Volume 33, #2 Polytechnic High School … 1883~1972 … San Francisco, California August 15 , 2020

One of the great achievements of James (Sonny Jim) Rolph, Jr. was the siring of his son, . As the story goes, around 1922 younger Rolph was the student body President

of ole Poly and his daddy “Sonny Jim”, was the Mayor of San Francisco. Young Rolph, and his fellow Poly aspirants, drew up plans and spent many hours on a development project that would hopefully erect a new sports stadium across the street from the school where James McLaren developes the city’s huge plant nursery. With the aid of members of the Polytechnic Mechanical Arts Department, the actual stadium plans were for the proposed stadium. When the plans were complete, young Rolph asked his dad and the Board of Supervisors and Park Commission to come out to the proposed site. Young Jimmy even had a speakers’ platform built by members of the Poly Shop. He then pro-ceeded to deliver what many people of the day considered to be a most stirring speech, stirring enough that Mayor Rolph, Ralph McLaran of the Board of Supervisors, and William Hum-phreys of the Park Commission adopted the proposals to buy the site. Herbert Fleishhacker of the Park Commission was not there, but pledged his support (the latter of the San Francisco Zoo Fame).

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(Continued from Front Page)

The only hurdle now was to get Mr. John McLaren, Superintendent of Golden Gate Park, to o.k. the plans. This John McLaren, it should be noted, had been persuaded years earlier to leave his homeland, Scotland, and immigrate to San Francisco, and convert a mass of sand dunes into beautiful Golden Gate Park. When asked how he managed the latter feat, he replied, “By growing small plants into big plants.”

McLaren balked at the original plan which called for the stadium to be built north and south because it would destroy his beautiful Rhododendron garden, one of his favorite projects. When it was decided to build the stadium east and west, McLaren gave it his blessing and San Francisco was on its way to having a major sports stadium complex, which Mayor Rolph said would “grow little kids into big kids”.

Things fell into place rapidly, due in most part to the unfortunate demise of a fine lady named Mary E. Kezar, who left a bequest of $100,000 dollars to her beloved city. It was decided to use this money plus another $65,000 dollars from the general fund, and on June 19, 1924, land was broken on the athletic field that would be known as the Kezar Memorial Stadium, in honor of that nice lady.

Plans of Kezar called for a quarter-mile track with a 220 yard straightaway, football field, baseball field, basketball court, tennis courts, drill grounds, and seating for 30,000 spectators. The tennis courts were the first to go as they couldn’t be maintained properly. However, the site for the stadium was ideal, as it already had a natural hollow or gully and required excavation. Seat-ing capacity was approximately 22,000 seats in in the beginning and two years after it originally opened was increased by 20,000 and continued until it reached a capacity of 60,000 seats.

The first sports event occurred on May 2, 1925, as spectators watched the great Finnish Olympic Games distance champion Paavo Nurmi win over Willie Ratalo. Many sporting events were held in Kezar, such as the boxing welterweight championship on Washington’s birthday in 1930. The stadium had been transformed into a boxing ring and thousands of spectators jammed the field and stands to watch young Corbett fight Jackie Fields. In 1955, Rocly Mariano defeat Don Cockell at Kezar in a world title fight. The East-West Shrine game (Strong legs run, so that weak legs may walk) began Mary E. Kezar’s namesake. The University of San Francisco, Univer-sity of St. Mary’s, and Santa Clara University all played there, as did many other major colleges during the WW II years, many of the pre-flight games were all played there, representing a great many of the armed services teams. The Stadium, however, was built around a couple of San Fran-cisco High Schools, Poly and Lowell. By 1927 the Big Games’ seating capacity was overflowing with fans, and by 1928 was enlarged to its maximum capacity of 60,000 seats.

The irony of the closing of Poly seemed to tear the heart out of old Kezar. The two grew up together, but when one went, the other seemed to have lost all their tenants – the 49ers to Candle-stick, the Shrine game to Stanford, leaving but AAA to trodden her field and her seats without their landlord ...

Editor: Art Lidstrom (S`57) 172 La Mancha Drive Soma, California 95476

Phone: (707)934-8357 Email: rainshyll@gmail.com

Assistant Editor: Marilyn (Fetter) Lewis (S`57) Publishing Consultant: Bob Ross (S`55)

Perennial Parrot Web Site www.PerennialParrot.com/index.html

Web Master: Bob Ross

HAIL POLY Web Site www.maxie24.com/hailpoly/HailPoly/index.html

Polytechnic Alumni Assoc. Email: polytechnicalumniassocsf@gmail.com

From The Fall `62/Spring `63 Yearbook

The Spring 1963 POM-POM Girls

Alice Katz

Nancy Brand

Gail Lustenberger

Aurelya Thomas

Sylvia Salcedo

Yvonne Gibbs

The Polytechnic Alumni Association Board of Directors deeply regrets canceling this year's

luncheon scheduled for September 12, 2020. It is a huge disappointment for all of us but for

health & safety considerations we were unanimous in our vote to cancel at the May 14 Board

Meeting. The majority of PAA members are senior citizens and even if our event were to be

held, social distancing would prohibit the usual camaraderie. We will see you again next

year and, in the meantime please keep that Polytechnic High School spirit going strong!

Francie Simonson

President

Polytechnic Alumni Association

From Wikipedia,

Unknown year picture taken From the Movie, The Eiger Sanction 1962 Graduation Picture

(January 14, 1945 – July 9, 2010)

Born in San Francisco, California, to Lawrence McGee and Alma McGee (née Scott), Vonetta gradu-

ated from San Francisco's’ Polytechnic High School in 1962. She enrolled at San Francisco State

University and became involved in acting groups on campus.

Vonetta’s, Film career started in 1968, and continued to 2007. Some of the films she performed in

were: The Great Silence, the Italian comedy Faustina,,Faustina, The Great Silence, The Lost

Man, The Kremlin Letter, The Big Bust Out, Melinda, Hammer, The Norliss Tapes, Shaft in Africa,

Detroit 9000, Blackula, The Eiger Sanction, Brothers, Foxbat, Repo Man, Hell Town, To Sleep with

Anger, Brother Future, Johnny B Good, and Black August.

Also Vonetta s’ Television appearances, Starsky & Hutch, Cagney & Lacey,, L.A. Law, and

Bustin' Loose. Some of these movies are available for free viewing or for rent.

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From

“THE

POLYTECHNIC”

Yearbook

Fall `57/Spring `58

Just a note, as I thought some of the Poly alumni might to know about these movies. I was

watching television the other morning and on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), and to my surprise a

western movie came on called, The Fighting Gringo and found other westerns staring George

O’Brian. Also I was watching movies on Amazon Prime and came across, which I believe is the

first talking movie of Daniel Boone, staring guess who … George O’Brien.

You might want to check it out and see if they are still available to watch.

Also in searching with Google, I also found out that Janet and Warner appeared together in the

1931 movie titled Daddy Longlegs. I was able to watch it on a web site called rare films, unfortu-

nately they shut him down. You still might want to check it out. Also found the movie Cisco Kid

staring Warner and was able to watch on the web. Also on TCM he appeared in the 1940’s movie

42ne Streets, this movie pops up once in awhile on TCM. Also watched on the web his Academy

Award film In Old Arizona. Some of these films might be available for purchase, or viewed free.

If you happen to know of other Poly Alumni that were on Television or in the movies let us know.

As we will follow up and let the alumni know about them in future newsletters.

I mostly grew up in San Francisco.

My mother and father met drunk at a USO dance in San Francisco in Janu-

ary of 1944. After their one night in San Francisco’s Shaw Hotel, my mother

and father never saw each other again.

I grew up wanting to be a cowboy or a baseball player, though the medical

and family consensus after a lung lobectomy at the age of five was that I

would be dead by 20. The only thing I truly cared about as a boy was baseball.

I lacked serious talent for the game, but I gave the game all I had every day.

The Durham Bulls, when I was the bullpen coach for half the 1980 season,

were the only team in pro ball to have had a “poet-in-residence.” I’ve done

okay as a father, though I sure don’t have advice for others. Kate is a wonder-

ful mother. We have four adult children, and they’ve all done well in their

pursuits.

We have lived, except for three years in Las Vegas, in the rural American West. Inevitably you learn that a beloved place has

changed and you fear that you will no longer fit comfortably in a place you once flourished in. Poet Billy Collins notes that

dogs are good listeners of poems. A good glass of whiskey is best enjoyed with a good friend.

The Irish have given the world an astonishing number of great writers. The love of a woman can send a man to the ends of

the earth.

A piece of pie is best with whipped cream or ice cream. There is pleasure in beginning a large meal with dessert.

If I could share a pint with James Joyce, I would want to do it in Paris with Kay Boyle, Ernest Hemingway and Samuel

Beckett. Billy the Kid should receive a New Mexico governor’s pardon.

My favorite Western movie is Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch. And then Peckinpah’s Junior Bonner and Ballad of Cable

Hogue.

My favorite Sam Peckinpah quote is: “We’re here to be pros, to get it on, to get it over with, to get the f*ck out.”

It is a good thought for writers, because a playwright or screenwriter (or poet or novelist) getting too thinking brings on dis-

aster.

To be original, write from the body…from how it experiences existence. The body never lies. Sometimes the head is lazy.

A writer’s life is built with obsession and compulsion…and the sugar of ego that sustains a true writer even in the worst cir-

cumstances.

Billy Joe Shaver with his legendary eighth-grade education, has out-written just about every one of the 24,000 living recipi-

ents of a university graduate degree in poetry writing.

Kris Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar (a Miltonist), an Army captain (helicopter pilot and Ranger) on a fast track for gen-

eral, a teacher of English at West Point…and he gave up everything to chase a dream. That is courage.

An American poet is usually swimming in whipped cream. It’s very hard to write good poetry from a recliner, though it’s a

sure place for creating a heart attack body.

Named “Best Living Western Poet” by True West in 2007, Red Shuttleworth has received three Spur Awards for Poetry and

the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Best Poetry Book for Woe to the Land Shadowing. A playwright, too, Shuttleworth’s

plays have been presented widely, most recently Eight Monologues from Americana West (directed by Kirk Ellis) as part of

the 2019 Western Writers of America convention in Tucson. Red and his wife, Kate, have four adult children…and live near-

ly off-the-grid in the Columbia Basin of Washington, a shrub steppe of scab rock, sagebrush, rattlesnakes and sections of

irrigated Cadillac desert.

(UPDATED: AUG 22, 2018 ORIGINAL: DEC 15, 2014)

Built in 1878, the 345-foot SS City of Rio de Janeiro spent its early years going back and forth be-

tween Brazil and the United States. But when this proved unprofitable, it was sold and re-pressed

into service moving goods and passengers across the Pacific Ocean. For two decades the City of

Rio followed the same route—Hong Kong to Japan to Hawaii to San Francisco—except for a

brief period in which it served as a troop transport during the Spanish-American War. In 1890 it

suffered extensive damage upon colliding with another ship in Hong Kong’s harbor. Five years

later it hit a reef off the coast of Japan, and in 1897 it got caught in a vicious typhoon. Yet it had

never lost a single passenger.

On its ill-fated last voyage, the City of Rio found itself a few days behind schedule as a result of

bad weather and mechanical difficulties. It finally reached the California coast on February 21,

1901, only for a thick fog to prevent it from advancing the last few miles into port. That night over

dinner, the ship’s most prominent passenger, Rounsevelle Wildman, a top U.S. diplomat based in

Hong Kong, purportedly pressured the captain to hurry along so that he could catch the train to

President William McKinley’s second-term inauguration in Washington, D.C. The captain also

apparently had a social engagement he didn’t want to miss. Whether influenced by these factors

or not, the ship’s crew raised anchor around 4 a.m. the following day. But although the fog had

cleared momentarily, it soon drifted back in, reducing visibility to near zero.

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(Deadliest Shipwreck Continued)

In these poor conditions, the City of Rio veered too far south as it entered the Golden Gate, a

treacherous strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean (now spanned by the

Golden Gate Bridge). At about 5:30 a.m., while most passengers slept in their cabins below, it col-

lided with jagged rocks off of San Francisco’s Fort Point, ripping a huge gash in its iron hull.

Frigid water quickly rushed in as the tide pushed the ship off the rocks, and within 10 minutes it

had gone under. American officers and Chinese crewmembers attempted to whisk everyone up on

deck and get them into lifeboats, but they were hindered by the language barrier between them. In

the end, only a couple of lifeboats launched successfully, whereas other passengers clung desper-

ately to debris. Hearing the ship’s distress calls, fishermen rushed to the area and rescued as

many people as they could. But 128 perished anyway, including Wildman, his wife and his two

children, along with about 80 Chinese immigrants and additional immigrants from Japan.

The shipwreck attracted the attention of newspapers around the world and remains well known in

the Bay Area. “I grew up out here, and that’s a story you were told rather early on in your life,”

said James Delgado, director of maritime heritage for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-

ministration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “It was the worst disaster of the Gate.”

Wreckage from the City of Rio continued popping up for years afterward, such as a wooden barrel

found in 1917. But although many people tried, largely due to rumors about silver bars onboard,

no one could locate the ship itself. A man claimed to have come across it in 1931 with a tiny home-

made submarine, but he never resurfaced from a later voyage. Delgado explained that the waters

of the Golden Gate are deep, dark and extremely fast moving, with lots of shipping traffic. Look-

ing for the City of Rio through a mask or with a remote-control camera, he said, is like “trying to

get a glimpse of something with a flashlight in the middle of the night in a driving snow-

storm.”Sonar, on the other hand, is a much more effective search tool, and in 1987 commercial

explorers used it to find what they believed was the wreck. However, they were unable to reach it

by the time their permit to salvage expired a few years later. Even if they had, Delgado stated, they

would have discovered tin instead if the silver they expected. Plus, he said, they would have been

“digging through what is a grave.” Delgado believes that the commercial group did, in fact, find

the City of Rio. But it’s hard to tell for sure, he said, because the coordinates they gave did not

match up with records at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a feder-

al government agency that, among other things, charts the seafloor. Recently, NOAA began its

own search for the City of Rio as part of a two-year project to document the roughly 200 ship-

wrecks in and around the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Gulf of the Faralonesl

National Marine Sanctuary. . First, it partnered with sonar expert Gary Fabian, who pinpointed

the mud-covered remains in 287 feet of water. (The stern had broken off and was even deeper.)

(Deadliest Shipwreck Conclusion)

NOAA did not have a submersible capable of getting down there. So, it again looked outside the

agency, with private companies donating a research vessel, a crew and a remotely operated vehi-

cle equipped with high-definition 3-D sonar technology. “The ROV is bigger than a refrigerator,

and it weighs a ton and a half,” Delgado explained. One day in early November, the crew lowered

this behemoth off its boat and began mapping the City of Rio. It also mapped the nearby SS City

of Chester, which had gone down in 1888.By locating such shipwrecks, researchers provide clo-

sure for grieving families, according to Delgado, who added that they bring to light “powerful

human stories, like those of immigration and loss, perseverance and bravery.” NOAA also assess

whether any of the ships pose an environmental risk. Corroding fuel tanks, for example, could

hypothetically be poised to burst, with negative consequences for the sensitive marine ecosystem.

At the same time, scientists can study the animals living in what are now essentially artificial

reefs. “We need to pay more attention to the ocean,” Delgado said. “It’s 70 percent of the planet.

And it’s 70 percent

Mission Dolores, the oldest intact building in San Francisco,

was constructed from 1782-1791 with Native American labor. It

has been used continuously for religious purposes since that

time. The Mission was founded in 1776 by Father Francisco

Palou under the direction of Father Junipero Serra. The chapel

is an excellent example of vernacular colonial Spanish archi-

tecture. The walls are constructed of adobe brick four feet thick and the roof beams are of red-

wood. Traditional Indian designs have been reproduced on the ceiling with vegetable dyes. The

adjacent cemetery includes many significant burials, including that of Don Luis Antonio Arguel-

lo, the first Governor of California under Mexican rule. Don Jose Joaquin Moraga, the first

commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco, is buried under the altar of the church. The Mis-

sion was restored in 1920 by architect Willis Polk.

Mission Dolores, located at 320 Dolores St. in San Francisco, is open daily

from 9:00am to 4:00 pm for more information call 415-621-8203.

Amish Apple Fritter Disney Dole Whip Where the elite meet to eat those famous fries

Amish Apple Fritter

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon Apple Pie Spice

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

1½ cups peeled, chopped apples

oil for frying and Confectioners sugar

Directions:

Pour oil into a deep skillet or Dutch oven to a depth of about 3

inches. Heat to 375 degrees. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking pow-

der and Apple Pie Spice into a large mixing bowl.

Place eggs in a separate bowl and beat them lightly. Stir in

milk and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredi-

ents and pour in the milk mixture. Add butter and beat with a

mixer on low speed to moisten, about 1/2 minute. Scrape

down sides of bowl and increase speed to medium for 2

minutes longer.

Fold in apples. Using a 1/4 cup size measuring cup, drop into

hot oil. Be careful not to splash the oil on yourself. If your pot is

not very large at the top, you may be able to cook only one at a

time.As the fritters cook, they will rise to the top. When

browned on the first side, carefully turn them over with a spat-

ula to brown the second side. Drain on paper towels and sprin-

kle immediately, and generously, with confectioner sugar or

glaze I prefer glaze.

To make glaze confectioners sugar and milk or water whisk

together and glaze while warm.

Robert Canihan 81

Class of Spring 1956

1938 ~ April 2020

Richard Evets 83

Class of Spring 1955

1937 ~ July 4, 2020

Ronald Dale Anderson 83

Class of Spring 1954

August 21, 1936 ~ June 4,

2020

Catherine (Taormina) Gawronski 84

Class of 1954

1936 ~ April 23, 2020

Hazel D. (Maiden Unknown) So 92

Class of 1946

1928 ~ June 29, 2020

Harry Leonard 81

Class of Spring 1957

1939 ~ May 17, 2020

Perry Close 98

Class of 1939

1921 ~ April 19, 2020

Kenneth Henry 83

Class of Spring 1954

May 28, 1936 ~ Feb 7, 2020

Florence (Vaquilar) Noguera 69

Class of 1968

June 14, 1950 ~ July 22, 2020

George Athanasopulos 82

Class of Spring 1956

1938 ~ Apr 2, 2020

Roland Acosta 71

Class of Spring 1966

July 11, 1948 ~ April 6, 2020

Stephanie Cecelia (Bell) Pusch 73

Class of Fall 1963

June 28, 1946 ~ June 23, 2020

Richard Schreier 76

Class of 1961

September 10, 1943 ~ June 17, 2020

May the Parrot be with them on their journey

Coach Ernst “Ernie” Feibusch 95

Lowell High School

March 27, 1925 ~ April 19, 2020

Coach Feibusch was a member of the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, SF Prep Hall of

Fame, and Lowell Sports Foundation Hall of Fame. Over his 44-year high school

coaching career, Lowell won 20 Academic Athletic Association championships

while he recorded more than 670 career wins. He was a Life Member of the Poly-

technic Alumni Association and regularly attended the An

Full Obituary: http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/SanFranciscoChronicle/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?

Ron Jones 70

Class of 1967

1949 ~ March 31, 2020

Preston Delaney 68

Class of 69/70 (?)

March 4, 1952 ~ April 29, 2020

Glono Laiolo 88

Class of 1949

1932-2020

May the Parrot be with them on their journey

Give me an isle, a bit of land

With sapphire sea on either hand,

An island where the green things grow,

And the tropic sun swings red and low,

Just a dot on the boundless sea,

But what a gracious home for me!

With clear lagoons, warm , bright, and deep,

White, sandy banks on which to sleep;

Lotus-perfumed, languorous breeze -

Oh, for an isle with all of these!

Far from the trodden asphalt ways,

Dull, black nights, and slate-gray days,

Far from the clanging, noisy bells,

Out near God, by the ocean swells -

A wee, small voice in my heart each day

Is telling me to sail away

Over the fairy waters blue,

And make my day dreams come true.

So, perhaps some day, as twilight gleams,

I’ll sail away to my isle o’ dreams.

Helen Growney

My Isle O’ Dreams (From the Spring 1923 Yearbook

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (If you don't even know what clotheslines are, you better skip this.)

THIS IS FUNNY AND QUITE TRUE .... WE ARE PROBABLY THE LAST GENERATION THAT WILL RE-

MEMBER WHAT A CLOTHES LINE WAS .... Great memories for some of us!

There is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used

to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the

ground and get dirty. I can hear my mother now....

1. You had to hang the socks by the toes .... NOT the top.

2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs .... NOT the waistbands.

3. You had to WASH the clothes line(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of

each line with a damp cloth around the lines. (Was my job)

4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites,"

and hang them first.

5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors

think?

6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's

sake!

7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables"

in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather .... clothes would "freeze-dry. "I remember my

Grandfather’s union suits standing by themselves frozen. How many remember union suits?

9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were

"tacky"!

10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two

clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.

11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready

to be ironed. (IRONED? Well, that's a whole OTHER subject!)

ODE TO A CLOTHES LINE A clothesline was a news forecast,

to neighbors passing by,

There were no secrets you could keep,

when clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link, for neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by,

to spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets", and towels upon the line;

You'd see the "company table cloths", with intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth,

from folks who lived inside,

As brand new infant clothes were hung,

so carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could, so readily be known

By watching how the sizes changed,

you’d know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,

as extra sheets were hung;

Then night clothes and a bathrobe too,

haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "On vacation now", when lines hung

limp and bare.

It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged,

with not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon, if wash was dingy and

gray, As neighbors carefully raised their brows, and looked the

other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past,

for dryers make work much less.

Now what goes on inside a home,

Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life, it was a friendly sign,

When neighbors knew each other best .... by what hung

on the line.