning to contact you. I'm in Ventura working at the Rubicon Theatre and we open this Sat night and play for three weeks.

I didn't check to see what play, but Rubicon has a Web site -- OK, hang on a minute and I'll go look: The site is at http://www.rubicontheatre.org/ and here's some info on the play:

Open Secrets
[ Calendar l Single Ticket Price Chart ]

The Premiere of Two One-Acts by Dale Wasserman:
The Stallion Howl and Boy Blacktop Road
Directed by RTC Artistic Director James O'Neil
More on the Dale Wasserman Festival

Starring: David Birney, Cliff De Young, Karen Grassle and Eric Lange

--- end of e-mail ---

I recognize David Birney's name from the old TV show "Bridget Loves Bernie," but he has a lot of other credits; details at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/.

I didn't recognize Eric's name, but he also has a long list of credits at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1441925/

And Cliff De Young's credits are at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002037/

And not to short Karen's other credits (we all know "Little House"), her info is at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002111/

Bill Arnold dies

2006-05-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry to report that another classmate has left us. William Edward "Bill"Arnold of Oxnard died April 20. He was born in Ventura on May 9, 1941, and had lived in the county most of his life. He graduated from Ventura High in 1959 and was a Realtor with The Cusick Group, Remax Gold Coast, in Ventura.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Mark Hamblin of Crescent City; granddaughter, Kayla Marie; grandson, Keith Allen; brother William W. Arnold Jr. of Ventura, and his stepchildren, Kari, Kristi, April and Zerlina; cousin, Judy Blair of Spirit Lake, Iowa; and his girlfriend, Christine Hamilton.

The full obituary ran in the Ventura County star on April 25, 2006.

If you know of other classmates' whereabouts or deaths, please let me know so we can update the Web site.

A VHS alumni site

2006-02-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

I received an invitation the other day to register at http://www.venturaalumni.com/ and was impressed with what I found when I checked it out. Here's some information from the home page of the organization that runs the site (and many others):

"As our name implies we take a far more serious and long term approach to building alumni sites. You can find a multitude of companies offering the same basic features such as a class directory, reunion post, message post and perhaps some limited photo uploading capability. But these features are hardly comprehensive and provide little or no long term value to the alumni.

"Schools and their sponsored organizations can now maintain an active prescence with all registered alumni! As a School News Reporter you can post important information on fundraisers, retirement ceremonies, alumni events and other news within minutes! Simply locate your school from the list and look for the School News Reporter registration link."

The home page is at http://www.alumniarchive.net/

When I checked today (feb. 28), the site included 68 California schools, including Buena, Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura high schools. It looks like it might be worthwhile to register and check the site periodically. As of now, at least, there is no cost.

Butch Peterson obituary

2005-12-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

I sent the following e-mail out today to classmates whose e-mail addresses I have. A couple have already bounced back, so I'm posting it here, too:

Hello, all: Classmate Butch Peterson died recently. Here are the links to the story that ran in The Star and his obituary:

Story on Butch Peterson ran 12-24-05
http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/sv/article/0,1375,VCS_239_4340033,00.html

Obituary ran 12-25-05
http://www.legacy.com/venturacountystar/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=16072458

If you have never been on The Star site, it does require registration.

My list of e-mail addresses gets shorter with each mailing. If you know someone who'd like to have this information, please forward it to them, just in case the address I have is no longer valid.

Brown Bag Reunion and more

2005-04-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

The annual Brown Bag Reunion for all Ventura High School classes is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, on the Ventura High School baseball field. For more information, contact Ned Bartels at 386-4161.

Our class hasn't had a big representation at any of the Brown Bag Reunions I've been to -- some of the classes from the 1940s have had more people than we have -- so I hope to see some of you there.

There are a lot of other reunions going on. The most recent list published in the Ventura County Star can be found at http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/reunions/article/0,1375,VCS_1803_3661489,00.html

It's a long URL, so cut and paste carefully. If you've never been to the Star's site, you'll have to register, but it's free and will ask for some information that the paper uses to track the use of the site.

2 classmates found

2004-09-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

Larry Whelan found himself listed as missing on the Web site and says he's in Temple City, CA. I've updated the page to reflect that.

Jon Allen talked to Gabriel Esquibias, the manager of the Busy Bee Cafe in Ventura, who turns out to be a classmate although he wasn't listed on our found or missing list. I've added him to the found list. He used to walk along Poli Street from the Avenue to get to school and then take the route back home after school. The good news: At least there was no snow .

Posting comments

2004-09-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

After I sent the last update to the Web site, I got an e-mail that one class member had tried to post a comment and gotten a login screen. Becaue I'm new to blogging, I wrote the hosts of the site and got this answer today:

"Even if you select the option for anyone to comment, the login screen will

still appear (so that people with Blogger accounts can still login and

attach their profile information). However, there will also be a 'post

anonymously' link on the same page that anyone can use, even without

logging in. I'm sorry about the confusion."

So go for it and post away (I hope).

Update on Ventura High School Foundation

2004-09-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

After updating the page with information on the 2004 Brown Bag and class reunions, I got this e-mail from one of the officers of the VHS Foundation with more information about items it has available and a correction to one of the Web pages. If you're interested in school-related souvenirs, this is the place to go. Here it is:

Hi John,
Just viewed your '59 website. I enjoyed reading all, and glad you didn't get ME in one of those photos at the Brown Bag. You "did" get my Foundation workers though, hanging our "Memories" poster, to sell photos and license frames. Your class, of course, was our best customer, since you were having your reunion that weekend. Sold 50+ photos of our great old building, and a few license frames. I'll have them there next year also, hoping that another 50's class might include the Brown Bag with their reunion. Meanwhile, should anyone want photos or frames, they can contact me at JudiBasso@aol.com or Classof57@aol.com
I sure wish "we" could find someone to do a website for the Foundation, ... I see that you are a member too, and we thank you. We now have a little over $12,000 in the kitty ... I'm just writing to say that I noticed a couple of things you might want to change, and have already forgotten one of, as am older than you. No big deal if editing is not an easy task. For now, I can only remember that you mentioned Greg Stiles, '55, as possibly planning a rose garden for new building? it's Curt (Curtis) Stiles.
Okay John...Thanks for the memories..........
Judi

Some ideas to generate feedback

2004-06-15T00:08:00.000-07:00

As promised in the e-mail notice (and the posting below), here are some thoughts to get some talks going:

1. Who was/were your favorite teacher/teachers? Why? (No, I'm not going to get involved in least favorite for fear of libel.)

2. Favorite class? Why? Least favorite (just be careful how you word these, please)? Why?

3. What was one of the most valuable lessons you learned in high school, either as part of a structured class or just because you were there (for instance, did you learn ways to behave -- or not behave -- by watching what others did)?

4. Favorite Ventura County landmark? Eating place? Romantic spot?

5. Does anyone else have fond memories of the old brick administration building? It had character, something that seems to be missing in most modern school designs, and it was probably the most distinctive school building I ever saw in Ventura. Of course, it had become a bit nonfunctional, but ...

2004 Brown Bag Picnic, Reunion update

2004-06-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of an e-mail I sent to our class members whose e-mail addresses the reunion committee has. If you are reading this and didn't get the e-mail, it means we don't have your e-mail address. Send to me at jweigle@vcnet.com and I'll add it to my list and send it to Carole Mingus (or, if you prefer to send to Carole because you don't know me, her e-mail address is in the text of the newsletter.

Hello, all: It's been a while -- too long, but we won't mention that -- since I updated the Web page (at http://www.venturahigh59.com or
http://www.vcnet.com/~jweigle/VHS59/Index.htm if you haven't been there), but we had a meeting of the reunion committee tonight, so I wanted to fill you in on that and a couple of other items.

First off, here's the dope on the annual, all-class Brown Bag picnic, which just appeared in the Star:
Ventura High School graduates will have the annual "Fred Newcomb Brown Bag Reunion" for all graduates, from 11-2 p.m. July 31 on the Baseball Field at Ventura High School. Information: Ned Bartels 386-4161.

Reminders of our own reunion. It's Saturday, Aug. 7, for a dinner/dance at the Saticoy Country Club, and Sunday, Aug. 8, for a picnic at Arroyo Verde Park. The deadline for T-shirts has passed, but you can make reservations for the events of either or both days by contacting Carole Mingus at 20023 Lemarsh St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. Dinner/dance is $45 per person. Picnic is $5 per person. If you need more details, contact Carole via e-mail (I know you have it because you got this message ) at gsscouting@aol.com. So far, 96 people are signed up for dinner and 87 for the barbecue (that's not just class members, but class members and spouses or significant others.
Carole has a list of "missing persons," so if you haven't received it, contact her if you know the whereabouts of any of our classmates. You might know just the ones we can't find.
Big news for the reunion: Our Italian exchange student, Roberto, will attend.

Re: the Web page. I've been trying to figure out a way for some time to have some interactive portion, but our Web host couldn't suggest an easy way to do it. The development of Weblogs (or blogs, for short) has changed that. I've established one at
http://johnweiglesblog.blogspot.com/

At the moment, there's not a lot there, just a welcome, and it's not linked to the Web page yet, so don't lose this. But my plan is to come up with some memories and questions that you can check out and add your comments to. I'll probably post news there before it hits the regular Web page because it's easier to update. If you have some ideas you'd like to see there, let me know and I'll start the thread.

Hope to see you at the Brown Bag, or one or both of our two-day reunion.

Welcome

2004-06-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

This blog is an attempt to add some interaction to the Web site of the Class of 1959, Ventura High school, Ventura, Calif. The site is at two spots on the Web:

http://www.venturahigh59.com
and
http://www.vcnet.com/~jweigle/VHS59/Index.htm

I've been lax at updating it recently, but having this blog up will, I hope, force me to do more regular updating and maintenance.

A bit about myself: I'm a 1959 VHS graduate (duh!), a copy editor at the Ventura County Star, a stamp collector, a member of the East Ventura Optimist Club, and the editor of the newsletters for that club, the Ventura County Philatelic Society, the Channel Islands PC User Group and the Federated Philatelic Clubs of Southern California.