Nostalgia

Another funny moment: In the cafeteria, on the jukebox (I think installed our sophomore year-1969), Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools" was in heavy rotation. So heavy that the late Steve Turner, in his flamboyant & screamingly funny style, got sick & tired of hearing it. So, one lunchtime he pumped $10 worth of quarters into the machine & the song played non-stop forty times. Lady Soul Torture. Cured everyone methinks.
M.G.
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Now for another Peterson memory:  Do you remember the Pirate cheer-leading chant that went something like:

We eat Cheerios
to keep fit
Buchser Bruins*
You eat...
Shredded Wheat!

* or whoever we were playing that game
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I may be getting old but I have a trivia question that no one but Mr P may be able to answer. Mr Patterakis did our school song. He may have had help from various people (I wasn't too involved in school activities), but the music came from elsewhere. I have the answer if memory serves me correctly. Would anyone else know?

Laurie Christos Sahines '68
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I recently noticed that the gregarious man of many tall tales, Mike Swalley, passed away in 2009. I, Bob Shattuck, was on both the newspaper staff and a member of the Montebello Ridge Rats, along with Mike. I didn't spend much time with Mike in the newspaper office, as he and Duane Shewega were always hot on some story or gag, but I did get to spend a few close days with him on a Ridge Rats road trip.
 

When my dad found out that the Ridge Rats would be going south, to the deserts of California, he signed on as a driver, with room for four. We showed up at the pre-trip meeting to sort out who was going in with whom, and it turned out that my dad, got all the oddballs (like my dad) me, Mike, Randy Wellman and a guy named, Pat . . . Pat with long dark hair and I recall that he might have had a hot sister.
 

Our caravan of cars left the Peterson parking lot early in the morning, with Dan Baer, leading the way and my dad, floating along at the back of the pack.

When we got out on the highway and the sun began to rise, we all pulled out Groucho Marx glasses, with the big nose . . . We picked up speed and cruised by all the other cars, trying to remain serious, staring straight ahead. We got a lot of laughs out of that and it sort of set the tone for the trip. We had fun.

Mike had a story for everything and we all just listened, including my dad, to his many tales . . . He'd already had, if you added it up, more cars, women and close escapes with the law, than anyone. I was always just amazed and a little jealous around him and his stories which he told with such bravado he peppered them with swearing too, which I was reluctant to do in front of my dad, so I was the only one in the car, not saying much.

Pat had a few stories, but mostly he kept quiet and I had the feeling that he was much older and experienced than the rest of us (in spite of Mike's bragging) and he kept swiping things from the gas stations and showing them to me.

Randy Wellman, well, what can I say, I think he got verbally abused and tossed in the trash can by Mike and Pat the entire trip, but we all ultimately got along.

We were down in Twenty-Nine Palms, I think, in some campground and a certain cheerleader/prom queen took an interest in my dad's car, a 1963 Dodge Polara. Why she wanted to drive it, I do not know. But I vaguely recall Mike calling my attention to the fact that at one point, my dad came driving by with this cheerleader sitting in his lap and steering the car. I think dropping a few jaws of the other parents.

I don't know what Mike did after high school, but I hope he found those cars, girls and thrills.
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Tom Bruce spent weeks practicing how to skip the water polo ball across the surface of the pool.

 

The score was all tied up with just 3 seconds left to play. We had control of the ball and our coach called time out. Tom was the fastest swimmer on the team. The play would be a toss to Tom and shoot. He had a clear shot at ¾ the distance of the pool against the best goalie in our league. Tom skipped the ball on the water and scored a goal in the upper corner of the net. We won. Now we understood why Tom spent weeks to perfect the skip shot.
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A bunch of us were in the Journalism Offices and debated how to spell a word (can't recall what it was...this long before PC's and spell-check). So we decided to ask someone. We randomly called a classroom and it ended up being Mr. Hooper's. We asked "How do you spell ________?", never identifying ourselves. Mr. Hooper responded as though it were an insult...asking if the caller were a fellow teacher by name ("is this Battaglia?") We laughed and hung up. Then, every day for about 2 weeks, we called at the exact same time, asking the exact same question. Obviously we drove him nuts (besides, the phone ring in the classrooms would wake the dead). Sometime in the third week I was talking to Mr. Hooper about something in the quad when one of my co-conspirators came up to us and asked "How do you spell _______". Mr. Hooper had a stunned look on his face, looking at him, then me. I realized I was in deep trouble and took off....with Mr. Hooper sprinting after me yelling ! for me to stop. A few corners later I was able to duck into Mr. Buchser's office. I don't recall his secretary's name, but she let me hide in the back office and even lied to Mr. Hooper saying she hadn't seen me. Pretty much all of us stayed clear of Mr. Hooper for quite a while after that.  -- Dennis (Alpeter) Allen
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I was just reading the story page and saw the two lines about who painted the mural of the pirate ship. To clarify, and get the details straight, Susie was just one of the painters on that mural. Pam Staal actually designed the mural and painted it also. As you can guess, that is me!!

Pam Staal
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It was Spring of 1973, and the Morro Bay Bay High School Choir, directed by our old Patrick Henry music teacher Mrs. Tingle, came to Peterson to do a concert with the PHS choir. Mr. Patterakis sang the baritone solo on "The Beatitudes". Afterwards, R.O. said "Party at my house!" There were about 60 people in Peterson's choir, and about 40 from Morro Bay, and I think at least half of us were trying to fit into R.O.'s house. Then a car pulled up in front, and two non-choir members got out with cases of beer in hand. One of the Morro bay guys stood in the doorway and declared "Our girls are not going to drink." (Seems very paternalistic in retrospect...) The beer guys got mad, and S.R. stepped in and said "Those of us who don't want to drink can "find somewhere else to go." Before we knew it, a crowd of non-drinkers had formed in the front yard. L.M. and his older sister B. said "Hey, anyone who doesn't want to drink can come over to our house." And we went. Mr. and Mrs. M. invited us in with open arms and provided popcorn and drinks. About 25 of us sat in a circle on their living room floor playing "pas the guitar" and singing songs. I became pen pals with many of those Morro Bay people, and developed some strong friendships. Just last year, one of those friends came for dinner with her husband en route to their now home in Alaska. I feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to sing with the Morro Bay choir all those years ago, and especially, to have had a music teacher who put forth the energy to arrange it. - D.H.
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School Spirit. What does it mean? I've taught in several high schools, and none of them compares to what we had at Peterson. Maybe we didn't respond every time our Yell Leaders coaxed us, but we all knew the yells and cheers, and I think every one of us yelled them at least once at some rally or homecoming game. And I distinctly remember catching myself, and a bunch of girls and guys, doing the hand motions too, at some frenzied football game. Many of us weren't embarrassed to yell right along with the cheerleaders, full voice, when the going got tough in the gym or on the field, or in the Quad on our day during Spirit Week.... Want to deny you participation? I have pictures etched in my memory of all the people who spent countless hours building our class float in my garage two years in a row. Of diverse people working together to hang a poster at midnight from the roof of the Quad. Of people showing up on a Saturday to paint the Quad in Black and Gold. Of students digging, planting, working to build the Nature Center, which received national recognition in Time magazine. I've never seen that kind of spirit in any other high school. I've taught at the other schools. Peterson was different. We cared. - D.H.

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Remember who painted the pirate ship on the library wall? The artist is Susi Schmeel class of '76
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WHEN someone painted Class of 78 on the fence that surrounded the pool? Wellllllll, I know who did it! And I still have the pink paint on my Class Ring to prove it. C.H.
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About the fish tank and fizzies... I think everyone who ever went to Peterson knows exactly which science teacher this involved.
I seem to recall someone doing the same thing with Alka Seltzer--A.
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They were ROOT BEER FIZZIES! P.L.
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I seem to remember someone with the initials RV putting fizzies in the science teacher's fish tank!! DA
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REMEMBER WHEN Class of 74 got caught TP ing a rival school?
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Early in my Freshman year, there was an oil spill just outside the Golden Gate. Some Peterson teachers organized a clean-up trip for that Saturday. They even hired a school bus. We arrived that Saturday at 9am, permission slips in hand. The bus driver asked if we'd all brought along a change of clothes - he didn't want an oil slick in his bus when we got back! Several of us hadn't received that instruction, so he drove the bus to our houses to get extra clothes! On the bus, I sat next to an older girl I didn't know. She asked my name, then introduced herself as Joan. I asked if she was a Junior, or Senior? She chuckled and replied "About ten times over." I didn't get it. Only later did I discover that she was Mrs. Joan Owen, English teacher. I vowed then and there to take a class with her before I graduated. When we arrived in Marin County, We were assigned a strip of beach to clean. We walked for miles along that beach looking for oil, and found none, but we had a blast doing it. Then we ate our sack lunches and walked back to our bus. On the way home, the bus stopped at the SF Zoo. One of the teachers convinced someone at the gate that we deserved to get in for free. However, we had only 45 minutes. I joined up with a group led by GF and MP and we RAN through the entire zoo. We saw everything, watched the monkeys play, let the monkeys watch us, even fed the seals - all in 45 minutes. I was exhausted. But I developed a wonderful friendship with GF and MP as a result. --- D.H.
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Remember: *The baby possums in the science room * Bus rides to football games
*Class of '80, Around the World in 80 days Homecoming float had it's top cut off by a power line on the way to the game. It went in the parade anyway. *Doug Field after Drum Major Camp. He was great! *E. S. on the train heading for Anaheim. We girls wore tuxedos and she looked stunning! KC & The sunshine Band played for Grad Night. *The Alto part to Silent Night. I can still do it. *The muddy Homecoming when the football team ran through the Color Guard flags during the Fight Song. We were just splattered! Then it was time for the ladies of the Court, in their gorgeous dresses and heels, to walk through the cascade of flags. They were very good sports considering that they were a mess after walking just a few feet. *Mr. Paris would get infectious giggles. If something tickled him we could keep it going until he would have to wipe his eyes. *Mr. Patterakis yelling at me during a rehearsal for Pajama Game. I had a one line, walk on and off part that was hard for me to time. That was the only moment that he ever scared me.*Playing the theme music to JAWS. It was really beautiful.*Wearing that yellow robe for graduation day and getting my diploma.******K.G.
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Our senior year, the Morro Bay Choir returned. They arrived at (:30am. Having left home at 5am, the students were exhausted. They went to the cafeteria and put their heads down on the tables to sleep. However, the Peterson Band was rehearsing on stage, so sleep was difficult! As the period came to a close, Mr. Patterakis led the Band through one of their best songs, "McArthur Park". It was nothing less than magnificent. I watched as the singers began to sit up and take notice. When the Petersno Band finished the song, the Morro Bay Choir rose to their feet to give them a standing ovation. D.H.
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The Cross-Country Team's annual Root Beer Run, for coupons for free rootbeers at A&W. I never got more than the one coupon for participating.*The sit-in in the attendance office...can't even remember what was in protest of now! * Prank Night 1974...when we received the dubious honor of having caused more damage to the school (and Bob Buchser's T-Bird convertible) tean any class before or after...and then finding out that most of the damage had been done by returning graduates oand other "outsiders" Helping affix balloons to the bottom of the diving pool that night, and spreading vaseline on the doorknobs oand toilet seats in the teacher's lounge, too. * When the mural was painted on the libraty wall... and someone "modified" a section of it to represent something obscene. * 1973 and the championship football team! the Thanksgiving game that year, when the opposing team's drum major slid halfway across the field on his face, in the mud. * Going to a basketball game in the gym, and hearing the announcement at halftime that the peace treaty had been signed in Paris..and that no more of us would be going to Vietnam. Hearing about members of previous classes who went and never came back. Watching Everett Alvarez get off the plane, and watching him throw out the first pitch in Oakland that year.* The Senior Lawn, and having my girlfriend have to explain to her mother why she had grass in her hair. * Refurbishing bicycles in Judd Smith's shop classroom after school.. and finding out one morning that he'd died// and planting a tree in his honor on the school grounds. * Borrowing on teacher's copy of Mao's Little Red Book.. without his permission. * Never beating Mr. Julian at checkers...did anyone?? * Grad Night...having someone utter the word "skyjacking" while we were waiting at the gate, and watching while he was placed against the wall and searched. Then waiting on the bus in the Disneyland parking lot for a couple of classmates who ended up getting left behind because they were late. * Don Phillips being able to understand what was being whispered in the back of the class because he could read lips. Oh, how many times did I get busted by him! * the class reunion in 1994...seeing how many classmates hadn't changed..and how many had!!
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One day during lunch, the Rev. Ernie Bringas came to visit our school. Ernie was the leader of "YF" at the Good Samaritan United Methodist Church, (and he also gave the invocation at the 1974 graduation ceremony). That day, Ernie garnered quite a crowd - well over 100 kids that knew him....large enough, and secure enough, that we formed a circle around the quad and did the "California Clap", sort of an official YF cheer, in front of all our classmates. D.H.
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Half of Senior Class of 68 went to San Jose to get a VD check up. It was several bus loads. Ask B.......... I am leaving the name off to protect him!
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I remember when D.D. hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to beat Wilcox High School as time ran out in a basketball game around 1969
I think-DA
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One day our Junior year, I received a note in one of my classes to go see Mr. Graves, the Drama teacher. He told me that I was teh only guy from the cast of the musical that year who was not going to the prom, and he really wanted everyone to go. I didn't want to tell him about not having anyone to take, but I did tell him that I didn't have a job and that I couldn't afford to rent a tux, pay for dinner, buy the bid, etc. He offered to pay so that I could go. That's the kind of teacher we had at Peterson - D.H.
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I remember our first Frosh car wash. Afterwards, a bunch of us went over to MT's house to paint posters. We eventually ended up inside. There was a large dining room table with an oversized tablecloth, and some guys sat down to play poker. GG walked in and asked what we were playing. DL replied "Strip Poker. Wanna play?" G blushed, but didn't believe D. Then he pointed to the tablecloth in our laps and said "All of us have lost our pants already." G asked if she could just sit at the table and watch for one hand. We consented. Midway through the hand, G exclaimed "You all have your pants on!" to which we replied "You looked! D.H.
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Does any body remember spray paint in the main quad and near the gym too?
Lauren
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