Volume 7, Number 2                                                                                          July, 1997

Rising, Falling into 36th Year

            Birthday Balloons                                                     Info Offered

Balloons ready to fly marked campus observance of Grossmont's 35th anniversary.
Variety of information included library search methods, offered by Maria Zarcone and
Barb Guiette. Ginger Azhocar was a determined participant in the contest for
launching watermelon seeds. Taking a tumble at the end of a tug-of-war was one of
the vanquished, G.C. President Richard Sanchez.

            Seed Launcher                                                              Who's Falling?

Editor's Comments

by Pat Higgins

You'll notice in the Letters on this page that Lee Roper's suggestion of more
retiree gatherings has brought a positive response, and that September 2 is the date
suggested for the first of the informal meetings.

It will be nice if the gathering is large and takes up all available room at
McDonald's. Management will be surprised, perhaps nonplussed, to find so many
morning patrons, but I'm sure the extra money going into the register will make up
for whatever momentary distress occurs.

Conversational topics will be whatever they are wherever you sit down, and
they'll end when we decide to leave. Spouses are welcome, so come in pairs if you
want . . .
# # # # #
Another subject. I think in an issue of the Grapevine soon after I became
editor, I mentioned the quality of assistance I get in putting out the publication.
The assistance was, and is first class, and I think it's time I speak again of the
assistants.
Sirkka Huovila, whose regular campus work is in Word Processing, puts the
Grapevine together, fitting stories and pictures into the space we have, generally
where I suggest, but elsewhere if space dictates. Sometimes I marvel at her ability
to get in all the material we have, and occasionally to find filler to cover extra
space we have. If the Grapevine looks good'and I think it does'much of the credit
goes to Sirkka, and I'm glad we have her.

John Dixon is campus photographer, and my requests for photos always get quick
actions, whether they're of people in his files or whether they need to be taken by
appointment. Sometimes John is asked for a picture illustrative of a campus feature
at Grossmont or Cuyamaca, using his own judgment in selection. Two which come to
mind are the new transportation facility at Grossmont, and the Highway 125
construction just east of Grossmont. The 35th anniversary pictures in this issue are
from the many he took during that celebration. As usual, the pictures are good, and
what I said about Sirkka is equally true of John.

I don't count Tom Scanlan as an assistant; he's a contributing editor. What he
brings to the Grapevine is an interesting, well thought out, well written feature.
Its worth is confirmed by comments of Grapevine readers, and I hope he'll keep
writing Biblio-Files for a long time; he'd be missed if he stopped.

Don't mistake the lines above for a valedictory; they're simply some comments
which ought to be made publicly now and then. When I say farewell, I'll say it
directly.

Letters

The following letter was prompted by Lee Roper's poem in the April Grapevine...Ed.

Grossmont Emeritus Rules Bizarre?

"Emeritus" was originally a status accorded to Roman soldiers who had served
their term. At the beginning of the 20th Century, on the four-year college and
university levels generally, the status was awarded, without application, to
professors who had vacated their position because of long service, age or infirmity.
Today, on the same level, it generally refers to tenured professors who retire
because of long service, and is a status given without application, but
automatically. Where the status is not given wholesale, an institution may select a
retiree now and then of particularly distinguished background and make a to-do about
the award; there is never an application process. I could find no study of
"emeritus" on the community-college level, but, undoubtedly, Grossmont's demand for
application is at the least unusual, is probably unique, and certainly bizarre. If
Grossmont has actually turned the term on its ear, it should demand historic
recognition. If it would, I have no doubt the shades of Roman soldiers would shake
with laughter, as some of us living Grossmont retirees have been doing.

- Ray Reynolds

Getting Together

There was positive response to the suggestion that we provide the opportunity
for retirees to get together more often. So, let's meet about 9 a.m. the first
Tuesday of the month beginning Sept. 2nd at the McDonald's near the college (corner
of Navajo and Lake Murray).

Time, place, etc., are all arbitrary and easily changed. It is open to all
faculty, including Fred Tidwell and Ralph Hampton wherever you are. You will have to
buy your own 27-cent cup of coffee, but you won't have to be there at sunup or
listen to administrators spread bovine chips. Only one suggestion, don't wear your
"old fart" hat, this is a class joint.

- Lee Roper

Agreement

I agree with Lee Roper that unsponsored luncheons during the year are a great
idea.

- Marie James

Island Dwelling Fine If No Snow

Guess what: the retirement crew has yet another Nor'wester who weathered the
Great Christmas storm. Jan and I were in San Diego on that crisp, dry Christmas day
you people enjoyed in 1996, and we drove back up to Washington just in time to hit
our home island in the San Juan Archipelago one day after the storm dumped two feet
of snow in our driveway. We live on Orcas Island, the third ferry stop out in
Washington Sound from Anacortes, WA; our trusty Saturn burrowed its way through 15
miles of unplowed road only to spin out at the bottom of our hill (with assorted
Subarus, Hondas and Toyotas).

People tell tales about what Washingtonians do in their native habitat; but the
truth is a little less spectacular. The snow shut everything down here; they didn't
even plow I-5 in Seattle. The city of Bellingham (on the Canadian border) had NO
snowplows. When it really rains, Washingtonians drive worse than Californians on the
first rainy day in November. And . . . no one carries umbrellas up here (it never
rains that hard, they say); they are as uncool to carry as a cup of weak coffee. You
are required to drink Arabica-beaned black stuff made by Starbucks, S.B.C., or
Millstone; there are Latte and Espresso stands at every other highway corner.

We enjoyed Tom Scanlan's review of Snow Falling on Cedars. As you can imagine,
the book is a big favorite up here. The map in the front of the book includes all
the real islands in the San Juans and adds a mythical island just south of Lopez
called San Piedro. The action takes place in Amity Harbor, which is the thinly-
disguised county seat, Friday Harbor. A trial very much like that described in the
book actually took place in Anacortes, which is the closest city on the mainland.
The Japanese grew strawberries, pears and apples on the mainland and in the islands
before the relocation madness of World War II. Commercial agriculture is now almost
non-existent in the islands. Most people of Japanese ancestry here now are retired
Californians like half of the people who live on Orcas Island.

Why are we here? I suppose the first thing we would have to mention is the
unparalleled beauty of the place. We get just enough rain to keep things green: it's
strange when your holiday cuttings survive for three months. Rainfall in the islands
is about half that of Seattle, a phenomenon caused by the "maritime rain shadow." It
is never very warm: spring heatwaves are calculated in the 60s; and the 80s are rare
even in July and August. Boating is almost a year-around sport; but you'd need to
layer up in December and January. Snowstorms like the December one are rare, but
"old timers" talk about the winter of 1991 when old trees went down in 100 mph winds
out of Canada. Of course we have our BC up here like we used to have a BC down
there; but when the Canadians cross the border, they drive fast new cars and don't
light as many fires.

Lee Roper's poem reminds me of one he wrote about me, something about gravy
stains on my tie. But I don't remember wearing ties very often at Grossmont. And
even though memories fade fast as one hits the big Medicare age group, I can never
forget that what made Grossmont College the great place I am sure that Lee is trying
to describe was the people who taught there. Only one has visited us so far: Don
Shannon, my old friend who retired himself this year. If any of you come by on I-5,
at least call us or wave at the ferry.

Stan and Jan Claussen
HCl Box 196
Eastsound, WA 98245
(360) 376-2377

Biblio-Files

by Tom Scanlan

It seems that one or the other of my two daughters is always giving me books
for Christmas or my birthday which turn out to be among my favorites. Both Karen and
Alison have a deep appreciation of the natural world, and the books they give me
often reflect this.

Anyway, just a few weeks ago Rosemarie and I made a car trip to Seattle, partly
to celebrate my own birthday and also (a few weeks belatedly) the birthdays of my
oldest daughter, Karen and her husband, Mark. And to celebrate that Mark had just
received his Ph.D. from Berkeley. It was a longer car trip than we normally care to
make and we saw lots of rain and logging trucks, but there were many rewards, too,
like seeing the spectacular snow capped peaks of Mt. Shasta in northern California,
and those of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams along the Columbia River gorge, and even Mt.
Rainier and the Cascade and Olympic ranges which are visible from Seattle. On our
return trip, we marveled at the redwoods while driving from Grants Pass, Oregon down
through Crescent City, California and on to Eureka and Ukiah. What a beautiful
country this is.

So I've just finished reading one of Karen's latest finds, an extraordinary
book of short stories, Ship Fever, by Andrea Barrett (1996, Norton paperback). They
are fictional stories but are based on real people and real history, mostly
nineteenth century naturalists (we'd probably call them biologists or doctors
today). You need no background in science or its history to appreciate these stories
about the struggles and passions of dedicated humans involved in their search for
knowledge about the natural world and themselves. Andrea has brought these people to
life and has made real to the reader their successes'and their failures. The title
story, actually a novella, is wisely saved for the end, like a fine dessert. It's an
absolute gem of a story'although a real heart-breaker'about a Canadian doctor and
the two women he loves, each desperately trying in their own way to help the
overwhelming tide of immigrants from the great Irish potato famine of the mid-
nineteenth century. Talk about bringing history to life'WOW!!

In my first Biblio-files column (November, 1994) I stated that Wallace Stegner
was one of my favorite authors and I briefly described some of his more popular
novels, such as Angle of Repose and my own favorite, Crossing to Safety. Just a few
months ago, Viking Press published an excellent biography, Wallace Stegner, His Life
and Work, by Jackson Benson, a professor of American Literature at San Diego State
University.

Benson began working with Stegner back in 1986. Stegner was reluctant about
having his biography done but had warmly reviewed Benson's award winning biography
of John Steinbeck for the Los Angeles Times, and so he gave Benson the go-ahead,
with unlimited access to his own papers. They met each year to work on the project
until Stegner's death in 1993. It is a beautifully written biography, very thorough
but written in a conversational style with numerous anecdotes and conversations.
Benson illustrates so clearly the powerful influence of the environment on Wallace
Stegner's life and on the stories he wrote, as well as Stegner's signigicant
achievements in influencing environmental issues.

If you haven't read a Stegner novel yet, you might want to start with his first
novel , Remembering Laughter, published in 1937. It won him Little Brown's Novelette
prize of $2500, a magnificent sum in those days for a struggling English instructor
whose wife, Mary, was only days away from delivering their first child, Page. Out of
print for many decades, the novella was recently re-released last year in paperback
by Penguin Books. The story relates how the loneliness and beauty of a remote Iowa
farm affect a young woman who has just come there to live with her older married
sister. She becomes attracted to her sister's husband, who drinks too much, but
treats her very kindly, and the story grows out of these circumstances.

Sometimes a good film or BBC production will revive my interest in an older
classic which I'd read (often only partially) under duress as an assignment in a
high school or college English course. A recent example was the BBC production of
Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca, the quintessential Gothic Mystery Romance novel which
was published in 1938. On my first attempt to read it (nearly 50 years ago), I had
considered it to be a 'girl's book' and turned instead to Jack London or Zane Grey
(or worse, Mickey Spillane). I was so taken with the BBC production, however,
especially the coastal English countryside setting for Manderley and the marvelous
portrayal of the sinister Mrs. Danvers by Diana Rigg, that I checked out a copy of
Rebecca from the library. I enjoyed reading the novel as much as any that I've read
recently. DuMaurier is a far better writer than I had remembered and the story and
characters very much came to life for me. Mystery and romance fans will probably
already have read this novel, but this is a modern classic that no reader should
skip.

Another example of the film version of a novel being good enough to encourage
viewers to read  the book is John Nichols',  The Milagro Beanfield War.  I had read the
book before seeing the film and thoroughly enjoyed the story, which was based on an
actual confrontation between long time Hispanic ranchers in northern New Mexico and
a vacation-site developer who is threatening their water supply. However, the
characters are what really make this a delightful book to read. They are sometimes
funny, sometimes serious, sometimes romantic, sometimes sad'and sometimes they
dredge deeply from their human spirit and perform miracles. When I heard that
Robert Redford was trying to create a close version of the book at his SunDance
Studio by doing much of the filming in a small New Mexico town not far from where
the event which inspired the story occurred, I was one of the first in line to see
the film when it premiered at a Mission Valley theater. The film was outstanding,
but as often happens with non-Hollywood films, it never made the rounds of our local
theaters. The Milagro Beanfield War, published in 1974, was the first novel of John
Nichol's 'New Mexico trilogy', the second and third novels being The Magic Journey
and The Nirvana Blues. Although the latter two novels had their moments, I didn't
enjoy either of them nearly as much as 'Milagro.' If you missed the film, read the
book. It might just inspire you to search for the video. Both will leave your own
spirit a little bit lighter and happier.

District, Faculty Union Reach New Agreement

Giving up their Memorial Day holiday in favor of climactic negotiations,
representatives of the GCCCD and the United Faculty reached agreement on a contract
which will be effective until the start of the 2000 fall semester. Negotiations
started during the 1996 Fall semester.

The contract is retroactive to the start of the 1996-97 school year. It
continues COLA, Cost of Living Adjustment, SIRP, Supplemental Income Retirement
Plan, and provides salary increases of about 7 percent for faculty members. The bulk
of anticipated growth funds for the district will go for the faculty raises. The new
pay schedules were slated for the June 30 pay checks, with a separate check for
retroactivity in the summer break.

The District Governing Board ratified the new agreement by a 5-0 vote May 3.
Both Chancellor Jean Atherton and UF President Mel Amov expressed satisfaction
with the contract, saying the agreement demonstrates that the Governing Board and
the Union are committed to providing quality education within available fiscal
resources.

Three Gain Recognition

Visits Britain

Les Lawrence

Les Lawrence, Grossmont ceramics instructor, has recently returned from a trip
to Britain, made at the invitation of the British Crafts Council. He participated in
a seminar on printmaking and ceramics with that group. He also lectured at the
Edinburgh College of Art, the Cumbria College of Art and Design, and the Royal
College of Art in London.

Lawrence, who has been at Grossmont since 1970, is widely known for his work,
which involves ceramics, sculpture and silk-screened photographic representations.
Pieces of his work were on display in London while he was there and remained
after he returned home. The same art will be on display at the Grossmont College
Faculty Art Show, from September 19 to October 10 in the Hyde Gallery.

National Honor

Dr. McFarlin

Dr. Annjennette McFarlin, Grossmont College speech professor, has been named
Black Educator of the Year for San Diego, by the National Phi Delta Kappa Society.

Hall of Famer

   Bob Rump

Bob Rump, former Grossmont tennis coach, was inducted into the Intercollegiate
Tennis Association's Hall of Fame in ceremonies in May at UCLA.

Bob, who has coached both men's and women's Griffin teams to many championships
in Southern California and the state, is one of only two community college level
coaches inducted; the remainders are coaches from four-year schools.

Ruth Coover Dies from Stroke

Ruth Coover

Professor Emerita Ruth Coover, 82, long-time foreign language teacher at
Grossmont College, died June 29 in Grossmont Hospital. She had entered the hospital
May 21 after suffering a severe stroke, and for a time appeared to be improving, but
her condition worsened and she died.

Ruth was a native of Germany and came to the U.S. in 1950. She had earned an
undergraduate degree at the University of Cologne, in Germany, and after coming to
America, she got a master's degree at the University of Nebraska. She taught German,
French and Latin in Nebraska before coming west. She settled in the San Diego area,
and taught in the Grossmont High School District before becoming one of the first
Grossmont College faculty members in 1961.

At Grossmont College she taught German and French until she retired in 1984.
Marie James, a department colleague and close friend of Ruth, recalled their
relationship. "She was my mentor at Grossmont, and really like a sister," Marie
said. "She was my first friend in San Diego, and I knew her for 32 years while we
taught together in the German Department."

Don and Joan Scouller, now retired in Tucson, were friends and sometimes travel
companions of Ruth. Don recalled how he became acquainted with her.
"I have been Ruth's friend for 32 years. This lady became known to me in a
special way, when I went to a special event the college had sometimes, known as an
encounter group weekend. It was at the height of the touchy-feely era that heralded
the beginning of a brave new world of openness, love, beauty and truth forever.
"Well, maybe. But Ruth and I were there, willing to learn about something
bright, new and beautiful, and to shed the constraints and shackles of rigid,
authoritarian thinking. By the end of the 24-hour marathon, I was totally exhausted
by the mindless exhortations to be free, to tune in and drop out of mindless middle
class thinking.

"Well, some of us were too mired in our ways to buy into all of this. But
during the long hours I got to know Ruth, and found a kindred spirit. She was always
willing to look at new ideas, to weigh and analyze them and finally to accept or
reject them on her own terms. We hit it off then, as friends, and remained so to
this day. I will miss her in a special way, and be grateful for three decades of
true friendship."

Joan Scouller remembered good travel times with Ruth. "Ruth and I shared many
travels, some with Don along and some without. I remember particularly celebrating
her 70th birthday with her in a little town near Milford Sound, New Zealand. I
served her morning coffee and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. We were in adjoining
rooms but I had a kitchenette. I'll never forget the happy, surprised look on her
face when she answered my knock. We were both still in night clothes.

"Another happy memory of travels with Ruth was when she and I attended an
Elderhostel in Oaxaca. Her Spanish, which she didn't claim as one of her four
languages, was fluent. We amused ourselves by visiting every pharmacia in Oaxaca, I
think, trying to buy pharmaceuticals not available at home, with no success, I might
add. She was a dear and special friend. I shall miss her." Ruth is survived by her
daughter, Vonnie Coover-Stone, who said a gathering of her mother's friends is being
planned for the end of July, probably during the weekend of July 26-27. Information
may be obtained by phoning (619) 463-7228.

Also, A Ruth Coover scholarship is being established at Grossmont College.
Contributions may be sent to the Scholarship Secretary, Financial Aid, Grossmont College.

Verdict Is Split on Doctors' Value

Reaction remained divided on the merit of the GCCCD hiring the Accounting
Doctors, after the Ventura firm presented its findings to the Board May 6 in its
check of a previous audit of the district by Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co.
The Accounting Doctors found formula, and cross-footnote errors, along with
transposed numbers on seven pages of the 58-page audit.

As had been predicted before the Doctors' examination, no major errors in the
audit were found, and that prompted Trustee Rick Alexander to say, "the whole
process has been a waste of time and money." Alexander, along with Trustee Ron
Kraft, had voted earlier against hiring the Accounting Doctors to do the review, at
a cost of $3,750.

In public testimony, D.T. Radmilovich said, "It's still incredible to me and
baffling, to have a board of this stature take all this time to find a couple of
grammatical errors." Speaking in support of the hiring decision were Waldo and
Beverly Clark, parents of Board President Rebecca Clark.

Trustee Carolyn Griffin, who started the whole episode by contacting the
Accounting Doctors, then presenting a proposal to the Board March 4, said she was
pleased with the May 6 presentation, and that she had wanted to check the District's
financial picture on her own.

In a development subsequent to, but not directly attributable to the Accounting
Doctors episode, the Board voted to hire KPMG Peat Marwick for the 1996-97 audits.
Trustees Alexander and Dr. Timothy Caruthers, along with Jim Austin, Vice
Chancellor, Business, explored the District situation, then recommended that the
Board hire KPMG Peat Marwick. Citing such advantages as proximity to KPMG offices,
along with consulting and advising services, the three found that firm the best to
hire. Maximum total cost for three years will be $93,000.

Replacement of one vendor by another is not an every year action by the
District, but it is not unusual, and the substitution of KPMG Peat Marwick for
Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co. might have occurred even if there had been no Accounting
Doctors matter.

District Softball Probe Continues

A district investigation into alleged misconduct by members and coaches of the
Grossmont women's softball team may be completed next month. The reported actions
prompted GC President Richard Sanchez to forfeit the team's final nine games.
Sanchez could not comment on the specifics of the case because of the ongoing
investigation, but said he'd have a more complete explanation when the investigation
is finished.

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