Alumni Sandstorm ~ 04/25/15
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2 Bombers sent stuff and 1 Bomber Memorial today:
Mike CLOWES ('54)
Frank WHITESIDE ('63)
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BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Paul RATSCH ('58)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Don WINSTON ('63)
BOMBER BIRTHDAY Today: Carla BOSHER ('64)
BOMBER ANNIVERSARY Today: Jerry SPEARS & Cathy CLUGSTON ('64)
BOMBER CALENDAR: Richland Bombers Calendar
Click the event you want to know more about.
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>>From: Bob Carlson, aka Mike CLOWES ('54)
Well, I skipped over another birthday quite unintentional.
Funny how those things happen.
I knew this Bomber back in the day. We went to school together
and even wound up in the same graduating class. Well, it just
worked out that way. Yes, he is a member of The Class of '54.
Therefore; a belated tip of the ol' propeller beanie is in
order for Rex "Pat" WOOD ('54). Since I am a day late, I'll
take this opportunity to wish him a very "merry un-birthday."
Interesting reading about the types and "names" of specific
clearances. I believe the "Q" was indigenous to Hanford needed
by anyone who worked for DuPont, GE, Batelle or any of the many
sub-contractors and necessary to get into any of the areas
(700 included). Military "crypto" clearances were hyphenated
depending on specific need and the holder needn't be a
cryptographer. Apparently some staff "genius" decreed that
one must have that clearance to either read a decrypted
message or write one that had to be encrypted before sending.
Guess the idea was to impress someone.
Then there are the "levels" of clearance. The first level was
FOUO (For Official Use Only); then came Confidential (nearly
every one in the military had this one), Secret and Top Secret.
In my time in service the latter two had "Restricted Data" and
"Formerly Restricted Data" appended to the written words and/or
pictures.
If I delve into this any further the "men in black" maybe
coming after me. But, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
-Bob Carlson, aka Mike CLOWES ('54) ~ Mount Angel, OR where
weather guessers have taken 80 degree days off the books
for the moment and are forecasting alternate rainy and
sunny days. Such is life in the NorthWest.
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>>From: Frank WHITESIDE ('63)
To: David DOUGLAS ('62)
David, I read your article about your early experiences with
racial discrimination with interest. In Richland, I never
really thought about it, because we had only a few black kids
in town and I always thought about them in the same manner as
everyone else in school. The Brown brothers - Norris ('57) and
C.W. ('58) - always seemed very popular. It was the same for
Thea Wallace ('63-RIP). He was always a nice guy, and I never
heard an unkind word about him. They were all just were part of
the community like everyone else. I remember Otis who shined
shoes at Ganzel's Barber Shop, as well. Everyone seemed to
like to visit with him. I guess I really wasn't that aware
about what was going on with discrimination in other parts of
the country and the world. In Richland, we lived in a very
sheltered world unlike nearly anyplace else and had little
experience with other races.
You mentioned a "Sandy" Savare. I knew Howard "Howie" SAVARE
('63-RIP) who was in ag class with me. We rode the little
school bus to the ag farm each day and got to know each other
pretty well. His family lived in West Richland, so I only saw
him at school. Anyway, Howie had a great personality and joked
a lot. He was the first black kid that I ever knew. We worked
on the ag farm together and had to put in a certain number of
work hours each month. During lambing season, ag guys had to
stay overnight in a shack on the farm to assist the ewes giving
birth to lambs. We had to check them every hour, which was hard
since we had to go to school the next day (usually). It was
really cold outside, so we huddled by a space-heater and sat
at a table eating snacks, drinking Cokes, playing cards and
visiting. We would nod off and wake to an alarm clock to check
on the sheep. Sometimes the lambs came during the night. If
they were tangled up, we had to assume the role of a "sheep
doctor" which was anything but fun. To make a long story short,
Howie and I got "lamb duty" together one night. I don't think
either of us had stayed together that long with someone of
the opposite race. I think we both realized there was really
nothing different between us and really got to know each other
a lot better. After graduation, I never saw Howie again. Later,
I heard he had joined the Marines, got shipped to Vietnam and
was killed in action. That really left an emotional lump in my
throat, as I felt that I had lost someone important in my life.
Later, Jim HOUSE ('63) wrote that there was a type of Vietnam
vet memorial site online and that people could write things
to/about individuals they had known. Howie's page originally
had nothing written on it until Jim wrote a fitting tribute
about Howie. I immediately followed suit and wrote my own
tribute to him. It wasn't much, but I wanted him to know that
I enjoyed knowing him and that I was highly grateful for his
noble sacrifice for his country and me, personally.
In June 1965, I moved with my folks to Long Beach, Mississippi,
where my dad was assigned to work on the Apollo Space Program
along with other Richlanders. I really felt like I was in a
foreign country. By then, I was pretty aware of the racial
climate and didn't know what to expect. Things were already in
the process of change racially. I barely saw any blacks and
wasn't sure how I would be treated as a "Yankee" by Mississippi
folks. Gas stations still had "black" and "white" bathrooms,
but it didn't appear that anyone obeyed the signs. I never
really heard about or saw any rampant racial problems or
discrimination, so any fears I had were unfounded. That made me
much more comfortable. I know there were problems in other
areas, but I felt fortunate that they didn't affect me in any
way. To this day, I still think about Dr. King's speech and how
he stated the importance of a person's CHARACTER and realize
that CHARACTER is what makes a person, not race, religion or
nationality. How a person lives, raises his/her family and
treats others is what really counts.
-Frank WHITESIDE ('63) ~ In gator and turtle country Bayou Gauche, LA
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Bomber Memorial
>>LeeRoy PARCHEN ~ Class of 1959 ~ 1940 - 2015
Bomber Memorials
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That's it for today. Please send more.
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