GCCCD Grapevine

Volume 15, Number 2                                                Grapevine Home                                                July, 2005

 
Rear, l to r:  Honored Retirees Shannon O'Dunn, Cathi Robertson, Dr. Elisabeth Hamel, Mel Amov, Gay Cox, Judy DeLong, Dr. Jim Sumich & Ron Tatro.      Front, l to r:  Sally Nichelson, Dr. Diane Merlos, Judy Alexander, Mary Watkins, Barbara Payson, Irene Zens & Willene Harley.

Cruising Into Retirement

Nearly sixty GCCCD retirees were honored at a recognition dinner and dance, "Cruising Into Retirement", on May 26 at the Seaside Room of the Marina Village at Quivera Basin on Mission Bay. This gala event was produced and coordinated by the two college foundations. In addition to our district (the primary sponsor), other sponsors of this very successful celebration were the GCCCD Auxiliary, Grossmont College, Grossmont Schools Federal Credit Union, LPL, and other local organizations and individuals too numerous to mention here.

There were 128 retirees, fellow workers and guests at the launching of this event. The cruise-like atmosphere was evident in the large picture windows overlooking the yacht-filled basin, showing the changing colors of the sky as dusk descended. You could almost hear the screech of gulls flying overhead. A no-host bar provided a good variety of beverages and there was plenty of opportunity to socialize with colleagues, retirees, and guests before the dinner and ceremonies began. After the buffet dinner, Peter White, a most capable Master of Ceremonies, introduced and awarded each of the retirees individually. Popular music from the year the retiree was hired was played over the sound system as each walked (or sometimes danced) to the microphone to receive their recognition and award. Following the individual awards, the entire group gathered at the microphone for more applause and photographs. After the ceremony, many stayed on to dance and socialize.

Among the many attendees were Chancellor Dr. Omero Suarez, Cuyamaca College President, Dr. Geraldine Perri, Grossmont College President Dr. Ted Martinez, and GCCCD board members, Rick Alexander and Deanna Weeks. In addition to the new and recent retirees who were being honored, a number of long-time retirees also attended, including; Mary Ann Beverly, Lee Brown, Shirl Collamer, Wayne Harmon, Bob Holden, Marie James, Lynn Magee, Millie McAuley, Dick Mellien, Eddie Parris, Joanne Prescott, Glyn Rowbotham, Bob Rump, Tom Scanlan, Joanne Silva, Bob and Virginia Steinbach and Gene Sumner.

The Grossmont College Foundation and the Cuyamaca College Foundation deserve special thanks for their considerable efforts in making this event an immense success. The event committee members were; Bernadette Black, Leonita Cole, Maggie Gonzales, Howard Kummerman (Director of the Grossmont College Foundation), Logan McIntosh, Alba Orr, Joanne Prescott (representing old-time retirees) and Stan Schroeder (representing Cuyamaca College Foundation). They launched a ship-full of happy retirees who will always remember this particular voyage as one of their happiest. ts

                                                            click on blue-bordered photos to enlarge
       
            Guests applauding the new retirees                        Wining and dining at the Marina Village Seaside Room

                
   Grossmont College Pres. Dr. Ted Martinez           Retirement Dinner Committee members                      Bob & Virginia Steinbach &   
  & GC Foundation Dir. Howard Kummerman                  Alba Orr & Joanne Prescott                             Wayne Harmon enjoying a laugh

       
    Barbara Klein, Irene Zens, Lynn Magee, Judy Delong                           Wayne Harmon, Ray Resler, Karl Rosenquist & Shirl Collamer
                                                                                  & Diane Sandoval   

      MC  Peter White  & Sally Nichelson,      Peter White   & Mel Amov,           Peter White & Mary Watkins,                Peter White & Gay Cox,    
         ret.  Payroll Supervisor                   ret. UF Pres. & History Instr.             ret. Chancellor's Secretary        ret. Exr. Sci. Instr. with 41.5 yrs

All photos (except the 8th)  courtesy of David Zumaya.   All photos taken by David Zumaya at the event can be viewed and purchased at his website Gallery at  http://www.printroom.com/ghome.asp?domain_name=SDSpecialEventsPhotography  

 Editor’s Comments
            
                  By Bob Steinbach

I had an epiphany at the Second Tuesday Breakfast in May. Epiphanies are infrequent these days for which I’m glad. Let me comment on it, and then I’ll tell you why I’m glad they are infrequent.

Irene Zens, Barbara Klein, Bobbi and Neil Towne, Wayne Harmon, Tom Scanlan and I were discussing the demise of our short-term memories – "Why did I come into this room?"

The conversation reminded me of a thought experiment I performed in the past. If thought experiments worked for Einstein, they ought to work for me. I started putting memories from 1962, the year I first started at Grossmont, into the left pan of a balance. Into the right pan, I put memories from 1992, the year I retired. I worked forward in time with the left pan and backward in time with the right pan, always careful to keep the pans balanced until finally, all my memories were in the pans.

The median memory occurred in 1971. Astounding! Memories were twice as dense in the first ten years of my career as they were in the last twenty. I remembered more students, more committee meetings, more political maneuvering, more colleagues, more administrators, more events, more humor, … It’s no wonder we get together and talk about the old days; we don’t remember the new ones. Clearly, the memory scheme is first in -- last out.

Virginia and I are Jeopardy fans. (No, I’m not changing the subject, just introducing the second component of the epiphany.) Playing along at home, Jeopardy is a lot like golf -- it doesn’t involve strategizing against an opponent. The joy is in a well-played game; can you come up with the question before the contestants or Alex?

Often, I find myself saying, "I knew that, I just couldn’t come up with the name/title/place." It’s interesting how one can tell you that they know something without being able to display that knowledge. I think that’s what some of my students were trying to tell me in the classroom.

And here is the epiphany; a minor one I know but, as I say, they don’t come all that often anymore: We like Jeopardy because we are learning a foreign language; one that helps us cope with our failing memories. We are learning to speak Jeopardese. When you can’t come up with a word, you start giving clues.

In a conversation, Virginia said to me, "… you know, the guy with the arrow through his head."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. He played the guy with the long nose."

"Right!" So we continue the conversation, knowing whom we are talking about, but unable to come up with his name.

Several days later, one of us managed to say, "Steve Martin!"

"Huh?"

"You know, the guy we were talking about a couple of days ago."

"Oh, yeah. What were we talking about?"

"Ummmmmmm …"

The family classic occurred about twenty years ago as we sat down for dinner one evening. My Dad said, "I want a … umm … sheet from the wall." Think in Jeopardese: It’s a sheet from the wall. Beep. What is a paper towel?

I’m glad epiphanies happen infrequently because the next day I always remember that I had one, but I don’t remember what it was.

College Foundations Sponsors Grapevine 
                                                                                                                                                 Howard Kummerman

As mentioned in the previous issue of Grapevine, there were uncertainties about the future of this newsletter. I’m happy to announce that Howard Kummerman, Director of Grossmont College Foundation, stepped forward and offered to sponsor your publication, with the help of the Cuyamaca College Foundation. The district will continue to provide assistance with word-processing and staff photos (we’d never make it, honestly, without the help of Sirkka Huovila and John Dixon). The two college foundations will cover the cost of publication, which will increase with the advent of color printing (see article below). The Grapevine staff thank the college foundations for their generosity and look forward to continued production of your retiree newsletter under their sponsorship. ts

   Grapevine Goes Color and PDF 

Because so much of our news includes pictures, we’ve decided to publish your newsletter in color, using a different process which also increases the picture resolution. High resolution color pictures were only available in the online version of Grapevine until now. Color printing will increase production costs significantly, so we are appealing to those of you who access the internet to consider receiving your Grapevine electronically. Each issue would be e-mailed to you as a .pdf attachment, a type of file which when opened is exactly the same as the printed version. It can be read on your computer screen at your leisure or printed out, fully or partially if you choose, and will look just like the hard-copy which is mailed to readers who don’t choose the electronic option.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is the software required to open and read .pdf files. It is available online free, as a downloadable application, at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html Many of you probably already have and use this application because it has been used internationally for many years now.

The electronic version will save the two college foundations considerable publishing and mailing costs by conserving resources such as paper, ink and machine time, and the human labor required to transport, fold, attach labels, and mail the newsletter. Advantages to the reader include faster delivery, interactive links to related issues or websites, and interactive mail links to Grapevine staff or letter writers. The html version of the Grapevine which is currently available online will be replaced by the .pdf version, which will continue to be available at Grapevine’s website for anyone to open or download, and it also will be archived with all the previous html issues.

If you can help us reduce costs by receiving the electronic version instead of the hard copy version of Grapevine, please let us know at your earliest convenience by sending a short e-mail response to Grossmont.foundation@gcccd.net

Driftwood
    Snippets of gossip that have been burnished by friends and washed up on the Grapevine desk
     
          by Bob Steinbach           

They shall remain nameless – a couple of retirees enjoyed 10 days of exploring central Mexico, including Zijuatanejo, and Morelia in June.

  Milly Berry has moved to Chase Care Center in El Cajon. She is in room 311B for those who would like to send a card.

  Shirl Collamer and Rosie returned from a two-week visit to the East Coast just in time to attend the district retirement party in May.

Wilma and Art Fitzner will be traveling to Glacier Park, Montana in July.   They also plan to attend an all-city reunion in Wilma's hometown of Cut Bank, Montana.

  Bob Holden/Venzon proudly told me that his wife, Sandra, is no longer a Republican. He didn’t say whether he ground her down or it was events from the White House that turned her.

  Jerry Humpert and Sherry enjoyed a two-week long adventure in Italy north of Rome. Venice, their first stop was probably their favorite, but they also enjoyed a farm stay and rent-car in Sienna where they explored Tuscany. They also spent a few days on the coast.

Sally and    Ivan Jones spent a couple of weeks in May in Alaska with his son. They really like that area: "fish (FISH), sights, fresh air and wonderful, adventurous people."

  Linda Mann writes, "I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in January 2004, bought a house, and have quickly found my niche in this wonderful ‘artsy’ community of 60,000.  I am part-time coordinator of ARTfeast, an annual February weekend of gallery and restaurant events that is a benefit for art supplies in the public schools.  ARTfeast weekend is a project of the Santa Fe Gallery Association and comes up in 2006 on February 23-26.  I also fill in 3-4 days a month in one of the local galleries.  Have entertained a number of Grossmont visitors to the city and my door is always open to others.  My address is 7 Avila Ct., Santa Fe, NM 87508 and my e-mail address is linda.mann@comcast.net."

  Don Scouller and his wife Joan, visiting San Diego from  Tucson, met fellow retirees Lee Roper and wife Barb, Millie McAuley and companion Gordon, Marie James and companion Bob, Tom Scanlan and wife Rosemarie, and Judy Barkley for lunch at the brand new Casa de Reyes in refurbished Old Town’s Bazaar Del Mundo on June 16. Don and Joan had also joined a number of their retired colleagues two days earlier at the Second Tuesday breakfast (an informal gathering of GCCCD retirees who breakfast at 9 AM every second Tuesday at Dennys on Fletcher Parkway and Navajo Road).

  Sue Warren and Peter still love Bellingham, WA.  Sue misses her friends at Grossmont but is finding new ones.

  Jane West continues to have a passion for nursing. She is still teaching part time in the weekend-evening program in Nursing at Grossmont and has been doing clinical supervision for USD in their Master's Entry Program in Nursing.  "I truthfully love not working full time and really am enjoying a less hurried life and having more time to spend with the people I love.

"I walk almost every day at Eastlake with my cocker spaniels, spend time with my Mom at Sunrise of Bonita, assisted living.  I have been having a bible study for the ladies there once a month on Sunday evenings and they are so appreciative." She also volunteers as a parish nurse at her church. Reading, theater and family (son, daughter, grandchildren) complete her well-rounded retirement activities.

  Muriel Owen, emerita, 1979-1993 Assoc. Dean, Health Professions. e-mail: murielowen@adelphia.net Thanks for all the contributions you have made in keeping the Grapevine alive. I'm sure it's a lot of work and I do appreciate all you've done. Norman and I will be cruising through the Panama Canal to San Diego, staying May 6-9. Please put me on your e-mail list. Thanks, Muriel

Mike Matherly Honored by Many at Retirement Party   
                                                                                                                                                   And the winner is.....

Approximately 130 colleagues and friends attended a retirement party for Mike Matherly on May 31 at the Visitor’s Center at Mission Trails Regional Park. This unique location provided outdoor patio dining with a spectacular view of the hills and valleys near Padre Dam--and the weather was perfect. Guests provided there own beverages to complement an outdoor Mexican-style buffet and were serenaded by a live jazz trio from Grossmont College including an attractive and talented student vocalist, Lorraine Foulk.

Following several hours of informal socializing and dining, the guests retired to the center’s large auditorium where Mike was presented a variety of gifts and testimonials from his department members, both current and retired. Then the lights were dimmed and guests were entertained by an outstanding Power Point presentation utilizing scores of pictures and film clips garnered from Mike’s thirty-five years of teaching at Grossmont College. This was followed by the cutting of three rather special cakes and lots more informal socializing and enjoying the company of so many friends and colleagues, some who had come from as far away as Idaho (Lee and Kathy Brown) and Oakland (Patti Tsai) and department members from as long ago as Mike’s first year at the college (Lee Shadell and Wayne Harmon).

This spectacular party was planned and produced by some of his colleagues in the Earth Science Department, Tim Cliffe, Mark Goodman, Christi Hill, Gary Jacobson and Jeff Lehman. A ‘special edition’ of the San Diego Union Tribune (you won’t find it in their archives) announced this event and poked fun at some of Mike’s habits while satirizing campus and district politics. The party was a fitting and deserved tribute to someone who contributed countless hours to campus activities and extra-curricular college events, including a variety of well-attended trips/activities during staff-development weeks. Mike was one of those special people who made working at Grossmont College a lot more enjoyable for all of us. ts

                 
   Gary Jacobson admires Mike's                Just a few of Mike's admirers                Dianne Amov, Tim Cliffe, Mel               'carpet jacket'                                             enjoy the show                         Amov, Zoe Close enjoy the buffet    

                 
   The 'Deanery': Lee Brown, Dick Mellien,            Mike preparing to cut the cake while                   There must be more to this message ...   
        Shannon O'Dunn & Bob Steinbach                      Alba Orr and Tim Cliffe supervise

photos by Tom Scanlan and Leon Hoffman (1st, 3rd and 6th)

Stan Claussen is now ON AIR     

Stan Claussen and his wife Janice have been pretty busy since retirement. They currently work with and direct the Midnight Mystery Players, an acting troupe which broadcasts live in the Bellingham, Washington area. They went on air this spring when a new local FM station KMRE (FM 102.3) began broadcasting in March. Listeners were treated to one of Claussen’s own scripts, "The Mistress of Apple Hill", on April 17. The script was about star-crossed lovers, a run down apple orchard in eastern Washington, and the mysterious disappearance that binds them. His acting troupe performed H.G. Well’s, "War of the Worlds", live at Seattle Center on June 4 during the 5^th Annual Alternative Science Convention.

Stan’s group began meeting and rehearsing weekly at the American Museum of Radio and Electricity (www.americanradiomuseum.org) in Bellingham. Rehearsals take place in a room at the radio museum where they not only read but produce their own sound effects, sometimes competing with the clanking sounds of the heater when it kicks on in the cooler winter months.

Stan and his wife, Jan, had gained radio acting and directing experience during the years they lived on Orcas Island, Washington by producing three radio dramas under the direction of another resident, Jim French, who produces a modern day private eye show, "The Adventures of Harry Nile". However, Stan’s interest in radio shows goes back to his youth, when his high school drama teacher in Anaheim took his classes to radio productions of "Our Miss Brooks" while they were being produced. A radio show fan ever since, Stan now has a collection of 10,000 old radio shows. ts

(photo credit of Bellingham Herald)

Bibliofiles:
      
  by Tom Scanlan
(click on bookcovers to enlarge; click on title for Amazon.com reviews or purchase)

As always, Tony Hillerman spins a yarn that will appeal to all of you who enjoy a mystery and a southwest setting. For those who are long-time fans of Hillerman’s two Navajo tribal policemen, Sergeant Jim Chee and Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, you won’t be disappointed.

As he often does, Hillerman ties this mystery to a real event, the deadly collision of two passenger planes over the Grand Canyon back in 1956, which killed all 128 passengers. In this novel, one of the passengers is carrying a valuable cache of diamonds. Nearly fifty years later, the theft of a valuable diamond from a local pawn shop is apparently tied to a much earlier diamond robbery in the same area, and both may be connected to the diamonds that were never recovered. Although Lieutenant Leaphorn is retired, he becomes involved in the mystery, along with his protégé Jim Chee and Chee’s romantic interest, border patrol officer Bernie Manuelito(look for significant developments here).

Adding to the suspense, a potential heiress to this fortune shows up, hoping to recover her father’s remains from the ancient wreckage, unaware of competition from a few villainous types who are hoping to do her out of her inheritance and recover the diamonds. The search is complicated by the fact that the debris is in a remote area of the canyon considered sacred by the Hopi Indians. The danger and excitement increase as the involved parties descend into the canyon, now flooded by local thunderstorms, and not everyone survives the confrontation that awaits them. 

Dave Millovich brings us up to date:

I cannot believe it has been twenty years since I retired from Grossmont; time sure goes by fast when you enjoy what you are doing.

From the early 1970s we had a weekend place at Lake Arrowhead. I used to fish the lake a lot in the summer and one day in 1982 I asked the Lake Patrol Supervisor if there might be any openings next summer, because I was looking for a retirement job. The next day I started as a part-time patrolman.

When I retired in 1985 Lake Arrowhead became our permanent home and I became the Assistant Lake Supervisor for five months a year. In 1986 I was promoted to Lake Patrol Supervisor and worked seven months a year until I retired in 1995.

The Lake Patrol was responsible for lake safety and all the boating activities as well as dock security, and if you have been to Lake Arrowhead that was a big responsibility. It is not uncommon to have a 100 to 150 boats on the on the lake during the weekends. The Fourth of July was the busiest day with fire works in the middle of the lake. There would be 1200 boats on the lake and thousands of people on docks and shoreline. I should write a book about all my experiences working 13 years on the lake. There were some tragedies with boating accidents and many humorous activities by boaters. It was a very interesting summer job for the old Grossmont swim coach.

In 1995 Cal State University San Bernardino knew I had taught swimming at Grossmont and asked if I would teach some of their aquatics classes. It was fun because I only taught in the fall and spring quarters and I didn't have to drive up and down the hill in the winter.

In 1997, when Phyllis retired, we decided we had had enough of mountain living and wanted move closer to the beach and our daughter and her family. In looking around we found Leisure World, a retirement community in Laguna Woods. It has been great, with five swimming pools to use and living close to the ocean.

Now I spend some of my time as a Senior Volunteer for the Department of Fish and Game. I work in the office receiving and dispatching calls regarding coyotes running around Leisure World.

Lynn, our older daughter, a Grossmont graduate, is a chef aboard a 200-passenger cruise barge on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. She loves that cooking. Jim, our son, also a former Grossmont student, is a Major in the air force and will serve until he retires. Our younger daughter June is Department Chairman for the Childhood Development and Educational Studies at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo. We have 10 grandchildren. Phyllis and I will celebrate our 54th wedding anniversary in August.

BEST WISHES TO ALL THE NEW RETIREES AND I HOPE YOUR RETIRERMENT WILL BE AS REWARDING AS MINE HAS BEEN.

Dave Millovich

Retired, 1985 P .E. Department

Linda Bunney writes from Pagosa Springs, CO: 

April 26, 2005

It was a pleasant surprise to see my photo and a comment about our move in the recent issue of the Grapevine.

Yesterday we had rain, hail, snow, thunder and lightening all in one day! The storm replaced some of the snow that had melted off the higher peaks, leaving us with a beautiful view of snow-covered mountains this morning.

We missed a visiting elk this morning according to our neighbors. They said a young elk was standing near our propane tank but when it saw them, it ran into the woods! Who would have thought elk like to hang around propane tanks! We've been looking for them in the meadow.

I've enclosed photos [of our home and recreation] …

Linda Bunney

Lee Roper writes about visit to South America:     

My bride of forty-seven years and I spent most of the month of April in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Our favorite place was Buenos Aires where we spent about half of the time. The people and their city are an absolute delight. We would likely return sooner if the ride wasn’t so long and the air full of pot holes. We saw the usual postcard attractions and can attest to the accuracy of the pictures on the postcards. Our current administration hasn’t as yet decided on a pre-emptive strike against any of those countries so their economy and infrastructure are still intact. For the present, at least, all three countries are among the great travel bargains in the world. My standard for measuring the economy of a country is the price of beer, and I’m pleased to say you can purchase a liter of beer in the retail stores for a little under a dollar.

Barb and I don’t like cruises and tours since you see more of your fellow tourists than you do of the natives of the country you are visiting. We didn’t go all the way to Buenos Aires to visit with George and Emma Snodgrass from Pleasantville, Ohio. We found the people in all those countries to be as nice as they are throughout the entire world, including the Cubans, Iraqis, Iranians, Palestinians, Koreans, and even New Yorkers. Indeed our respect for the people in that part of the world increased considerably when we discovered a best selling book there is titled, "George Walker Bush, The Most Dangerous Man in the World". We have a preference for gaining an understanding of the lifestyle of the people rather than things, so the highlight of our trip was visiting the home of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

                              ...........................................................................................................................

Photo Error in March Grapevine Letters: Grapevine apologizes to our readers for using a photo of Don Bellairs instead of Don Scouller, with Don Scouller’s letter. It would be nice if Don Bellairs sent us a letter now just to make sure we get it right the next time. ts

Please e-mail typed letters to tom.scanlan@gcccd.edu or mail to The GCCCD Grapevine at Grossmont College, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, CA 92020. If possible, include a recent color photo of yourself, as well as color photos related to your letter content.

Obituaries:

Jim Peters

Jim Peters died March 13 of this year. He was born on June 29, 1923 in Malta, Montana, the youngest of six children. His family moved to San Diego when he was still in his teens. He was a fighter pilot in World War II, after graduating from Grossmont High School in 1942. After the war he taught at Lakeside Jr. High and then came to Grossmont College in 1966, where he taught US history. Jim earned his AB and MA degrees at San Diego State University. He retired from Grossmont College in June, 1985 but continued to teach classes there for a number of years thereafter

Jim was a very talented caricaturist and many of you may remember him for his political cartoons which circulated around campus from time to time. He also enjoyed classical music, good wines and single malt Scotch. He also had his own web-base home business selling books on aviation history. He was a devoted family man who spent many weekends and holidays with his family and friends at his large four-bedroom "cabin" near Idyllwild.

Jim joined Grossmont College the same year as Mel Amov, also a history professor, and they shared the same small office together until Jim’s retirement (Mel retired this June). Mel recalls that Jim usually accompanied him to the Griffin Gate for lunch and was an active participant in the lively discussions held there over sandwiches and coffee. ts

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