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Remmick-Hubert Special Page - Lodi Union High School, Class of 1960-Newsletter

Vol. 8: 17 Feb 2002: Page Twelve

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In a message dated 7/18.02...., footcandl@aol.com writes:

<<Congratulations Judy, on your new grand daughter, Sarah. Aren't they fun.

A little late news from Tom. I hope you can squeeze me into your deadline for the high school alum newsletter.

Tom was remarried on May 10th in Portland to a Florida native, Fran Berlin....who is not quite adjusted to the Oregon weather after seven years of residence. They supplemented their honeymoon by buying two sea kayaks to cruise the quiet waters of the Pacific Northwest....white water is for the a younger generation.

Tom transitioned out of his interior design practice in the early nineties, and into the narrowly focused practice of lighting design for high end homes. His practice covers most of the western states and sometimes a project east of the Rockies. Retirement is not in the picture....he is having way too much fun.

He and his brothers are planning a birthday celebration in Stockton on August 17th, for their father Ralph, who turns...a healthy ninety years old, and a little wrinkled from an active outdoor life in California. Boy, we all hope, we can hang on that long and still have a sharp mind. Any of Tom's school mates who remember Ralph, who loved to greet his friends at the family home on Cabrillo Circle in Lodi, are welcome to attend. Please call Tom at his office number: 503-257-0334, for the time and location.

Tom Dearborn, IESNA, ASID

Tom Dearborn Lighting Design

PO Box 20788

Portland OR 97294

P - (503) 257-0334

F - (503) 257 9896

E - footcandl@aol.com

W - www.dearbornlighting.com>>

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In a message dated 7/8/02 7:45:32 AM, eaa@fidnet.com writes:

<< Dear Class Mates: I just received word that Guy P Wakefield has passed away. I was told that he died July 6th 2002. Also Jim lynch passed away several months ago. Buy was hospitalized for congestive heart failure. He had hip surgery a year ago and was not able to get around much since.

I was also told that Elvera Melby is still playing golf on a regular basis.

I think she could beat me too. Tom Bandelin is doing well also. These people were seen at a recent birthday of Leroy Carney. History teacher at Lodi High.

With regard to your questions:.....

Regards

Clyde Ehrhardt >>

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Letter #1:

In a message dated 4/27/02 5:05:52 PM, rmarkle1@softcom.net writes:

<< Hi Judy:

The Lodi News Sentinel today had an article about searching one's name on the Google Search engine. After typing in "Ron Markle" I discovered your Memoirs site. I spent most of the afternoon reading your memoirs.

I want to let you know who much I enjoyed it. I wish my memory was half as good as yours but reading the early years brought back a lot of good times.

Your remembrance of me was very touching. I never knew that you also had polio. I do remember the nursery at the old WWII bungalows on Lodi Avenue. Perhaps we caught it there. I have not let the polio slow me down too much. I do now have to use a cane to get around any distance but no complaints.

After working for the State for 37 years, I retired in 2000 and I am enjoying life back in Lodi. I looked you up on the Classmate site and it appears you are an attorney and living in San Francisco. You are very talented with your writing and with your web site.

Again, thanks for the memories. Your classmate and friend. Ron Markle

p.s. Grade 5- Miss Wissman's Class, the good looking girl (#9) was Judy Hall. When I went into Shrinner's Hospital in San Francisco, some of the kids from Garfield sent me letters ( a class assignment, I think). She sent me a picture of her sitting on a rock overlooking Lake Tahoe. I fell head over heals. When I got out of the hospital, she came by the house and visited me once. I still have that picture.

Remmick's Note: Ron is refering to a story I have in my Memoirs when I talk about having polio and when I returned to Nursery School, Ron was absent, I heard he had polio, and didn't see him again until we had a class together in grammar school. He, Forest and I would ride home from school, and, for a time, we did our homework together.

Letter #2

Judy--Thanks for the URL for the Newsletters. I read them all this afternoon. Please go ahead and add my name, and e-mail, and the letter to the newsletter if you like. I may put together responses to some of the questions answered by other classmates in the newsletter and sent it to you in the future.--Ron Markle-Class of 60

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In a message dated 6/26/02 5:50:23 PM, cmetzger@earthlink.net writes:

<< Dear Judy, please put me on your list for the newsletter. Judy Bonfilio wrote and told me about your site and suggested I give you my e-mail address which is: cmetzger@earthlink.net.

Presently I am working part-time as an activity director at a Methodist retirement community and taking graduate courses in gerontology at East Carolina University here in Greenville, NC where I live. My husband, Jim, died in Nov. of 2000 after moving to Denver for just 3 months. He had accepted a position at the U. of Co and National Jewish Hospital. Since we had lived in NC for over 16 years, I returned to Greenville to be close to wonderfully supportive friends and family and have found that I truly love working with "senior" adults.---Shall be visiting my family in Lodi in August and am also looking forward to seeing Judy and Marsha Sanger as I've kept in touch with them for the past 40 years! Thank you very much,

Carol Hughes Metzger

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Hi Judy -

I see under class listing, it says "lost contact" for my email address.

Its "sierralady@hotmail.com".

Thanks, keep in touch, I enjoy the updates!

Aetna Nicewonger Mayfield

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Hi,

.....our new address is

motorhometns@softcom.net

Tom and Nadine

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In a message dated 4/27/02 2:03:07 AM, jfgrins@hotmail.com writes:

<< Update #8

April 27, 2002

Hafa adai ( "half a day") the Chamarro greeting of Guam

Greetings and Konnichiwa from MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station), Iwakuni, Japan.

An earthquake woke me on March 25. Fell right back to sleep after the room quit shaking, but we all discussed it the next day in school. Thought I was back in California. Most of my students felt it. Happened at 11:00 PM. First one that I've felt since I've been here, even though I've heard/read of others.

At least once each week, Carol, Dan and I head out the gates on our bikes to go on our produce-bike-route. It is along two arms of the Nishiki River and is so scenic. The locals have their little plots of land that they care for which are so neat and tidy. I wave as we go by. I'm always in the back tagging along and soaking in the sights. We stand out as we're Americans with bike helmets. Most are friendly and offer a "konnichiwa". Even though there's a fresh produce place right out the gate, this one is so much better. Doesn't take advantage of the "gringos" as much as the one closer by. He also is located about halfway through our ride, so it offers a rest and time for a hot or cold drink, depending on the weather, from a machine. There are always interesting "finds" - some I'll never buy again. One was a black bean drink. Was "interesting" but not top on my list of repeats, but it was hot and the day was cold, so it worked.

The other day on our ride the tide was way out and we saw many gathering seaweed from the rocks. They then dry the seaweed on bamboo poles set up along the banks of the river next to our bike trail. Who knows, maybe that's the end product of what I buy in the stores. I've discovered a delicious NORI, seaweed, that comes in flat rectangular sheets that is so tasty.

Joined two friends one Sunday afternoon recently for a performance at the civic center in downtown Iwakuni. Many different groups came on stage and sang. Didn't understand a thing that was going on, but it was a very happy occasion as all were clapping and smiling. The other two even understood Japanese somewhat or at least can converse with the locals. I'm still in the salutations category. So, the language continues to be a big barrier. We left before it was over as one can only stand being in the dark for so long.

My ad asking for bridge players was in the local newspaper for weeks. Never received one response. So, two of us play cribbage instead. We try to play a few games at least once each week. So much for bridge in Iwakuni; just doesn't exist. (Does that speak of my surroundings?) Perhaps if my ad was asking for poker players I might have been more successful.

On March 23, I took a tour sponsored by the Japanese American Society and the base cultural community services. Our first stop was the Miyoshi Winery. It was NOTHING like our wineries. It was very new looking; all stainless steel and sterile. It did have one old oak barrel by the front door. We only looked through the glass windows and that was the tour. It was all spoken in Japanese as well, so I didn't learn too much. However, we did taste wine to our heart's content which consisted mainly of wines made with fruit other than grapes and tended to be sweet. We then ate yakiniku in a large dining area. We had to cook our own food over a brazier. Most of my food was quite well done as I'm not too good at flipping food around on chopsticks and talking at the same time. We then played games in a grassy area to mingle together.

From there the two buses drove to Hirata Strawberry Farm, a 1/2 hour away. They let us loose in a greenhouse with a small basket in which we were to place the stems after we consumed the strawberries. We could only pick strawberries that we'd eat there. None could be carried away. The berries were on two trays located at waist and shoulder levels. Never had to stoop over so it was an effortless activity as well very delicious. I soon discovered that even the berries that had white on them were as sweet as sugar; they didn't have to be all red. Surely did get my fill of strawberries, but I was a bit disappointed in that I came away empty handed.

The Friday before Easter, we made paper bunny ears, and my class was a good sport, for the most part, in wearing them throughout the day. Most teachers/staff participated in the silliness too. It was a fun time.

The cherry blossoms hit their peak the weekend of March 30. On Saturday, I rode with Carol and Dan to the Kintai Bridge area along with MANY other tourists, as the place was swarming with people. Luckily we were on bicycles so were able to maneuver around with much ease. The blossoms were gorgeous and plentiful; truly a beautiful sight.

The next day I joined three other Americans and seven Japanese people for a barbeque in a park in Otake, a nearby town. People gather at cherry blossom time to sit under the blossoms and eat, drink and be merry. I only knew two others so it was fun meeting and chatting with friends of friends. After dinner we were served green tea and two of us were given the bowls that it was served in. We joined in with the group who was gathered next to us, all men, in a game of "catch the ball off the roof." They were drinking quite a bit, so I'm not real sure about the rules. Paper lanterns encircled the park area and as we left they were all aglow as dusk was upon us, so it was a very pretty sight. Shortly thereafter, it "rained" blossoms and I felt as if I were in a snowstorm.

On Easter Sunday, seven of us gathered at the home of the one the teachers who lives out on the economy. She lives in a large Japanese-style home which boasts of two tatami rooms. It was a potluck dinner, so we each brought enough to share and feed many more than just us seven. I ate way too much but the food and company was comforting.

The end of the third quarter was April 4, with a workday on April 5 to write grades/comments on report cards. I finished up at 2:15 and then started planning for when I returned from Spring Break. Spring Break officially started at 3:00, even though I was planning until the wee hours trying to get organized.

Nelia Asada, a fourth grade teacher here, and I had planned a trip to Guam and Palau/Yap. However, she told me about three weeks prior to departure that she didn't have her passport in hand. She had to mail it to Tokyo to have more pages added. I surely didn't want to pay in advance without the assurance that I had someone to go with me. So, I started asking around to try and get on other tours that were available and discovered that there was still room on two of them, so I just waited. Talk about the eleventh hour!!! Nelia's passport arrived Thursday, April 4. So, we bought our tickets first thing on Friday. The office closed at 11 AM because of some training. Thank goodness that was a workday or else we wouldn't have had time. SIGH!!! That was pushing it a bit too close for me, but it all worked out okay. Packed a small bag and we were good to go. We had to take a taxi to the Iwakuni Shin station and it was a two-hour train ride to Fukuoka where we caught our flight to Guam. We had a layover there before catching our next flight to Palau. Arrived there that night very tired of sitting in taxis, trains, planes and places in between.

We had booked our hotel over the internet, at the last minute of course. Our hotel wasn't in the 5-star category range, or even close, but it was clean, comfortable, located right "downtown" and had a great view. However, the water was turned off at 10:30 PM and of course we discovered that the hard way. The average temperature there is 82 degrees with humidity at 82%, so a bit on the warm/sticky side.

Our first day we walked the "town" of Koror, its capital, along a semi-paved two lane road, to check out the sights. Visited the Palau International Coral Reef Center which was informative and very colorful. However, experienced a downpour that didn't want to quit, so we hired a taxi to deliver us to the "Mall Area" so we were able to shop in comfort and dryness. Afterwards we went to a local historical museum, the "oldest in Micronesia" was their claim to fame. It had closed but they opened for us. We could have been their only customers all day, as we found out that tourists don't go to Palau to frequent museums, but rather to dive.

The curator offered us a ride down the hill and dropped us off at another "mall" that we had discovered earlier in the day and found a shuttle that ran to a fancy resort, so we promptly hopped aboard and ended up at the Palau Pacific Resort. It was jumping with tourists who came in on packaged tours. They herded them in by vans and we got caught up in one welcoming. Enjoyed dinner there and then returned to our V.I.P. Hotel on the main strip.

On our next day, we had signed up for an all day trip to the Rock Islands. There were four of us on this trip along with the snorkeling guide/instructor and boat driver. What a fun day that was!

Our first stop was Jellyfish Lake where we swam with orangish-white jellyfish of all sizes. They have evolved over time to have a symbiotic relationship with a parasite which lives on them, so they've lost their ability to sting. This parasite provides its food. They follow the sun as the parasite needs the sun in order to reproduce. At first, I was very jumpy at everything that would brush against me and I was never totally at ease with "things" in the water, but it got better as I stayed in longer. The guide said there were billions of them in this lake. I don't know, but there surely were a lot of them. There were sea anomenes which fed on the jellyfish, but they were mainly in the shaded areas. Perhaps at night is when they get their dinner.

Our next stop was Turtle Cove. Didn't see any turtles but surely saw MANY very colorful fish and corals, as well as three white-tipped sharks. We were told that they were more afraid of us than visa versa, but all the same, they made me nervous. The colors were breathtaking.

Our third stop was an area where one could dramatically see/feel the difference in water temperature and coral as it was close by to a huge trench that was right next to it. The temperature of the water changed as well from warm to quite chilly. Saw gorgeous parrot fish along with many of its colorful friends.

Our last stop was at Cemetery Reef where we saw many of the same types of fish, but the coral was altogether different from the others we'd seen. I hadn't been snorkeling for twenty years and had forgotten just how gorgeous the coral reef world was.

Palau itself is an oddity; a mixture of the old world and the new. They use American currency and drive on the right hand side of the road, however their cars have the steering wheels on either side depending if it's Japanese made or Korean/US made. We saw the "latest news" coming from S.F., but it was one week late. The TV reception was like the water, as it would cut off now and then, and not predictable. El Nino played havoc there ten or so years ago as the water turned very warm and killed off much of the coral which of course caused a chain reaction. It has grown back now almost to what it used to be, however there's talk of another El Nino.

After three days in Palau, we boarded our flight to Guam and made a two hour stop on the island of Yap. Yap is another great area for diving from what we've been told. I asked a young student who sat across from me on the airplane who was there with his class for one semester counting/classifying fish, to compare Yap to Palau and he said that the fish on both is about the same, except that Yap is known for its beautiful corals. There was quite a large group of people boarding our flight who had spent ten days there. Planes don't go in and out of these places every day, so they tend to be full when they do go.

We were met in Guam by a representative from our hotel and were taken there which was about a ten minute ride. Rented a car for two days and saw all that we could in that time. The first day we headed south and the next day headed north. Visited the navy base in the south and arrived about lunch time. Shopped at the P.X. and then continued along the scenic route around the island. Saw the monument to Ferdinand Ma-gellan as he stopped by in 1521. There were many World War 11 relics/battlegrounds along the coast.

The next day, we visited the air force base at lunch time and paid a visit to the P.X. as well. Saw some very pretty beaches and vistas. The climate is tropical year-round. U.S. currency is used, they drive as we do and English is the predominate language; I think Japanese is second and Chamorro third. Most tourists are Japanese and honeymooners. One article called Guam Japan's Miami Beach, and another article called it a "giant K-Mart" and there is a HUGE K-Mart there along with three very large malls (real malls, not Palau malls ). Guam is the largest and most populous of the fifteen Marianas islands and is the largest landmass between Hawaii and the Philippines. Guam was interesting, but not a must to revisit, whereas Palau had charm and a reason to return.

Pretty please excuse all of the mistakes. Gee, I got carried away. Sorry. Hope all is just right.

Sayonara and TTFN

Marsha Sanger< >>