A. S. S. ~ Alumni Sandstorm ~ 03/04/22
RED SHIRT FRIDAY - till ALL our troops come home. SF!!!
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5 Bombers sent stuff:
Marilyn "Em" DeVINE ('52)
Dick WIGHT ('52)
Mike CLOWES ('54)
Helen CROSS ('62)
Terry DAVIS ('65)
Next A.S.S. will be published when we have an entry from 5 Bombers
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FROM THE EDITOR: Are y'all ready for the Iditarod? Starts on 3/5/22 -
that's this Saturday.
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>>From: Marilyn "Em" DeVINE ('52)
So sorry to see the death notice for our well-loved George "Pappy" SWAN
('59-RIP) on Feb 5th. He was one of the more creative Richland Bombers
with his yarns about Elves living at his home in Burbank. I know we all
enjoyed his entrees to the Sandstorm! I wish they all could be re-
published here so we older ones could enjoy them again and the younger
readers of the Sandstorm could enjoy them.
[I haven't the energy to go back thru 22 years of
daily Sandstorms to find Pappy's Elf entries. -Maren]
Maren--wow! You really have been through a wringer lately! Glad to know
you are doing better now. Take it easy, Lady, and get help when you need
it. We love you and appreciate all you do to get the Sandstorm out.
-Marilyn "Em" DeVINE ('52) ~ I've been "Em" since 1978 so feel more
comfortable with it than I do with my given name. I use Marilyn
only on legal documents.
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>>From: Dick WIGHT ('52)
Re: Richland's unique history
I awakened the other day and realized I was old - really OLD! As an
octagenarian, my personal history with Richland and the Tri City area spans
nearly 88 years! I bet few Bombers can top that! How am I able to claim
that? I was born in Pasco in 1934. In the first 17 years of my life I lived
in Pasco, Yakima, Walla Walla, Pendleton, Walla Walla (again), Ellensburg,
and finally Richland. Sandwiched in there was a 9-month stint as a high
school freshman at a military school in Portland, OR. My Pasco roots
include my mother, who was born there, and my maternal grandfather who was
a "railroad man" and lontgime local resident. An aunt and three cousins
also grew up there. My father, a Yakima native, was a motion picture
theater manager in Pasco when I was born. So my personal history of the
area is salted with family "lore".
In the mid 1930s, Pasco was the "hub" of the area, population perhaps
4000. It was generally thought of as a railroad town, and also a link to
boat and barge traffic to the lower Columbia river. Across the river was
Kennewick, population maybe 1200 or so. Some say that community was the
original Pasco, and moved across the river to link the river traffic to the
rail system. Pasco's name has disagreements over its origin. I grew up
thinking the name derived from an acronym for PAcific Steamship COmpany.
Others say the name was provided by some surveyor who named it for a
central or south American mountain. Richland was a dot on the map, I guess,
but I had never heard or remember of it until after WW II. I've since
learned it was a small farming community nestled on the banks of the
Columbia, just north of the mouth of the Yakima River. I guess a few
hundred folks may have lived there at its pre-war peak. White Bluffs and
Hanford were similar settlements not far upriver. In summary, the Franklin-
Benton area nestled on the Columbia was primarily a transportation hub,
with agriculture as the second ecocomic "engine".
Enter WWII. The war effort and the huge government project to manufacture
weapons-grade plutonium started in earnest in 1943, I think. Those details
I leave to those who know the facts better than I. My father was fire chief
at a fairly large Army Air Corps base just outside Pendleton during most of
WWII, and then at huge Army medical center in Walla Walla until 1946. Most
of us in the area knew there was a huge construction undertaking going on
across the river from the farmland north of Pasco. Hanford, they called it.
I was too young to be either interested or impressed. In 1947 (I think) my
father took a job as administrative officer of the Richland Fire
Department, and my step mother "signed on" as a surgical nurse at Kadlec
Hospital. Both were employed by General Electric Co. There was no available
housing in Richland, so I managed to cajole the folks into sending me to
Hill Military Academy in Portland. My first memory of the "new Richland"
was when I rode a train from Portland to Pasco - after they secured a
duplex on Van Giesen - for a visit to my new home. Was I unimpressed! Few
trees, lots of sagebrush, rows of wooden houses that all kinda' looked the
same! My opinion didn't change much after I came to Richland to live here
with the folks in June 1948. But the next few years were pivotal for me,
and intriguing to recall.
If Maren runs this in "Alumni Sandstorm", I'll submit the next chapter
soon...
-Dick WIGHT ('52) ~ in Richland digging through old memories
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>>From: Bob Carlson, aka Mike CLOWES ('54)
SENT: 2/16/22
A moment to wish Curt DONAHUE ('53) a "Happy Birthday!"
SENT: 2/21/22
I am reminded by ye olde Bomber calendar that a fellow classmate is having
a birthday. "Happy Birthday!" to Darlene PICKLES ('54).
SENT: 2/26/22
Here's a big "Happy Birthday!" to Marilyn WORKING ('54); and a :Happy
Anniversary!" to Carol TYNER ('52) and Richard ROBERTS ('49).
SENT: 2/28/22
Here's a birthday greeting for one of the younger crowd. Met her at various
Portland Bomber lunches of years past. So, to Lola HEIDLEBAUGH ('60):
"Happy Birthday!"
SENT: 3/2/22
Here's a birthday greeting to fellow classmate Debbie HOLDEN ('54): "Happy
Birthday!" I hope that the waters of Hood Canal have not yet reached your
doorstep.
-Bob Carlson, aka Mike CLOWES ('54) ~ Mount Angel, OR where we will be
celebrating "Folkfest" this weekend. It used to be called "Wurstfest"
but the folks in New Braunfels, TX said they owned the name and we
couldn't use it.
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>>From: Helen CROSS Kirk ('62)
SENT: 2/14/22
First of all I want to wish Marie RUPPERT Hartman ('63) prayers for a
successful surgery this week to help relieve her pain.
I was sorry to learn that Carol BISHOP Horne ('57-RIP) has passed away
too. I was happy to see photos of her with her mom who was one of my
bluebird leaders years ago. My sympathy to their daughters, and many
grandchildren.
And to learn that Pappy SWAN ('59-RIP) has also passed away. We Bombers
have all been blessed to come from Richland, and be blessed with our
lives.
Back here we still have a frozen pond, but with the expected 60°
temperatures the next few days, it won't be frozen solid, that's for sure.
-Helen CROSS Kirk ('62) ~ A shocked and saddened Bengal Land. We came
so close after 33 years!!
Sent from my iPhone
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>>From: Terry DAVIS Knox ('65)
SENT: 2/27/22
Hiya!
Well... this Friday at Richland Players we're opening a clever and
funny play called "A Prude's Progres," set in modern Beverly Hills, with
swimming pool and all.
Directed by the talented Janice Waters, who teaches English at
Richland High School, the show includes some of the familiar faces from
pre-Covid days.
We're all glad to be back, and I promise you'll enjoy yourselves. I
play a loud-mouthed L.A. hustler. Go figure.
Check out poster for details.
http://alumnisandstorm.com/Xtra/Dav/220303-Prudes_Poster.jpg
Masks, yes.
TDK '65
-Terry DAVIS Knox ('65)
Sent from my Samsung SmartPhone
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Bomber Memorial JPEG by Shirley COLLINGS Haskins ('66)
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Pappy SWAN ('59-RIP) ~ 7/1/41 - 2/5/22
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