Palo Alto High School

"The GREEN Thing"

2012-05-18T16:56:09-04:00

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day. Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books. But too bad we didn't do the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-alecky, young person.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to tick us off.

Paly '61 - Graduation Day

2011-10-02T16:10:53-04:00

Charlie said at the reunion that it turned out that we were "cool" afterall. Well it also turns out that we're also (or were) HOT HOT HOT!

The following submitted by Kaye Petty Paugh:

The other day the 2011-12 edition of Info Palo Alto arrived in our mail. It has some helpful resource information about Palo Alto among the many advertisements for various services. While thumbing through it before deciding whether to file in it that "catch all" kitchen drawer or put it in the recycle bin, this interesting fact jumped out at me:

Under the heading for Climate
"Hottest day in city history: June 15, 1961 (107 degrees)
Coldest day in city history: Jan. 11, 1949 and Dec. 23, 1990 (20 degrees)"

Yes, you guessed it. I double checked (I had just filed away a graduation announcement with my reunion file) and that was our graduation date. I remember that it was extremely hot that day, but I had no idea that it was a record breaking 107 degrees! I do recall my mother being shocked and then bemused that several of us only wore a slip under those heavy graduation robes and not a graduation dress. In 1961 Paly graduation robes were very heavy and thick (like choir robes) and we rented them. Currently, at least for the last 22 years, the students purchase their graduation robes and the material is quite thin and certainly requires full clothing underneath the lightweight material.

June weather in Palo Alto is unpredictable. There have been many extremes in temperature and even rain at Paly graduations. For several decades Paly's graduation was held on the football field (with parents and grandparents sitting in the bleachers and the seniors sitting in chairs on the football field facing them) and somewhere around 2001 we had such a hot day that we were fearful that we might "lose" some of the grandparents. The quick thinking athletic director brought in hundreds of bottles of water which helped immensely. About eight years ago Paly graduation was moved to the Quad area of campus and while students and parents were at first quite upset by the move, they now seem to love it. For at least the last 25 years or so, Graduation begins at 5:45 on a Wednesday. Our Commencement was at 8:15 on a Thursday in the Amphitheatre (now home to the new Science Building) and that later hour probably made the heat somewhat more tolerable.

I just thought that you might be interested that our class has yet another distinction: We graduated on the hottest day in city history!

Herb Caen: "Friday Fish Fry"

2011-09-02T23:59:33-04:00

I just found a newspaper article in my scrapbook from our sophomore year at Paly written by Herb Caen entitled: "FRIDAY FISH-FRY"

"WIZEGUYS, ALWAYS WIZEGUYS: Palo Alto High observed National Library Week in a most peculiar manner this week. That's because the alecky-smart kids staged a 'run' on the library--each one taking out six or eight books which depleted the stacks to such a point that the library had to be closed for two days!" (to restack the shelves). I made the following note in my scrapbook: "Raid on Librarian, 'Old Lady' Morehouse" sorry about the remark :(

RE: SPAL Cross Country Prank by Bob Langfelder

2011-08-17T19:23:12-04:00

Bob,

And now, drumroll, you go down in history books along with with Rosie Ruiz ('80 Boston Marathon) and Jean's Marines ('05 Marine Corp Classic)--and maybe Barry Bonds--as an asterisk kind of athlete. What's next? Maybe Sports Illstated's Hall of Ill Fame for runners!

Great story.

SPAL Cross Country Prank by Bob Langfelder

2011-08-17T15:58:55-04:00

SPAL Cross-Country Prank!

By Bob Langfelder

In my senior year I decided, wisely now, to not go out for football, but, instead, to go out for cross-country and get in shape for coming basketball season. I never made it past running on the Paly JV “Harriers” team. When it came time, in November , 1960, for the SPAL JV Finals at Stanford Golf course, I wanted to try to win the race. How would I do it being I was not a great runner; it was simple, cheat! My best friend, Bob Agramonte, Aggie, also on the JV team, was injured that day so he joined in my conspiracy.

The plan was simple. Pull one on Coach Forrest Jamison. The Stanford course for cross country I think started on the 2^nd hole tee, and finished there. The runners would go down the 2^nd hole Par 4 fairway, cut across a couple of other fairways, about one mile, and circle around and come back the same route to the finish line at the 2^nd hole tee. A two-mile race.

So, the plan was simple. I would go out with the pack, run all out so I was near the front. Then Aggie would hide in bushes by the 3^rd hole, and when I came by, he would signal me to come to a safe place to hide and wait for the runners to return coming the other way toward the finish line.

It all went to plan perfectly. I got off to a good start, was right with the front group. I wondered how could these runners keep this up two miles. I was exhausted when I saw Aggie and I ducked in behind the heavy bushes and trees. Then all the rest of the runners went by, and Aggie and I talked strategy. “Aggie, I can’t win the race. It would not be fair to the good runners.” “Yes, you can do it, win the whole race. No one will know,” urged Aggies. So we waited forever, it seemed, more like 6 minutes. (The race takes about 10-11 minutes total.)

And then the pack of leaders, maybe 6 runners, started coming up the course our way bunched together. “Wait until they go buy, then make your move behind them, and catch them down the stretch,” urged Aggie.

So I waited anxiously as the lead pack went by, I think one Paly runner in the group.

Then I made me move. I was running easily and I noticed, of course, how the lead runners were panting and struggling to keep going. I moved up into 4^th place when a pang of conscience came over me. “It is not right to win this race.” And I do not know if I could have, but I pulled back, with a couple of hundred yards to go, and let the top 10 runners or so finished ahead of me. As I hit the finish line, I got a number #11 for my order of finish and I had to give that #11 and my name to the head judge. I did. Teammates came up, and congratulated me including Aggie. “Great race Langy!” I nodded pretending exhaustion. I think a runner from MA won the race and a Palo Alto runner came in 3^rd. Paly won the team competition. The Paly runner who took 3^rd,I forget his name, and it was not Walter Hewitt who won the SPAL Varsity event, Third Place said to me, “Boy, I was surprised to see you in the final group. It was like you came out of nowhere.” I nodded. “Yea, I did.” And I got away with it.

Except for the next day at the team meeting, the famous track and cross country Coach “Crew Cut” Jamison, smiled and told the team that he had to call the SPAL office to disqualify “Langfelder”. Jamison said he knew I had cheated because at the halfway point to the race, he stands with a stopwatch and yells out and writes down Paly runners times as they go by. He did not see me go by. “Oh, coach,” I pleaded, “ I went by so fast you missed me.” “No,” smiled Jamison again, “I did not see you. Good try. And I must confess I considered the same tactic with the Bardsley twins, (lookalikes Junior twins, David and George) having David run the first half of the race, then slip the other twin, George, in at one of the blind spots on the course to finish the race. I think that was better scheme than Langfelder's, …” Everyone laughed.

And that was it. I was not banned from the SPAL for the rest of the year. I was not expelled from school or disciplined in anyway. Neither was Aggie. My high school cross-country career was over. I had almost pulled one over on the SPAL and Jamison. A prank, sort of. I never cheated in a race again. OK, I never ran one again. The lesson was I could not win the race because I felt empathy for the other runners. Or was the lesson, I should be come up with a better scheme next time? That damn Jamison at the half -way point. Hey, it was high school and we had fun…

mid night auto

2011-07-09T13:08:08-04:00

I believe there were five of us: me, Moss, Lerch, Talbott and the fifth i'm not sure of. Seems one of us knew of a racecar parked in an ally over by Hubard's Lumber Yard. Well we headed over in my car to relieve the car of some parts. We parked far away from the car and walk to it. Lerch was the look out. I don't think we even got our hands on the car and Lerch came running screaming cops. I was the slowest of the bunch, but not this night. We all headed across the tracks and across Alma with the cops hot behind us. I was in front and ran past Don l Morris Paints and made a right turn in the street that ran in back. I got to the dumpster and jumped in digging my way to the bottom. Somone tried to get in with me, but I told them to get out. Everyone was caught trying to climb the fence next to Don l Morris. Not me. I must of stayed in the dumpster for hours.

Ranchero

2011-07-06T13:36:10-04:00

I would like to thank JK for all the work he has done on this site. I also can't believe the only story we have seen is about spitballs. So I have a few I would like to share with everyone in hopes others will come out.

This is probably my favorite.

The Ranchero I'm sure many will remember. Remember all the trips to flat top in Los Altos Hills.

The story begins when I got home from Paly on Friday. I new my Dad's new Ranchero ( the first one) was in the garage and dad had left for the weekend to go hunting. Into the garage I went and there it was red and white, big engine, stick and overdrive. Just fifteen miles on it and I was about to change that. Called up my two best buds, Moss and Lerch and said I would be over. From there I think we went to the show then out on El Camino to cruise. First stop was the red light across from Stanford Shopping Center. What pulls up next to us but a 57 Chev. The race was on to the next stop light just before Menlo Park at the top of the hill.

There was a little rain coming down just enough to make the road super slippery. Also remember in those days, no seat belts. Well there we were ready to drag again and off we went. I was beating the hell out of the Chev and we were almost across from Marquards when I don't remember if it was Moss or Lerch who grabbed my leg and said," its about that Chevrolet in front of us." At the time I was busy looking back to see where the car was I just got through beating.

The car stopped in front of me, at an angle making a left turn was a 57 Chev Remember they had that big fin on the back on each side. Also the Ranchero was dumped in the front. I hit that fin right in the center of the Ranchero sending the Chev into the show room floor of the furniture store across from Marquads

Needless to say there would be no more miles on this Ranchero

RE: The Paly Cafeteria Story

2011-04-03T19:12:46-04:00

Judy Oglesby Thomas wrote:

Although I used to eat lunch at Paly in the band room with the "music crowd" most of the time, I went to the cafeteria once - on a day that they served creamed corn.

Someone had taken a straw wrapper, dipped one end of it into the creamed corn, and blown it up onto the ceiling, to stick like a stalagtite.... Well, as I walked in, everyone was shooting straw
wrappers up onto the ceiling, and hundreds of them were stuck up there! It was terrible, and funny, all at the same time. I remember leaving, feeling so sorry for the unfortunate souls who would have to clean up the mess...............

It's amazing what the principal and teachers have to deal with in high schools .............. Bless them!

If I recall the "KAFF" was down in the basement, underground and a rather creepy place to eat, of which I never did but I had to go down there daily to attend a class directed by Mr. Ochoa, a lovely man who heavily smoked Old Gold cigarettes-I know because I once liberated a couple of them from him. Remember the teacher's lounge? You probably will if you ever opened that door to peer in through the blue thick smoke.

JK Long time non-smoker

The Paly Cafeteria Story

2011-03-04T18:39:44-04:00