Be aware, the "Message Forum" is NOT password protected.  Unlike profiles that are password protected, anybody who gets to this webpage can see what is written here.  Nobody can contact you directly based on this forum unless you reveal your personal contact information.  Use the "Message Center" for sharing personal contact information with another classmate.

This message forum is an ongoing discussion about anything and just about everything ... within reason.  One thing our class was good at was having opinions.  Almost 70 years of life experience certainly qualifies us as experts on most everything!   Ask a question ... give an opinion ... share some insights ... it's our web site, it's our forum.  That said, it's probably not a good idea to get into arguments about politics, religion, and the like.  While we're experts on everything, we also have a wide range of values and beliefs. This site belongs to all of us ... the whole range ... and we are not here to isolate, alienate, or subjugate anybody.  Of course insults, humiliation, sophomoric barraggadocio, and demented humor is expected behavior among some of us less mature people.
 

Jim Cejka

This site is great and has brought many of us back together. It's fun to look forward to checking it every day to see what's up, and who sez what. Then it's so sad when the "what's happening" becomes an obituary.

Mike, it was a long time ago, but from those of us that knew you, thanks for being in our lives and for the memories.

R.I.P. 

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Jim:

That was an articulate and sensitive assessment of the Badgers' mighty effort in the championship game. Well said, sir!

So sorry to hear about Mike Fargo. I DO remember him well. Messages such as this one always bring our own mortality into clearer vision. Blessings and peace, Mike.

Garry Sellers

I didn't have a lot of interaction with Mike in high school other than I get this picture of an ever-smiling, positive person who rarely had a disparaging word for anybody.  As I recall he was involved with class plays and associated with that group of seedy characters who hung out around the auditorium ... such as the outrageous Jeanne Zinser, bombastic Bruse Ortmann, sneaky Roger Pederson, scandalous Tom Winslow and sweet, innocent Judy Blaske!  Some of us just played sports ... others created great gossip and scandal!!!  It only took about 50 years for a fraction of their untoward behaviors to surface!  We are assured of never hearing all of it!!!

But folks, please add your thoughtful comments to Mike's page on the "In Memory" page so that anybody who looks at it will see that he was part of what made all of us who we are today.

Lauren Dieterich

I remember Mike; but, that's about all that I can say.

My brothers and myself didn't do much socializing after school. We were too busy having fun and partying on Friday and Saturday nights. My Mother died when I was in 8th grade; and, with no girls in the family it was more like a frat house by us. Especially since there is only 5 years difference between my older brother and my youngest brother. We were raised good German/Irishmen. We never met a beer that we didn't like ( Lite beer doesn't count, it's not real beer ) and never left a beer/drink sitting on the bar when we left. In fact, my youngest brother missed a lot of Monday's during his senior year; because, he was too hungover to go to school. But, you didn't hear that from me.

And, how are you Californians coping with the water restrictions ? We haven't been hit with water conservation, in Bullhead City, yet. The Colorado River is only 3 miles away; but, I can see water restrictions coming.

Lastly, we leave for Michigan in 5 weeks; hopefully the snow will be gone by then. Sorry about that, Nancy; but, I still remember the May 10th blizzard in '91.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Lauren, still some piles of snow here in the shady places. The last chunks of ice on the lake floated by yesterday. We barely noticed, as it was 68 degrees and we were in T-shirts....busy trimming trees, collecting fallen branches, changing the snow tires, taking down the Christmas lights, and putting furniture onto the deck. Today we're inside moaning about our old, achy bones and re-discovered muscles while the temperature drops into the thirties and we watch the howling wind kick up the waves on the lake. This sequence occurs with predictable regularity every spring. 

Jim Cejka

Yes, the water shortage in California is badlyest and getting worser. The news every night talks about saving water somehow.

So, our CCC and CRASS classmates are looking to do their part. One suggestion was to hold, sometime this summer, the first annual Custer '62 Class shower. If water can be saved by showering with a friend, think how much could be saved by a whole class!

Anyone interested, raise your hand.   (One hand is enough Garry.)

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Only if I don't have to stand next to Garry.

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

This morning's conversation would be amusing to my ancestors: Me: "Jon, is there hot water downstairs?" (not wishing to waste water by running it for the usual time it takes to get warm.) Jon: "Yeah - come down and get some." Me: "I guess I should keep a small bucket up here to bring water up and down".  Jon: "Didn't carrying water in buckets go out of style when they invented faucets?" It's kind of amazing how you have to re-think everything in the drought. I think we finally decided that since electricity is plentiful, we'll install a recirculating pump on the hot water heater to send up instant hot water.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

What about those handy little heaters that are installed above showers and sinks abroad? And surely, here one could at least get them installed so the wires aren't hanging all over the place threatening to electrocute the careless consumer. 

Lauren Dieterich

Nancy, Those small under sink waters are called tankless heaters. Everything is under the sink, so wires shouldn't be a problem. They are a little pricey, mostly because you need one for every place that you need hot water. They're something to consider for new construction; but, if you are not one of the unfortunate's who live in California, you/we won't live long enough for the heaters to pay for themselves. Gerry, if you decide to takes baths; and, do the everyone use the same water ( that's how me and my brothers got our baths on my Grandfathers farm ) you don't want to be the last one. The water is pretty nasty, by then.

And Nancy, has the snow melted, yet. We leave for Michigan in 5 1/2 weeks; and, I'm not up to the possibility of having to shovel.

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Not to worry, Lauren. Unless you're obsessive about drifts and chose to shovel in the shady spots.

Family baths, with the baby last, gave rise to the term "throwing out the baby with the bathwater". Hard to find the little guy in that muck.

Jim Cejka

Terri, you've got a point. When we lived down in San Diego, we were in a senior apartment community. Our building was 100 something units, and our apartment was diagonally opposite from the building's water heater. To take a shower, you could turn on the hot water, and go have a 7 course meal or read a Russian novel before the shower was ready. Never thought of that in terms of drought reality. Wastes a lot more water than a toilet without a brick. In the long, long term, someone should come up with a better design than that.

Lauren Dieterich

Nancy,   I prefer my snow on the distant mountain peaks, here in AZ. I had to shovel, last November, because we got a 6 week late start for AZ. Hopefully that won't happen again.

Tankless water heaters come in different sizes, depending upon how much hot water that you need. You get hot water in about a minute. One for a kitchen sink shouldn't be much bigger than a gallon jug. If I were to build a new house, tankless would be the way that I'd go. We've had about a month of upper 80's and low 90's here in Bullhead City, now. The water lines in the Park are only a foot or so under ground. I checked the temperature of our cold water a couple of days ago; it was 72 degrees.

Lauren Dieterich

Happy Birthday to all of us born in May. There is an entire week of us one day right after the other. And Angie, keep at the rehab. The picnic is only 4 months away; and, I expect to see you there.

It's 3:15 in the afternoon and it's 104 in the shade. We leave for Michigan in 3 weeks, if we don't melt first.

Jim Cejka

2015 California rain gauge

Lauren Dieterich

We can do a little better regarding rain in Bullhead City. We may actually be able to fill a shot glass, for the year to date. We will be back in Michigan in 3 weeks. And, judging from the weather reports from the last couple of weeks; waders will be in order. Although, I don't know if we'll be able to handle the cold weather. 70 degrees is freezing. We've had a half dozen days in the low 100's, in the last 2 weeks.

Garry Sellers

I think our Moms would have enjoyed this ... I know mine would have.

(You can watch it full screen by clicking on the square icon in the lower right hand corner and get back to partial screen by hitting your "Esc" key.)

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

I really enjoyed the HomePage tribute to our moms. Thanks for that! I have always wondered about the stories of those of us born right in the middle ot WWII. How did our dads happen to be home? I know my dad was 4F and worked as a sheet metal mechanic making stuff for the War. He had tried to enlist - seemed always to feel guilty that he had been home and not over there fighting. My mom always seemed grateful for the same. Looking at our "California rain gauge",  Jim,, I wonder: does DEW count? And lastly, listening to Danny Kaye: he could do some FINE scat singing. I never knew! My parents would have definitely enjoyed that performance; hopefully, maybe they did catch it at some time :-)

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Dear Garry,

An abundance of thanks for the lovely Mothers' Day tribute on the Home Page. It summoned my tears.

Fondly,

Jeanne

Jim Cejka

Terri,

My dad had one of those do not draft jobs as a secure "war industry" necessary occupation - until they drafted him for the invasion of Japan. I was born while he was away, in boot camp, I think. Even though the war ended, he still went over there as an Army sergeant. Stayed a year and helped clean up and rebuild.

As for the rain gauge, yes dew will count. You coasties may get some, but out here in the "central valley" I'm learning the only thing that we get is dust. I'm thinking that when it gets to 100+, I'm just going to go out in the yard, sweat, and do "drip irrigation."

Jim Cejka

Are we getting old?

Lauren Dieterich

My Dad got his draft notice, 5 days after he started at A.O. Smith. It was an essential industry and as long as he worked at Smith, the military couldn't touch him. For the first 3 weeks, at Smith, he would punch in and go back out to the gate and wait for L.B. Smith's limo to pick him up. My Dad was a steamfitter ( a glorified plumber ) L.B. was building a mansion on the lakefront and my Dad was helping the plumbers on the construction. We know the mansion, today, as Villa Terrace.

On this past Tuesday, we got our third rain of the year; 2 tenths of an inch. We now have 1.97 inches of rain for the year; an inch below normal. We also have a cold front moving through the area, today. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 71. We will be breaking out the winter coats and insulated underwear.

Mitchell Heinrichs

Gary I Just clicked on to Louis and Danny. A solid performance by the straightes dudes (man)

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

I knew there were some interesting stories out there! My husband Jon has a funny story: his dad was a Nazarene minister, and the draft board turned him down because there were enough Nazarene chaplains. We had a surprise day of California rain yesterday. It seemed as it it was raining all day, but all we got out of it was .04 inch!

William Nelson

My dad also worked at A.O. Smith in the summers during the war. He was an Industrial Arts teacher and the government wanted them to train all the boys they could, but during the summer, he worked at AOS as a draftsman in the bomb design department. Those were the only years they didn't spend summers outside of Milwaukee. I remember reading in my mom's diary that, on the day the war ended, Dad picked up his final pay check, turned in his ID badge, and then went home to pack the DeSoto. They were at his uncle's farm near Chetek camping for the remainder of the summer.

We had a real gully washer rain here in North Louisiana yesterday. Don't know what the total was, but it far exceeded the annual rainfall you folks describe in California and Arizona. I do remember seeing a couple of really heavy storms and subsequent flooding in Phoenix in the 80's though. That was a big surprise to us.

Hope y'all are enjoying a delightful spring. We moved into our new house about two weeks ago and still have boxes everywhere and much work still to be done.

Bill and Mary