@ FairmontWest69.com

50 Years Ago Today in the Journal Herald

"American Factory"

is now streaming on Netflix

It is a documentary about Fuyao transforming the Moraine GM plant into an auto glass factory.

Fuyao has invested over $600 million and now employs over 2300 in the Dayton area.

Critics Consensus

American Factory takes a thoughtful -- and troubling -- look at the dynamic between workers and employers in the 21st-century globalized economy.

97%

TOMATOMETER
Total Count: 32

American Factory is one of the year’s best docs

The fly-on-the-wall look at a former GM factory in Dayton bought by a Chinese company is a fascinating peek into the challenges of globalization.

American Factory

The premise: In December 2008, the last truck rolled off the assembly line of the GM plant in Dayton, Ohio. Thousands of people were out of work. Then in 2014, a Chinese company reopened the factory and rehired a workforce to make automotive glass. American Factory is a documentary about the factory’s reopening, and the cultural clashes that put some bumps in the road. (It’s also the first film from Higher Ground, Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, which has partnered with Netflix to distribute a slate of programming.)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

What it’s about: Directed by veteran documentarians Steve Bognar and Julia Reichert, American Factory follows along — mostly in a fly-on-the-wall fashion — as the closed GM factory in Dayton is reopened as Fuyao Glass America, the US branch of a Chinese company that manufactures automotive glass. Daytonians who struggled after they were laid off from GM rejoice when they are rehired by the new company, but soon find that their expectations about labor practices and corporate culture clash with the new management’s ideals.

The film tracks American and Chinese workers and managers through a years-long period of adjustment, some of it quite rocky. At times, it’s a bit humorous; differences in American and Chinese ideas about loyalty to your employer, safety on the factory floor, working overtime, and much more come to the foreground. And when the workers at Fuyao Glass America decide to unionize, trouble is ahead.

Reichert (whose 50-year career in documentary film has often examined the American working class) and Bognar knew what they were doing in choosing this factory for the film. They live in Dayton, and in their 2009 short documentary The Last Truck, they captured the closing of the GM plant and its effects on the community, mostly through interviews with workers who were losing their jobs.

So it was familiar and personal terrain to them, and they spent years on the floor at the factory with their team to capture a well-rounded view of what happened that neither demonizes nor glosses over the conflicts. They train their cameras on not just the people but the tasks and materials of the job, giving audiences less familiar with the factory floor an idea of just how complicated and difficult the work is, and how valuable skilled labor is as well. American Factory tackles the challenges of globalization with much more depth and nuance than most reporting on the topic, precisely because it steps back to watch a story unfold over time and resists easy generalizations. It’s both soberly instructive and fascinating.

The New York Times

'American Factory’ Review:

The New Global Haves and Have-Nots

A documentary looks at what happened when a Chinese company took over a closed General Motors factory in Ohio.

“The most important thing is not how much money we earn,” the Chinese billionaire Cao Dewang says in “American Factory” soon before we see him on a private jet. What’s important, he says, are Americans’ views toward China and its people.

In 2016, Cao opened a division of Fuyao, his global auto-glass manufacturing company, in a shuttered General Motors factory near Dayton, Ohio. Blaming slumping S.U.V. sales, G.M. had closed the plant — known as the General Motors Moraine Assembly Plant — in December 2008, throwing thousands out of work the same month the American government began a multibillion dollar bailout of the auto industry. The Dayton factory remained idle until Fuyao announced it was taking it over, investing millions and hiring hundreds of local workers, numbers it soon increased.

The veteran filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, who are a couple and live outside of Dayton, documented the G.M. plant when it closed. They included the image of the last truck rolling off the line in their 2009 short, “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant.” That crystallizing image also appears in “American Factory,” which revisits the plant six years later. The feature-length story they tell here is complex, stirring, timely and beautifully shaped, spanning continents as it surveys the past, present and possible future of American labor. (This is the first movie that Barack and Michelle Obama’s company Higher Ground Productions is releasing with Netflix.)

“American Factory” opens with a brief, teary look back at the plant’s closing that sketches in the past and foreshadows the difficult times ahead. The story proper begins in 2015 amid the optimistic bustle of new beginnings, including a rah-rah Fuyao presentation for American job seekers. Bognar and Reichert, who shot the movie with several others — the editor is Lindsay Utz — have a great eye for faces and they quickly narrow in on the range of expressions in the room. Some applicants sit and listen stoically; one woman, her hand over her mouth, gently rocks in her seat, tapping out a nervous rhythm as the Fuyao representative delivers his pitch.

With detail and sweep, interviews and you-are-there visuals, the filmmakers quickly establish a clear, strong narrative line as the new enterprise — Fuyao Glass America — gets off the ground. The optimism of the workers is palpable; the access the filmmakers secured remarkable. Bognar and Reichert spent a number of years making “American Factory,” a commitment that’s evident in its layered storytelling and the trust they earned. American and visiting Chinese workers alike open their homes and hearts, including Wong He, an engaging, quietly melancholic furnace engineer who speaks movingly of his wife and children back in China.

His is just one story in an emotionally and politically trenchant chronicle of capitalism, propaganda, conflicting values and labor rights. As the factory ramps up, optimism gives way to unease, dissent and fear. Some workers are hurt, others are at risk; glass breaks, tempers fray. Both the Chinese and American management complain about production and especially about the American workers who, in turn, seem mainly grateful for a new shot. A forklift operator named Jill Lamantia is living in her sister’s basement when we first meet her. A job at Fuyao allows her to move into her own apartment, but like everyone else she struggles with the company’s demands.

By the time the documentary shifts to China, for a visit by American managers to the Fuyao mother ship, it has become clear that something will have to give. The American subsidiary is losing money and Chairman Cao, as he’s called, is not happy. His frustration can seem amusing, but as his dissatisfaction mounts, the temperature grows colder and management becomes openly hostile. For viewers who have never peered inside a Chinese factory, these scenes — with their singalongs, team-building exercises and extravagant pageants — may seem strange or perhaps a gung-ho variation on contemporary corporate management practice (cue the next Apple confab).

“American Factory” is political without being self-servingly didactic or strident, connecting the sociopolitical dots intelligently, sometimes with the help of a stirring score from Chad Cannon that evokes Aaron Copland. The filmmakers don’t villainize anyone, though a few participants come awfully close to twirling waxed mustaches, like an American manager who jokes to a Chinese colleague that it would be a good idea to duct-tape the mouths of talky American workers. It’s a shocking exchange — only the Chinese manager appears concerned that they’re on camera — simply because of the openness of the antagonism toward the company’s own labor force.

It’s these men and women — Timi Jernigan, John Crane, Shawnea Rosser, Robert Allen and so many others — whose optimism and disappointment give the movie its emotional through-line and whose stories stand in contrast to Cao’s own self-made tale. He recalls that the China of his youth was poor; now he is, according to Forbes, one of “China’s richest” and his hobbies include golfing and collecting art. You see the fruits of his endeavors in “American Factory,” in scenes of him relaxing and pontificating. And working too, of course, always working, including in a luxurious office where a couple of socialist realist paintings show him against the sky like a sleekly updated Mao — an image that the filmmakers linger on, letting its meaning bloom like a hundred flowers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m36QeKOJ2Fc

Remember Plant-Based Eggs?

"Now, the humble mung bean has set up camp in the egg section, and it’s starting to make some noise."

Tried it this morning

So many ingredients in JUST Eggs

Mostly cooked and looked like liquid egg

Texture satisfactory

Taste not bad but not there

$6.00 for 8 servings

They'll have to improve it for me

EMOJI

The earliest known mobile phone in Japan to include a set of emoji was released by J-Phone on

November 1, 1997

By the digits

176: Original assortment of emoji, including a heart, an umbrella, and a full set of zodiac symbols

3,019: Emoji in the Unicode Standard as of March 2019

7%: Share of people who use the 🍑 emoji as a fruit

5 billion: Emoji sent daily on Facebook Messenger

346: People and smiley-face emoji

7%: Rotten Tomatoes rating on The Emoji Movie

92%: Share of all people online who use emoji

>50%: Share of Instagram posts that contain emoji

110%: Purple Dragon emoji

17: Default date on the emoji calendar 📆

1, 2, 3: Rank of 😂, ❤️, and 😍 as most used emoji in 2018

A 2016 study found that people who rated themselves as agreeable were more likely to use emoji on social media sites. The study also found that people who commonly used emoji were more socially receptive and empathetic. Researchers in Colombia found the use of emoji faces produces neural responses similar to those observed in face-to-face communication.

Ryan Kelly, a computer scientist at the University of Bath, told Wired that emoji help create an "ambient presence" when words aren’t appropriate. He found that when messengers end their conversation, they often trade a few emoji as a “nonverbal denouement.”

Purple Dragon emoji

“After millennia of painful improvement, from illiteracy to Shakespeare and beyond, humanity is rushing to throw it all away. We’re heading back to ancient Egyptian times, next stop the stone age, with a big yellow smiley grin on our faces.”

—Art and design critic Jonathan Jones 2015

• 😴 Sleeping Face
• 😷 Face With Medical Mask
• 🤒 Face With Thermometer
• 🤕 Face With Head-Bandage
• 🤢 Nauseated Face
• 🤮 Face Vomiting
• 🤧 Sneezing Face
• 🥵 Hot Face
• 🥶 Cold Face
• 🥴 Woozy Face
• 😵 Dizzy Face
• 🤯 Exploding Head

Facebook and Twitter replace all Unicode emoji used on their websites with their own custom graphics.

Research has shown that emoji are often misunderstood. In some cases, this misunderstanding is related to how the actual emoji design is interpreted by the viewer; in other cases, the emoji that was sent is not shown in the same way on the receiving side.

Hang on Sloopy

The McCoys

Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on
Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on

Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town
And everybody yeah, tries to put my sloopy down
Well Sloopy I don't care what your daddy do
Cause' you know Sloopy girl I'm in love with you
And so I say now

Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on
Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on

Sloopy let your hair down girl let it hang down on me
Sloopy let your hair down girl let it hang down on me

Come on Sloopy, Come on Sloopy
Come on…

"Hang On Sloopy" is a 1964 song by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns, originally titled "My Girl Sloopy", it was first recorded and made a hit by R&B vocal group The Vibrations.

When the rock band The McCoys covered it in 1965, the song peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the UK Singles Chart. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0xJpi9rK8

According to Rick Derringer, the original version of Sloopy was written by a "high school kid in St. Louis" and sold to Bert Russell, a.k.a. Bert Berns. Berns, who founded Bang Records, also co-wrote or produced such classics as "Piece of My Heart," "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Twist and Shout." In fact, the success of the Beatles' cover of the Isley Brothers' "Twist and Shout" prompted Berns to do the same with "My Girl Sloopy."

The inspiration for the song is said to be Dorothy Sloop, who was a jazz singer from Steubenville, Ohio. Sloop, who died in 1998 at age 85, performed in the New Orleans area using the name "Sloopy."

Dorothy "Sloopy"  Sloop

But Derringer was told by Berns that he picked up the expression in Cuba. "He said 'Sloopy' was a colloquialism, he put it, or a nickname for girls in Cuba," Derringer said. "He said the guys would go, 'Hey Sloopy, how ya doin'?' And he said he took that and he wrote 'Hang On Sloopy.'"

The McCoys were a rock group formed in Union City, Indiana in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "Hang on Sloopy". Their name was changed from Rick and the Raiders to The McCoys, taken from the B side of The Ventures hit record Walk-Don't Run titled "The McCoy."

The McCoys began as the Rick Z Combo (named after lead guitarist Rick Zehringer, who later became Rick Derringer) in Union City, Indiana. They developed a following playing at Forest Park Plaza in Dayton, Ohio (4444 North Main).

Amusement park replaced by Forest Park Plaza

1968

They later became Rick And The Raiders, a group led by guitarist and lead singer Derringer.

In 1965, Rick And The Raiders played a Dayton, Ohio concert as the backup band for The Strangeloves, who were a group of producers who wrote the song "I Want Candy" and made up a group for it.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hx_kyLI3GA

&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4WxJatnEeg

In early 1965, The Strangeloves, a New York City rock band, wanted to make the song the follow-up to their hit single "I Want Candy" and began performing it in concert. However, the Dave Clark Five, with whom they were touring, told the Strangeloves that they were going to record their own version when they returned to England, copying the Strangeloves' crowd-pleasing arrangement. The Strangeloves realized that the Dave Clark Five's cut would likely be a hit, but they were not yet ready to release a new single because they were still enjoying the success of "I Want Candy" from a few months earlier. The answer presented itself when a young rock group named Rick and the Raiders opened for (and provided backing for) The Strangeloves in July in Dayton, Ohio. 

"Coincidentally, the day that we were going to play as their backup band in Dayton, Ohio, we went out and bought Beatle suits," Derringer said. "We all had our little Beatle haircuts, we had our Beatle suits on. They hadn’t found the band that looked like the Beatles yet. And we went out there and they said, 'One of the songs we’re gonna play is "My Girl Sloopy"' and we all went, 'Whoa, we love that song.'"

"So we played the heck out of it, because we knew it and loved it. So of course afterwards, it was the last show on their tour and they hadn’t found that band yet. They brought us backstage and they said, 'Would you like to come to New York tomorrow and record 'Hang On Sloopy?'"

The Strangeloves — who were, in reality, three successful writer/producers from Brooklyn, New York — recruited Rick and The Raiders to record the song under their name. Lucky for The Strangeloves, group member Bob Feldman was afraid to fly, and on their drive back to New York, they stopped in Ohio and played the gig in Dayton where they met Rick And The Raiders, which was led by the 16-year-old Zehringer. The Strangeloves convinced the Raiders' parents to let them take the boys to New York (with Zehringer's parents along for the ride), where they sang over the already-recorded tracks. Said Derringer: "They gave us a small record player and a copy of the musical track and told us exactly what they wanted us to sing. We went out into the park for a few days, practiced singing it, and put the vocal on. They jumped up and down in the control room and yelled, 'Number One!' And a few weeks later, it was." It was decided to change the name of Rick's group to The McCoys to avoid confusion with another popular band at the time, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and Rick himself began using the stage name Rick Derringer. The single was issued on Bang Records and entered the chart on August 14, 1965, effectively beating the Dave Clark Five to the charts.

The single went on to hit

#1 on October 2 for one week

"Yesterday" by the Beatles was then

#1 for the next four weeks

The Ohio State University connection

The song gained an association with Ohio State University after its marching band began playing it at football games; it first played it October 9, 1965, after a staff arranger, John Tatgenhorst, begged the director to try playing it.

1st Performance

After finally convincing the director, Tatgenhorst prepared an arrangement and the band played the song in front of the stadium. After the crowd reaction, the band began to play it at every game and now it is a Saturday tradition to play the song before the start of the fourth quarter of every Buckeye game. Since then, "Sloopy" has been appearing on the band's CDs and is available as a free download on its website.

The song has also become a feature at the home games of professional sports teams throughout Ohio where, as is the case at Ohio State, fans usually chant the letters "O, H, I, O" during the pauses in the chorus while mimicking the shape of the letters with their arms, and is normally played during the transition from the 3rd quarter to the 4th quarter at Ohio Stadium.

Other charting versions

• Little Caesar and the Consuls released a version of the song in 1965 that reached #50 on the Billboard pop chart.
• "Hang on Sloopy" served as the title track of a live 1965 recording (released on Rhapsody in 1966) by the Ramsey Lewis Trio; the disc became a gold record. It reached #6 on the US R&B chart, #11 on the US pop chart, and #18 on the US adult contemporary chart.

• A cover in Spanish titled “Es Lupe" by Los Johnny Jets released in 1965 topped the Mexican charts for 13 weeks.

• Leno e Lillian, a Brazilian vocal duo, released a cover version in Portuguese (“Pobre Menina”) in January 1966 that topped the Brazilian charts. 
• The Lettermen released a version of the song in 1970 that reached #18 on the US adult contemporary chart and #93 on the Billboard Hot 100.

• Rick Derringer released a version of the song in 1975 that reached #94 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• The Sandpipers released a version of the song in 1976 that reached #32 on the UK Singles Chart.

Other versions

    James Henry & The Olympics (Jerden Records, 1965)
    Barry McGuire and The Mamas and the Papas (on Shindig! December 11, 1965)
    Jan & Dean (Liberty LP Folk'n'Roll, 1965)

    The Newbeats (Hickory, 1965)
    The Ventures (Liberty, 1965)
    The Vogues (Co & Ce, 1965)
    The Fabulous Wailers (Etiquette, 1966)
    The Beau Brummels (Beau Brummels '66, 1966)
    Arsenio Rodríguez (Bang, 1966)
    The Supremes (Motown, 1966)
    The Kingsmen (Wand, 1966)
    Dora Hall (Reinbeau, 1966)
    Benny Gordon & The Soul Brothers (Tighten Up LP, 1968),
    David Porter (Enterprise LP Into A Real Thing, 1971)
    A 1973 cover version by Ramsey Lewis won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1974.
    Johnny Rivers (United Artists, 1973)

    Messendger (1982)
    Aaron Carter (Aaron's Party (Come Get It), 2000)
    Die Toten Hosen (2002)
    It was also recorded by Ric Mango of Jay and The Americans and Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge as a duet for an uncompleted album project. It was released on a 2011 CD titled The Ric Mango Story.
    Lieutenant Pigeon

    Lolita No.18
    Saving Jane
    The Smashing Pumpkins
    It has also been performed by Johnny Thunders and the Oddballs in a medley with "Louie Louie" and can be heard on the Add Water and Stir live Japan bootleg.
    The Yardbirds (Columbia [UK] EP Five Yardbirds, 1965)

[Most of these and more are available on Spotify]

 Watch Mick and the Rolling Stones perform it  >>>
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-rolling-stones-perform-hang-on-sloopy-for-first-time-since-1966-49609/

50 Years Ago

Woodstock

Aug. 15-17

National media has provided much Woodstock remembrance about the one of a kind festival. 

Here's a look at the

Dayton Daily News

entire contemporaneous coverage of Woodstock

Our hometown newspaper printed nothing else about the music or the incredible scene, instead focusing on the negative.

Hope you caught 

"The Johnny Cash Show"

7/19/69

Sunday night (8/18/19) on get TV

Guests are Joni Mitchell

and The Monkees

Before We Became Dragons...

Our Reunion was not limited to tales from Fairmont West.

Stories were told about junior high school too.

Here are a couple:

Pat Pancoast moved from Illinois and was getting used to Barnes. Dick Dormitzer befriended him. They attended a Barnes dance. Pat only knew the girls who sat near him because of alphabetical seating. He asked Debbie Martinson for a dance. They danced and when they were done there was Debbie's boyfriend, allegedly Phil Drayton, who punched Pat in the face.

Welcome to Kettering.

Mischievous Mark Brainard and Gary Hutton were in art class taught by sweet, old Hannah Urick. It was the last day of school that year. At an opportune moment the boys realized she was in a closet and shut and locked the door. 

They left the class room. She pounded on the door and was eventually freed. Then a PA announcement:

"Could Mark Brainard and Gary Hutton report to the principal's office?"

They did and got paddled.

(Not actual paddle)

Then a few minutes later

"Could Brad Buettin report to the principal's office?"

Although he had no part in the incident Brad also got paddled.

If anyone has corrections or other junior high tales please post them.

Plant-based eggs are starting

to compete with

the real thing

The change was swift. In only the last few years, plant-based foods have suddenly snapped up market share in both the dairy and meat markets with alternative versions of milks, yogurts, and convincing faux beef patties.

They’re popular insurgents, this band of peas, coconuts, cashews, bananas, almonds, oats, and soy. As grocery store upstarts move into new aisles, they’re igniting plant-based coups that have reshaped supermarket economics.

Now, the humble mung bean has set up camp in the egg section, and it’s starting to make some noise.

When people buy eggs at the grocery store, they typically choose the kind that come in shells. Liquid eggs—the kind that come in cartons, yolked or yolkless—are very much a smaller category. But in that smaller pool of competitors, the plant-based liquid egg alternative created by one Silicon Valley-based company, JUST, is performing pretty well.

According to Chicago-based market research company IRI, JUST’s mung bean liquid egg product, JUST Egg, is at least the second-best performing in the category.

The company’s product is driving the greatest sales growth in the US liquid egg market, even as many of its competitors have lost traction, according to IRI data. It’s still more expensive than its competitors, but the texture, taste, and overall cooking experience is reportedly convincing. JUST founder and CEO Josh Tetrick claims his company has sold the plant-based equivalent of 10 million eggs since the launch of the new product in December 2017, and he’s hopeful that it’ll claim even more dominance in the space.

It likely will. JUST today announced its egg product is being picked up by one of America’s largest national grocery retailers, Kroger. The JUST Egg will be pushed into 2,100 of Kroger’s stores. That includes a few grocery brands owned by Kroger, such as Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and QFC. It’s already on the shelves of major store brands such as Safeway, Wegmans, Giant, Winn Dixie, and Albertsons.

 Its redevelopment did not begin until 1974

In 1972, the city created the Burns-Jackson Historic District to preserve the area. The name was later changed to the Oregon Historic District. The District today consists of twelve city blocks bounded on the north by Fifth Street, on the east by Wayne Avenue, on the south by the Route 35 Expressway and on the west by Patterson Boulevard, once the site of part of the Miami-Erie Canal. The construction of the expressway established the final definitive boundary of Dayton’s oldest neighborhood as it exists today.

The area has been known as the Oregon District for as long as anyone can remember. The Oregon Historic District was placed on the Nation Register of Historic Places in 1974. 

The District is home to many restaurants and bars, and a variety of shops and theaters.

Great mix of people, music and dining

just a fine urban vibe.

A Brief History of Holiday At Home

The Holiday At Home celebration began on Labor Day 1959

1962 H@H Parade

under the sponsorship of the Kettering YMCA which held the event to promote a membership drive. It was known then as “Kettering Day.” The YMCA board accepted a suggestion from President Robert Eichenlaub to plan a community parade and program. The events’ first year success was so great that it was deemed worthwhile to conduct for a second year.

Many leaders of the community and the YMCA worked together to organize a parade and evening program. From this well-organized beginning, Holiday At Home was refined and enlarged to the present Labor Day weekend festival that is now enjoyed by thousands of south suburban residents and visitors.

The name, “Holiday at Home”, was selected through a contest. It promotes the idea of staying at home over the holiday weekend, rather than becoming part of the large group of travelers at that time.

Kettering is used in the name to indicate the location; however, the festivities are intended for all of the communities south of Dayton. All southern communities and townships are invited to share in the Holiday At Home activities and to become part of the organization.

Quick Dates

• Annual Gala: Saturday, August 31, 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
• Arts & Crafts: Sunday, September 1, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Monday, September 2, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Auto Show: Sunday, September 1, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Monday, September 2, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Children’s Zone: Sunday, September 1, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Monday, September 2, 11:00AM to 5:00 PM
• 5K Race: Monday, September 2, 8:00 AM
• Parade: Monday, September 2, 9:55 AM to 12:00 PM

Stopped in at this KMart

About 10 miles away.

Open and surreal. Couldn't have been 5 other shoppers in the huge store. Bought a couple of items, was asked if I was a "member." No.

Closest KMart to Kettering is in Richmond, Indiana

NAPPING

Sure, am a daily napper

Here are some serious nappers!

In China

it is part of the culture

Napping is awesome.

It refreshes mind and body, perhaps because the brain is doing housekeeping

Mental: Naps as short as six minutes can improve the part of long-term memory related to the ability to recall facts and knowledge. Just 20–30 minutes improves motor skills (even typing) and alertness, while 30–60 will boost decision-making skills. NASA found that a 40 minute snooze improved performance by 34% in military pilots and astronauts—and improved alertness 100%. Another study that tested subjects on visual perceptions found that they performed just as well after a 90-minute nap as they did after a full eight hours of sleep.

Physical: Naps aren’t just good for your brain; your body benefits too. Studies have shown that sleep-deprived individuals who can snag a couple of quick cat-naps experience lowered levels of cytokines (too many cytokines can damage organs) and norepinephrine (adrenaline that can cause high blood pressure, anxiety, and heart palpitations).

Economic: The Wilson Quarterly repoted that a 2011 study found that a lack of sleep, and the exhaustion that inevitably follows, costs the United States $63.2 billion per year in lost productivity. Other studies show that a quick 20–30 minute nap boosts job performance by up to 34% thanks to decreased stress, increased attention to detail, and improved cognitive abilities. Nappers are also less prone to impulsive decisions and have a higher tolerance to frustration. Unless they are really pissed.

By the digits

$63 billion: Annual cost in the US of lost productivity due to sleepiness

$70 billion: Worldwide revenue from sleep assistance products in 2017

$13,000: Cost of a single MetroNap EnergyPod

33%: Share of Americans who get less than six hours of sleep a night

7-9: Hours of sleep a night recommended for adults

6.8: Hours of sleep Americans get per night on average

7.1: Hours of sleep Spaniards get per night on average

70%: Share of Brits who sleep less than seven hours per night

6.5: Average hours of sleep for “an average Chinese working professional in an urban metropolis”

2: Number of website visitors who have read this far.

0.5 to 2.5: Hours of sleep astronauts lose nightly compared to when they are on earth

Napping in Spain

American napping

& London

Maybe it will seem like a good idea,

later today

Holden Caulfield took a nap in a waiting room

Re-read it earlier this year.

Wish it had been on a Fairmont West reading list.

Too subversive for Kettering.

J.D. Salinger’s son is typing up his father’s handwritten work for digital release
 

Unseen works of the reclusive author J.D. Salinger are being prepared for digital release in a way he might have appreciated—at least for its old-fashionedness.

Matt Salinger, 59, tells the New York Times it will take five to seven years to finish the project he started in 2012, digging into the unpublished writing of his father, who died in 2010.

Part of the reason, as the Times reports:

    He sometimes found himself getting lost in the files, entranced by his father’s voice. “Everything’s a rabbit hole,” he said. Creating digital files has been daunting, he said, because he hasn’t been able to find reliable optical-recognition software to convert the handwritten pages into electronic text, so he manually types in the material himself.

Copying things himself also limits the possibility of dissemination before any official release. His father, who once said he saw publishing during his lifetime as an invasion of privacy, just might approve.
J.D. Salinger meets the digital age

Matt Salinger has been reviewing decades of manuscripts and letters for their eventual digital publication, as well as for a New York Public Library exhibition, the first featuring his father’s personal archives. The initial digital release of J.D. Salinger’s four books (The Catcher in the Rye, Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour—An Introduction) is coming Aug. 13 from Little, Brown and Company.

His son speaks of a deep connection to his father’s work. He told Alice Develey of  Le Figaro (link in French) in June that he feels an urgency to make the work he often re-reads accessible to modern audiences.

As translated by J.W. Kash: “When I re-read The Catcher in the Rye or Franny and Zooey—which is my favorite—I feel like I hear his voice. But his voice is always there, in me. I thought I was experiencing something unique because I was his son. Then I realized that I had many brothers and sisters when I read it because he had written it in a very personal way for each reader. That’s what makes his writing so beautiful. I think that when you get older, you see things differently. By rediscovering it, you will surely learn things about yourself: how much you have changed, who you were and who you have become.”
“A terrible invasion of my privacy”

Salinger’s last published work, the short story “Hapworth 16, 1924,” appeared in the New Yorker in 1965. In 1974, unauthorized collections of his early magazine stories began showing up in bookstores in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.

Within months, the author denounced their mysterious distribution in a rare interview, telling the Times, “There is a marvelous peace in not publishing. It’s peaceful. Still. Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure.”

Salinger also said he was at work on material that might not be published while he was alive.

He was right.

Connor Betts Father,

Steve,Was A

1982 Fairmont West Dragon

Before August 2019, the Betts family consisted of the mother, father, and two children, Connor and Megan. Then, in a singular horrific act, Connor Betts, 24, took a firearm, and gunned down his own sister and eight other people in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

When it all ended, police shot Connor Betts to death outside a bar, and another 27 people were wounded. Police say they are still searching for a motive. It’s pretty impossible to find one on his parents’ public social media accounts anyway, where they painted a picture of a close family and posted about things like crab apples, dinners out, and their kids. 

On Facebook, Steve Betts, Connor Betts’ father, posted biographical information about himself. He wrote that he was “technical Lead at Altamira Technologies Corporation” and former Software Lackey at General Dynamics – Advanced Information Systems.”

Steve Betts wrote that he was from Kettering, Ohio, went to Fairmont West High School (1982), and studied at Ohio State University.

REUNION PHOTOS

50 Years Ago

August 10, 1969

Want more UV Protection for

Your Face/Head?

?????????????????

Use a facekini!

No more spf white lotions!

6th generation

Invented in China

Amazon sells them

Slushy Drinks Anyone?

The science of slushy drinks and how to make

a good one

Trying to make a Starbucks-style Frappuccino at home? Or even just trying recreate the texture of that smooth flavorful slush? The secret to the drink that drives 11% of the coffee company’s US revenue is xanthan gum.

What is xanthan gum?

Xanthan gum is a carbohydrate that’s produced when bacteria called Xanthomonas campestris eats. Allene Jeanes a chemist at the US Department of Agriculture, honed the process of deriving it in the 1940s. These days, it comes in a powdered form for commercial and home kitchen use.

Besides Frappuccinos, xanthan gum has been used to create bread-like chewiness in gluten free baked goods, freezer-burn resilient ice cream, unseparating salad dressing, and  easily squeezable toothpaste.

In the US, xanthan gum can be easily found online and in stores. It’s sold by brands like Red Mill in the US.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=xanthan+gum&crid=XMI05H05YRQA&sprefix=xanth%2Caps%2C199&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_5

Why does the gum make for better slushy drinks?

If you’ve ever made a fruit smoothie with ice cubes, you might have noticed that the drink tends to separate. A layer of fruit bits is suspended in the ice and a thin liquid sinks to the bottom. That’s because the sugars in fruit promote the formation of ice crystals in water molecules. Xanthan gum inhibits the creation of ice crystals.

The gum is promoting a gel-like structure to form. That’s because its a hydrocolloid: an insoluble molecule that is attracted to water. Water molecules are suspended in the gum, preventing them from forming a tight icy bond together. The result is a mouth feel that’s smooth and viscous versus brittle and coarse.

It also keeps our booze well mixed.

Google Maps

New Feature

Google regularly updates its navigation app with new features while testing other novelties with the help of beta releases, and Google Maps keep getting better as a result. But Google is also somewhat cluttering the app with features that might not necessarily need a home inside a navigation app. That’s because Google wants you to use Google Maps for almost everything you’d need during your travels. And that includes taking advantage of what is probably the coolest Google Maps feature yet, which finally just went live on both Android and iPhone.

Google explained the new Google Maps feature in a blog post, saying that it wants Google Maps to “simplify every step of your trip once you’ve touched down-from getting around a new city to reliving every moment once you’re home.”

Google Maps will now include all your travel data, such as flight and hotel reservations, which will all be placed in a new Reservations menu item inside the hamburger menu. Also of note, it works regardless of whether or not you have an active internet connection.

DRAGONS @ THE 50th REUNION 

More to Come

In preparation for a trip to New York City, 90-year-old Gere Kavanaugh is stuffing a rubber chicken into her suitcase. The celebrated Los Angeles-based designer is giving a lecture at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum next month and a goofy hen-shaped handbag is an essential element of her networking ensemble. “The chicken purse is definitely coming,” she says.

In lieu of fancier designer bags, Kavanaugh says the capacious $25 rubber chicken purse has proven to be the perfect accessory for almost any occasion. She delights in how strangers at the grocery store, farmers market, or industry events openly admire the rubber chicken dangling from the crook of her elbow.

“If I had a dollar for every time someone asks about it, I would be a very rich lady!” she says gleefully. “I don’t have to ‘work a room’—people naturally come to me.”

https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Chicken-Purse-Hen-Handbag/dp/B001G8N95I

A new study measured how men and women experience ageism at work

It’s commonly believed that women are far more likely than men to be victims of ageism in the workplace, but new numbers suggest otherwise.

Fairygodboss, a career site for women, recently surveyed 1000 people over the age of 40 to find out how many have encountered ageism in the workplace, what it looks like, and whether men or women are more likely to run into it.

Encouragingly, it found that the majority of respondents (72%) had not been affected by ageism. However, among the people who had felt some age-related discrimination, men and women reported fairly similar experiences. Among men, 13% said they believe their advanced age kept them from being hired; 12% of women said the same thing. Nearly equal numbers of men and women said a coworker had made a negative remark, joking or not, about their age.

Probably the most depressing finding from the questionnaire was that most people who had sensed ageism at work noticed it before their 45th birthday.

Respondents were also asked if they had ever lied about their age, fearing, one supposes, that having some life experience and seniority in the field would be held against them. Only 4% of people said they had. (In this tiny sub-population, people didn’t just fudge their age by a year or two, but rather, most commonly, by three to ten years.)

Rather than outright fib, more employees were likely to report taking steps to just look younger. Still, gender did not dictate who was more likely to get botox or dress differently. Admittedly, women were 1.8 times more likely to color their hair, but the differences between the sexes was otherwise negligible.

Unsurprisingly, older employees were most often stereotyped as less tech-savvy and less able or interested in change and learning, in the respondents’ observations. But that’s if they were stereotyped at all; 53% of people said they hadn’t run into any of the cliches that were listed as possibilities.

ca·ma·ra·de·rie

käməˈrädərē,ˌkaməˈrädərē

Mutual trust and friendship among people who spent a lot (50+ years) of time together.

1970

I Never Sang for My Father is a 1970 American drama film based on a 1968 play of the same name, which tells the story of a widowed professor who wants to get out from under the thumb of his aging father yet still has regrets about his plan to leave him behind when he remarries and moves to California.

Dad, Melvyn Douglas, is 68 years old. I did not see anyone at the Reunion that looked and acted

as old as him.

Applauded by critics and viewers, the film (and play) predicted the coming of the sandwich generation,

in this case, grown children and other family members helping their

elderly parents who are up in age and can't help themselves.

It would lead to other films on the subject, including the movies

"The Savages" and "Away from Her."

Where Retirees Live

Though many retirees dream of warm beaches in far-flung locales, the reality is often much colder.

It’s humble Canada that takes the No. 1 spot on the list of the foreign countries where the most retired workers are collecting Social Security checks. That’s followed by Japan, Mexico, Germany and the U.K., according to government data.

Canada       69,942
Japan          45,336
Mexico         29,553
UK               23,936
Philippines  19,238
Italy             17,435
Poland        17,082
Greece       14,409
Australia     10,740

SSA

To be sure, this is far from a perfect estimate of how many people are retired abroad in each country: Some Americans may be retired abroad and not collecting Social Security; others may have their Social Security checks deposited in the U.S. but live abroad; others may live abroad just part time. By comparison, 43.7 million retired workers received Social Security benefits in the U.S. as of Dec. 2018. 

Still, it’s interesting to note the trends here. Labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci, an expert in retirement security and a professor of economics at The New School for Social Research says that people often retire where they have family ties, so the dominance of Canada and Mexico, for example, on the list make sense, as many Americans have family in both countries. (It also helps that both countries are close by, which makes returning to the states easier.) Family ties may also help explain countries like Poland and Italy on the list, she adds. 

Whatever the reasons, Ghilarducci notes that few Americans end up retiring abroad — government data shows a total of roughly 413,000 retired workers getting their Social Security benefits abroad out of the tens of millions who receive these benefits — likely for a few big reasons, including inertia, family ties in the U.S., and Medicare, she adds. Indeed, Medicare mostly only covers health services you get in the U.S.; move to another country and you’ll likely have to pay for health insurance there. 

Did you take a deep breath upon entering

Carillon Brewing or

NCR Country Club?

Breathing is traditionally thought of as an automatic process driven by the brainstem—the part of the brain controlling such life-sustaining functions as heartbeat and sleeping patterns. But new and unique research, involving recordings made directly from within the brains of humans undergoing neurosurgery, shows that breathing can also change your brain.

Simply put, changes in breathing—for example, breathing at different paces or paying careful attention to the breaths—were shown to engage different parts of the brain.

The findings provide neural support for advice individuals have been given for millennia: during times of stress, or when heightened concentration is needed, focusing on one’s breathing or doing breathing exercises can indeed change the brain. This has potential application to individuals in a variety of professions that require extreme focus and agility. Athletes, for example, have long been known to utilize breathing to improve their performance. Now, this research puts science behind that practice.

The research findings show that the advice to “take a deep breath” may not just be a cliché. Exercises involving volitional breathing appear to alter the connectivity between parts of the brain and allow access to internal sites that normally are inaccessible to us. Further investigation will now gradually monitor what such access to parts of our psyche that are normally hidden can reveal.

Have you ever returned anything

after you've used it?

I have.

Buying clothes for a fancy event, tucking in the tags, and returning them to the store the next day has for years been the strategy of thrifty shoppers. Today, people are doing it just for the ‘gram.

According to a survey commissioned by the credit card company Barclaycard, nearly one in 10 UK shoppers (9%) admit to buying clothing only to take a photo on social media. After the “outfit of the day” makes it online, they return it back to the store.

The survey of 2,002 adults showed that shoppers aged 35-44 are the most likely to do this, and men outnumbered women. (That being said, the survey omits teenagers, a massive demographic for Instagram).

But the rise of social media has meant that everyone, not just celebrities, is expected to maintain and curate a personal brand. Since we’re constantly documenting our lives and posting them online for public judgement, getting caught in the same outfit more than once—which many see as a faux pas—is almost unavoidable. And the cost of all those #ootd’s adds up, making returns an understandable tactic.

There are brands that tailor specifically to the Instagram shopper, like the uber-popular Fashion Nova. “These are clothes made for social media: meant to be worn once, maybe twice, photographed, and discarded,” Allison P. Davis wrote in her deep-dive about the company in The Cut. Another favorite of the Instagram age is Rent the Runway, which embraces the return philosophy, and lets customers rent designer clothing for a fee.

A new 50th Reunion Photo Gallery has been created. I just added an image and the process was simple. Push on the "Add Photos" button and upload your Reunion photos. If you have difficulties let me know. C'mon we need your photos.

There is now an animated dance gif.

Contrast and Compare our Reunion with those described in the following articles:

Here's a New York Times article on a 50th Reunion of the Class of 1964, the beginning of the tradition for us Baby Boomers

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/business/a-50th-high-school-reunion-and-a-generation-to-follow-.html

Another take on the 50th from Daily Kos

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/1/1800640/-On-attending-the-50th-high-school-reunion

Here's another 50th piece on Crosscut

https://crosscut.com/2014/10/in-praise-50th-high-school-reunion-john-hamer

History News Network has a 50th Reunion piece

https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/156468

Coaching Positivity weighs in

https://www.coachingpositivity.com/2017/05/50th-high-school-reunion-positive-reminiscing/

Another 50th article on Blogspot's Six Decades and Counting

https://sixdecadesandcounting.blogspot.com/2018/10/high-school-reunion.html

ANewCafe report on a 50th Reunion how a spouse survived her husband's 50th

https://anewscafe.com/2016/07/19/redding/how-i-survived-my-husbands-50th-high-school-reunion-or-everything-was-going-rather-well-until-this-old-guy-flashed-me/

50th Reunion Awards

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

Most Hats : Mike Jones

 Tallest       : Alan Kemp  

 Most Troy : Dave Beitzel

Second Most Tan : Mark Brainard

Most Compliments Given:  

Jim Anewalt

Only Ponytail : Dennis Dillenger

Most Shoe : David Shoemacher

Worst Hamstrings: Doug Gage

Best Nickname Origin:

Dave "Ross" Vendt

Best White Suit: Jan Windsor

Best Beard: Rick Ware

Most Nish: Mike Nishamura

Best FauxHawk: Mike Nolan

Best 1969 Story: Ann Schuler

Best "No Look Pass": Mel Hill

Best

Gary Knight

Best Sisters :

Kathy and Susie Banks

Still Homecoming Queen:

Lynne Wagner

Attending Three High School Reunions:

Brad Buettin

Most Vegas: Kathy Denka

Most Purple:  James Wick

Only Nancy Smith Attending:

Nancy Rae Smith

  Just back from 

"Once Upon A Time in Hollywood"

As was reported earlier it is set in

1969

If you want to continue the 1969 vibe

Tarantino really got it right.

Thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

SF Chroncle's Mick LaSalle said it better:

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is great in all the ways you’d hope and expect a Quentin Tarantino film to be great. It pays homage to other genres and eras with the precision of a stylist and the obsession of a collector. And despite the dark subject matter — Los Angeles in the era of the Charles Manson murders — it’s funny.

But there’s something else going on here, something beyond that. This time, you get the feeling Tarantino loves the people he’s showing us. It’s a movie about friendship, about beautiful real things that live in the midst of beautiful phony things. It’s less an action movie than a meditation on things lost. And the result is, without question, Tarantino’s warmest film to date.

Fairview High School

Home of the Bulldogs

55th Reunion

NCR Country Club

"We pledge to not bother those happy younger people next door."

July 27, 2019

Getting ready for the class photo

BTW

Please contact the photographer if you want the photo:

The photographers were Ed Esposito and Greg Grizzell - KedEspo Photography

Ed 937-409-1297

Greg 937-409-1048

reunionphotos@kedespo.com

Marilyn Duffy has a few commemorative glasses left. Contact her if you want one.

REUNION RECAP

Friday July 26th

Golf at NCR

A mild, warm sunny morning

at on Dogwood Trail

More Reunion golfers than in the past

18 hole golfers started about 9 AM

9 hole golfers started about 11 AM

All finished after 2 PM

Most followed up with

lunch at the Club Grill

Marilyn, Denny, Lynne, Ann, Pam and Brad

Pam, Brad and Mark

Friday Night

A large number of alumni gathered at

the Carillon Brewing Company

(Looking remarkably clear eyed and sober)

Nancy Rae, Linda and Jerry

Two Toms

(with photobombing by Mike Viets and Gregg Sipe)

Kathy, Lynell and Pam

Marilyn, Bona and Jim

Nancy Rae, Leslie and Lenny

Sandy and Pat

Barb, Mike and Kathy

Joe and Mr & Mrs Sipe

Cindy, Dave and Mike

Julie Chambers, Kathy, Bob and Steve

Kathy, Dick and Ross

Jonnie and Brad

Mike Nishamura's shirt with name tags

Saturday July 27th

Fairmont Tour featuring the new $10 million auditorium

Marion's Piazza

Free Pizza

NCR Country Club

Marilyn, Lenny and Debbie

Ohio Sunset Tuesday Evening

Wonderful Reunion weather

Just another reason to join us

Class of '69

Superfine

Still

     See you at Carillon Brewing Co. Friday at 6 PM

See you outside Trent Arena Saturday at 11 AM &

NCR Country Club at 7 PM

FairmontWest69.com

The primary purpose of which is to provided details about the almost here

50th Reunion of the Fairmont West Class of '69.

This is our third reunion website and is sophisticated enough to allow for messaging and videos and more. 

Reunion information has been posted here in more than one page since February 2019.

Other than that its purpose is to inform and entertain.

If and when a topic has little direct relation to the event, feel free to quickly scroll down or choose another page or website.

Those puzzled or annoyed by infomation with tenuous connections to the event will surely be bothered by...

In 2019 skincare is more sophisticated and complicated than ever. It's blatent capitalism at its best with scientists and celebrities and old line producers striving to make you look and feel better. 52 percent of Americans use skin care products every day. The perecentage of alums using skin care prior to the Main Event is surely higher.

You may read Amazon or other websites consumer reviews or get a list of beauty review websites that are clearly not independent and objective.

Years ago I found Paula Begoin's Beautypedia.

They provide independent reviews and information to help inform skincare and make-up consumers. I rarily buy skincare products that are not well rated by Beautypedia.

Check it out. For more go to the new Beautypedia page.

Laughter

is an essential ingredient in a Reunion

and available at all of our reunions

Not Wikipedia again!

 Laughter is a physical reaction in humans consisting typically of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laughter can arise from such activities as being tickled, or from humorous stories or thoughts. Most commonly, it is considered a visual expression of a number of positive emotional states, such as joy, mirth, happiness, relief, etc. On some occasions, however, it may be caused by contrary emotional states such as embarrassment, apology, or confusion such as nervous laughter or courtesy laugh. Age, gender, education, language, and culture are all indicators as to whether a person will experience laughter in a given situation. Some other species of primate (apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans) show laughter-like vocalizations in response to physical contact such as wrestling, play chasing or tickling.

Laughter is a part of human behavior regulated by the brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and providing an emotional context to conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group—it signals acceptance and positive interactions with others. Laughter is sometimes seen as contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others as a positive feedback.

There are 10 different types of laughter:

   1. Etiquette laughter: even when things aren't funny, people rely on laughter to get along with others.
   2. Contagious laughter: a chain reaction of laughter.
   3. Nervous laughter: anxiety can oftentimes trigger laughter in a subconscious attempt to reduce stress and calm down.
   4. Belly laughter: when something is truly hilarious, people clutch their bellies and gasp for air.
    5.Silent laughter: involves the same type of deep breathing that comes with belly laughter but it makes no noise.
   6. Stress-relieving laughter: encompasses many forms, but occurs mostly in an outburst.
   7. Pigeon laughter: laughing without opening your mouth with your lips sealed, producing a humming sound.
  8.  Snorting laughter: when laughter occurs through the nose.
   9. Canned laughter: commonly referred to as the "laugh track," real laughter oftentimes heard in the background of TV sitcoms.
   10. Cruel laughter: laughing at others' expense.

 We prefer # 2, 4 & 6

However

No types of laughter have been forbidden

at our events

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Training Talk

from

Dragon Coaches

Eat at least one warm meal a day and watch the type of food you eat.

Eat slowly, and try to include a green vegetable, meat, potatoes, salad and milk.

Cake, pie, or ice cream should be eaten with a meal.

Do not indulge in between-meal eating.

Pre-game meal should be eaten 4 hours before game time.

Stay at home the entire evening before a game.

Go to bed at your normal time.

Lay down to rest the evening of a game — sleep a little, but not too much.

Avoid eating rich greasy foods the day of a game. Easily digested foods include

steak or hamburger (boiled)

eggs (boiled, poached/ or scrambled.)

Experiment discover what food sets best with you.

PARKING

No

Not That Kind

This Kind

Making out is a term of American origin, dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including heavy kissing of the neck, or to non-penetrative sex acts such as heavy petting. Equivalents in other dialects include the British English term getting off and the Hiberno-English term shifting. 

The sexual connotations of the phrase "make out" appear to have developed in the 1930s and 1940s from the phrase's other meanings of "to succeed". Originally, it meant "to seduce" or "to have sexual intercourse with". When performed in a car, it may be euphemistically referred to as parking.

Making out is usually considered an expression of romantic affection or sexual attraction. An episode of making out is frequently referred to as a "make-out session" or simply "making out," depending on the speaker's vernacular. It covers a wide range of sexual behavior, and means different things to different age groups in different parts of the United States. It typically refers to kissing,including prolonged, passionate, open-mouth kissing (also known as French kissing), and intimate skin-to-skin contact. The term can also refer to other forms of foreplay such as heavy petting (sometimes simply called petting), which typically involves some genital stimulation, but usually not the direct act of penetrative sexual intercourse.

Teenagers may have had social gatherings in which making out was the predominant event. In the United States, these events were referred to as "make-out parties" and would sometimes be confined to a specific area, called the "make-out room". These make-out parties were generally not regarded as sex parties, though heavy petting may have been involved, depending on the group. 

When we were typically bored and not kissing anyone on a weekend night in Kettering we would drive around searching for parkers, particularly our friends. One of our frequently checked parking spots was  an under-developed cul-de-sac,

Plantation Lane

Are you familiar with Plantation Lane?

Where did you park?

WOLWOLWOLWOLWOLWOLWOL

SMH

When you do not understand the slang of Millennials, the abbreviations and acronyms of your children or grandchildren the first place to look is

Idk - I don’t know 
Idc - I don’t care 
Idm - I don’t mind

Idr - I don’t remember 
Idrm - I don’t really mind 
Rly / rlly - really 
Sme / sm - same 
lol -laughing out loud

Lmao - laughing my ass off

Wtf - what the fuck 
WTH - what the heck 
Lmfao - laughing my fucking ass off 
Kys - kill your-self 
Kms - kill my-self 
Pls / plz - please 
ye / yea - yes / yeah 
So - significant other / shoutout 
Bf & gf - boyfriend & girlfriend

Smh - shaking my head 
Cos / cuz / cus / cause - because 
Omg - oh my god 
Oml - oh my lord 
Pic - picture 
Wyd / wud - what you doing 
Wywd / wuwd - what you wanna do 
U - you

Tb - text back 
Nr / nrs - no reply(s) 
Bro - brother 
Nm - nothing much 
Nvm - never mind 
Dm - direct message / doesn’t matter 
Tbh - to be honest 
M8 - mate 
Prob / probs - probably 
Ly - love you

Lysm - love you so much 
Lysfm - love you so fucking much 
Lyl - love you loads 
Ly2 - love you too 
Gn - good-night 
Gm - good-morning 
Jk - just kidding 
Jw - just wondering 
Ppl - people

Keep in mind the UD definition of "dragon" is:

Possibly the best mythical creature known to this day.

Each day they list the top 30 trending terms:

WARNING: MANY ARE SEXUAL TERMS

Click on the term and you'll get the definition @UD

TRENDING RN - JULY 19, 2019

•   1.  kick the cup
•   2.  rawing
•   3.  The Alaskan Bull worm
•   4.  Insta baddie
•   5.  human toilet
•   6.  Ocean Water
•   7.  a bad bitch
•   8.  Cross Country Runner
•   9.  Jacob
• 10.  sti
• 11.  Spacey boi
• 12.  spaghetti pockets
• 13.  Pound Pound Peace
• 14.  WWDD
• 15.  Set phasers to stun
• 16.  pineaples
• 17.  mamabicho
• 18.  selfies
• 19.  yesterday
• 20.  Riot Punch
• 21.  Qwa
• 22.  spell coconut
• 23.  Fowl
• 24.  kurang ajar
• 25.  Wrist
• 26.  Slimmies
• 27.  ABJ
• 28.  baby hair
• 29.  smoke bomb
• 30.  Cracking on

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Reunion Preparation

We have printed name tags

Friday and Saturday nights

if you registered

As an alum participant you also need to prepare.

Don't over do

Banksy

For most of us this will not be a sprint

but a marathon.

Feel free to embrace your inebriants, but don't go overboard the first night

(Ed. note: Doesn't only apply to Nish)

Not sure of the wine list, but these will be available

Hygiene

Conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease,

especially through cleanliness.

Manscaping

We have more body hair than we did in 1969

You might consider cleaning up

There is a new Manscaping page

Mature audience only

X Rated

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Sun

It's been getting a bad rap.

Of course we have to respect its power and its contribution to skin cancer, nonetheless the Sun is essential and good for us.

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma.

The Sun is roughly middle-aged;

it has not changed dramatically for more than four billion years,

and will remain fairly stable for more than another five billion years.

The Sun is composed primarily of the chemical elements

hydrogen and helium.

 The Sun has been an object of veneration in many cultures throughout human history. Humanity's most fundamental understanding of the Sun is as the luminous disk in the sky, whose presence above the horizon creates day and whose absence causes night.

In the US in 2008, 59,695 people were diagnosed with melanoma,

and 8,623 people died from it.

So, avoid sunburn!

HOWEVER

New research looks into the paradox that

women who sunbathe are likely to
live longer than those who avoid the sun,

even though sunbathers are at an
increased risk of developing skin cancer.

An analysis of information on 29,518 Swedish women who were followed for 20 years revealed that
longer life expectancy among women with active sun exposure habits

was related to a decrease in
heart disease and noncancer/non-heart disease deaths, causing the relative contribution of death
due to cancer to increase.

Recently, a study in the Journal of Internal Medicine

suggested that 

women who avoid sun exposure are twice as likely to die as compared to those who receive sun exposure.

Scientists at The University of Manchester have today unveiled new research which claims that

going out in the midday sun, without sunscreen, is good for you.
The research, led by ultra-violet radiation expert Ann Webb, supports claims that exposing
unprotected skin to the sun for short periods helps the body to produce essential Vitamin D.

This is not a good photo of

Snyder's Kettering swimming pool,

but the only one to be found online.

Dragons soaked up lots of rays there.

And played Putt-Putt next door

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's go back 25 years

to our 25th Reunion in 1994.

Flanagan's

Dayton Country Club

DCC 1910

Recent (7/6) Yelp review of DCC

I went there for a Christmas dinner with my grandmother (because it was her husband's country club) years ago.  Ordered some scallops that I would have loved had I not realized it was smothered in hollandise sauce so I just ate my salad.  My grandmother insisted I order something else so she waved a wait staff over and I just asked for lobster bisque soup.  30 mins later it came out with most likely 10 tablespoons of salt compliments of the chef.  I realized at that point it could have been spitted in also and didn't eat it.  So didn't bother after 4 spoon fulls. It wasn't just slightly overly salted it was nothing but salt in a orange colored soup. First (and last) time I learned the lesson to NEVER send food back and piss off the chef.  Also the last time I ever ate there.

 ;)  :)  ;)  :)  ;)  :)  ;)  :)  ;)  :) 

Dragon cheerleaders

110% SPIRIT!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The leader in our Elementary School Survey is

Southdale Elementary School with 13 alums

But before we got to Junior High,

school officials considered turning Southdale into a junior

high

February 24, 1959

April 24, 1959

Other Elementary Schools include

Oakview

Orchard Park

Beavertown

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dragon Yearbook - Business

You may have forgotten about these photos  featuring the Class of '69 in the commercial section

Melissa Brown

Muffy Tallberg and Doris Korczynski

Bona Schelhase and Muffy Tallberg

Nancy Rae Smith and Patsy Paddock

Mark Brainard

Lynn Kohler and Cindy Brock

Linda Hively and Kay Judd

Cinda Shahan and Molly O'Brian

Gloria Shantz and Dan McKnight

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 The St. Clair

by the Wright Brothers

                              Fly over New Your harbor

                and the Statue of Liberty

 Piece of wood and fabric from the first flight

on the surface of the moon with Apollo 11 in 1969

Flying in France

Flying Machine Patent

Wright Company assembling airplanes for sale

Wright Memorial

Kitty Hawk, NC

Proposed "Triumph of Flight" Tower @ I-70 & I-75

Wilber and Orville were so persistant, brilliant, innovative and so good for Dayton and the world.

Highly recommended

First Flight

Huffman Prairie

Hawthorn Hill

901 Harman Ave, Dayton, OH 45419

Orville and sister Katherine

 Why didn't we spend more

time learning about the brothers in school.

They were unbelievable Kettering role models:

Nice, smart, clever, Christian, curious, successful, apparently asexual and driven

Memorial

2380 Memorial Road, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Dayton, OH 45433 U.S.A.

Adjacent to the Interpretive Center, the Wright Memorial on Wright Brothers Hill is a 27-acre designed landscape honoring Dayton’s native sons. The monument, a 17-foot pink granite obelisk, was dedicated on August 19, 1940, Orville’s 69th birthday.

For a YouTube video of an early flight  >>>

https://youtu.be/RriKI7u72Xs

More on the 

The Wright Brothers page

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

WTF?

Talked with Mel Hill today. He said 

"I don't remember"

 From the yearbook, "In Mr. Robert Janes' contemporary issues class seniors Bart Gill, Doug Doty, Mark Winninger and Mel Hill present an editorial satirizing the subject, 'What's Wrong with America?' "

Not quite anything like Supreme Court Justice's Kavanaugh's yearbook, but it is four suburban white guys in faux Klan robes. Wish we had a video of that class presentation.

Kettering Tower

Oscar Wilde in Dayton (1882)

Wright-Patterson in the 1940s

Rike's Construction

Hills & Dales

JFK in Dayton (9/1959)

1st Parkmoor (1946)

My Mother was a Stivers graduate

Anyone going to Kettering?

1950

Fairgrounds Roundhouse

May 9, 1969

EastisleastEastisleastEastisleastEastis least

Fairmont West English teacher

George Tarzinski

is now the leading Favorite Teacher in our survey, as voting continues.  

Thanks to the 14 alums who took the 18 seconds out of their busy day to participate.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

George Tarzinski was born on July 2, 1941 and died April 18, 2000. He was a Central unit teacher.

The yearbook lists his hobbies as ichthyology 

 and photography.

on September 9th

We'll have more grandparents

than ever at the Reunion.

They should be acknowledged  and

we cannot wait until Sept 9th.

Fundamentally though, grandparenting is, well, just that – grand. The definition of "grand" is: magnificent; splendid; noble; wonderful or very pleasing; of great importance and distinction. Why wouldn't someone want that title? Grandparenthood can be a "second chance." People often feel they weren't able to spend as much time with their children when they were young as they would have liked, or they made some mistakes they've learned from. Grandchildren are a fresh start. Grandparenting can offer many of the joys and benefits of parenting, without many of the hassles, constraints, and day-to-day responsibilities. The grandparent/grandchild relationship is also a very important one – second in emotional importance only to the parent/child relationship.

Anna Quinlen writes that grandchildren are "the best" >>>

"There's a higher level of agreement about grandchildren than there is about the benefits of democracy, or chocolate."

1. WESTISBEST!
2. WESTISBEST!
3. WESTISBEST!
4. WESTISBEST!
5. WESTISBEST!

PASSWORDS!!!#$%@&*#

 The End Of Passwords? (2015)
IT professionals believe they won't exist in 10 years, but this prediction's been on tap for a decade already.
Are we witnessing the death of the password? According to a survey out today from Wakefield Research and SecureAuth, IT practitioners say "Yes." They believe that at the current rate that authentication and authorization technology is progressing, we'll see the end of the password in 10 years.

Passwords Are on the Way Out, and It's about Time
They're on the way out, and it's about time

(By David Pogue on August 1, 2016)

Passwords can pose a major weakness to overall web security and coming up with and remembering a good one is hard. Despite warnings against doing so, far too many people still select common and easy passwords like “qwerty” or “password123.”

Have heard from alums that because they forgot their password they view this site w/o logging on. If you forget, just click "forgot password?" and create a new one. I empathsize. even though my browsers save passwords and I have a long list of passwords, sites I haven't visited in a year often require a new password.

"Camelot" was the

11th most popular film of 1967.

Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur.

 The stories locate it somewhere in Great Britain and sometimes associate it with real cities, though more usually its precise location is not revealed. Most scholars regard it as being entirely fictional, its unspecified geography being perfect for chivalric romance writers.
Nevertheless, arguments about the location of the "real Camelot" have occurred since the 15th century and continue to rage today in popular works and for tourism purposes.

The name's derivation is uncertain. It has numerous different spellings in medieval French Arthurian romances, including Camaalot, Camalot, Chamalot, Camehelot (sometimes read as Camchilot), Camaaloth, Caamalot, Camahaloth, Camaelot, Kamaalot, Kamaaloth, Kaamalot, Kamahaloth, Kameloth, Kamaelot, Kamelot, Kaamelot, Cameloth, Camelot and Gamalaot

 Arthur's court at Camelot is mentioned for the first time in Chrétien's poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, dating to the 1170s.

At West, the chorus and orchestra presented "Camelot." One of our prom themes was also Camelot.

It's a fictional story that was 800 years old.

Why not "Cheyenne"?

Did you grow up with a milkman?

We did. It was a quaint, efficient way of getting your milk and other dairy products.

There is a tale/myth about Rosie the cow visiting the Fairmont West parking lot.

Can anyone verify this old story?

*******************************

     Thirty something organizations in the '69 Yearbook

Never alphabetized before

Here's the A-Y list

To make it a bit of fun, there are also a few extra as well.

 American Field Service
 Art Club
Campus Life
Chess Club
Cooperative Office Education
Creative Writers Club
Cribbage Club

     
DCT (Diversified Cooperative Training)

 Dragon 

 
 Dragon Tales
 French Club
 Future Business Leaders of America
 Future Graduate Students
 Future Medical Careers
 Future Teachers Association
 German Club
 Girls Athletic Association

 High School Red Cross
 Hi-Y

    
 Home Economics Club
 Inter-Club Council

JCOWA

                     
 Jet Ski Club
 Math Club
 Latin Club
 National Honor Society

 NFL
 Pep Club
 Political Science Club
 Quill and Scroll
 Radio Electronics Club
 Roulette Club

 Russian Club
 Science Club
 Ski Club
 Spanish Club
 Student Council

 Thespians

 Varsity F
 Y-Teens

#########FWHS########

There is a bonus prize for those who chose not  to participate

in at least a minimum number of these activities:

Disclaimer: There were, of course, off campus, illegal fraternities and sororities e.g.,

Ants, Night Crawlers and TAG and Sigma

There may have been more.

Section 2923.35, Revised Code of Ohio stated "No pupil in the public schools, shall organize, join, or belong to a fraternity, sorority, or other like society composed of or made up of pupils of the public schools."

Whoever violates this section shall be fined not less than ten nor more than twenty-five dollars for each offense."

The Ohio illegality is not retroactive so feel free

to wear your colors, re-enact your rituals and do your handshakes. However, no fighting.

This was approved, in advance by:

110%110%110%110%110%110%110%110%110%

Might you shed a tear

             at the Reunion?

           You are more likely to

              if you're a woman.

 Biologically, women are far more prone to tears than men.

Women have lower levels of testosterone compared to men. Testosterone (male hormones) inhibits men from crying.

Men have larger tear ducts in their eyes than women. Given large tear ducts it is less likely for the tears to well up to the point of spilling over.
Adult women have almost 60% higher levels of the tear inducing hormone prolactin than men. Produced by the pituitary gland, prolactin is strongly linked to emotions.
 

Studies found the following:

    People in affluent countries cry more than those in poorer ones.
    People in colder countries cry more often than those in warm countries.
    The frequency of crying is more pronounced in countries that allowed greater freedom of expression and social resources (Chile, Sweden, and the United States).
    The tear rates of women in poor countries where freedom of expression and social resources are low, is only slightly higher than those of men (Ghana, Nigeria, and Nepal).
    People cry mainly at home, mostly alone or in the presence of another human being.
    People cry preferably in the evening (18-22 pm).
    85% of the women feel better after crying it out.
    In Western societies, boys and girls up to the age of twelve cry at fairly the same rate.
    By eighteen, the girls were crying an average four times more than the boys.
    Women anywhere in the world cry more often than men.
    Women will cry 4,680 times over their adult lifetime — more than twice as much as men, a study has found.

 But women are more likely to cry happy tears, with 40 percent admitting to shedding a tear for a good reason, something just 24 percent of men do.

Sad TV shows or books, tiredness and arguments with their partner mean the average woman will cry six times a month — or 72 times a year.

In comparison, men will shed a tear just three times a month.

(For more go to the American Psychological Association website) 

             https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/cry

          0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o     

    Congratulations to the US Women's team 

       Winning the 2019 Women's World Cup!

                Back-to-Back Champs!

   Would we even be here if it were not for NCR? When we were growing up it dominated the local business environment.  NCR was closely associated with Dayton until it relocated in 2009. Not just business but recreation, like Hills and Dales park, Old River and the site of our Reunion, the NCR Country Club. A website would be required to detail its corporate history and significance to Dayton. This isn't it. But the new NCR page does include a variety of photos of NCR, its facilities, employees and parks.

          6969696969696969696969696969696969696969

            Driving at Sixteen

    A high percentage of the Class of '69 had their driver's licenses when they were sixteen.

    It was essential for freedom.

But, in 2014, just 24.5 percent of 16-year-olds had a license, a 47-percent decrease from 1983, when 46.2 percent did. And at the tail end of the teen years, 69 percent of 19-year-olds had licenses in 2014, compared to 87.3 percent in 1983, a 21-percent decrease.

    
   Above 55, the story’s a little different. Older adults were more likely to have a driver’s license in 2014 than in 1983—in the case of those 70 and older, 43.6 percent more likely.

young people for staying out of our way.

         We are delighted to be celebrating

                         Saturday at

                      NCR Country Club!

The dress code at NCR is described like this by one of its long time members, 

The dress code is: no jeans, no short shorts, collared shirts for men.

  Makes sense. Succinct.

     However there may be a duty to

         fully inform and show you

 NCR's official online dress code:

DRESS CODE
Throughout the Club property, certain standards of dress are expected of all members, spouses,
dependents and guests of the NCR Country Club. While these standards may vary in different areas
depending on the purpose and usage of that area, it is expected that all persons will choose to dress
in a fashion befitting our Club and in a manner reflecting their respect for other members.
Members, spouses, domestic partners, significant others and dependents should inform their guests
of the dress requirements prior to bringing them to the Club, thus preventing an embarrassing
situation for them, their guests and the management of the Club.
Management is authorized by the Board of Trustees to refuse service to persons who do not conform
to our Dress Code. To preclude the necessity of this action, the Board of Trustees asks parents to
monitor the dress of their children and guests so that they meet the Club’s Dress Code guidelines and that their appearance is not offensive to other members and guests.
Anyone who is in doubt about appropriate and suitable attire for a specific event or in any particular
area of the Club should call the General Manager, Golf Shop or Club Receptionist.
Cut-offs, bib overalls, coveralls, coaches shorts, gym shorts, sweat pants, sweat suits, tee-shirts, halter
tops, tube tops, swim suits, exposed mid-riff wear, muscle shirts and all inappropriate attire are not
acceptable and do not meet these standards in the Clubhouse.
Appropriate blue jeans are allowed in the 37th Hole, Legends Bar, Medallions, Patio, pro-shop and the
fitness/pool areas. Blue jeans are not acceptable in the Banquet Areas nor anywhere on the golf
facilities (i.e., courses, driving range, practice greens, etc.) Blue jeans which are, or appear to be, dirty,
ragged, washed-out, torn and/or un-kept are not considered appropriate.
Inappropriate attire is defined as dirty, ragged or torn clothing, which presents an un-kept appearance.
Refusal to abide by the dress code could lead to disciplinary measures, including suspension of Club
privileges by the Board of Trustees.

Please contact (937) 299-3571 with questions

  Seems mostly just The dress code is: no jeans, no short shorts, collared shirts for men. And nothing un-kept.

                    How/Why did the

           Board of Trustees get involved???

         ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    EVEN MORE RULES!!!

                      Here are actual

              1969 Fairmont West rules

   you may or may not be familiar with.

   Since they govern behavior in a men's team locker room,

   our female alums may never have seen these before.

   Or maybe had their own rules.

               Real. Verbatim.

          LOCKER ROOM LOGIC

A list of logically thought-out do's and
don't will take care of locker room behavior.

1. Take care of all equipment.
2. No horse play of any kind.
3. No running in the locker room.
4. No towel snapping.
5. Use your equipment only keep hands
off personal property of others.
6. Check in all valuables.
7. Personal laundry items to be

cleaned regularly.
8. Take care of all blisters, scrapes,cuts, scratches,and athletes foot at first sight.
9. Use vaseline or powder on your feet and
in your shoes.
10. Dry your body thoroughly, pay attention
to fee t and head, as they are

frequently neglected. 

    There's more.

  The  four page publication may be easily viewed at

"Dragon Tales & More." With instructions about diet and bedtime.

 ##########################################

         IT - FAQ

  At least two recent profile photos are sideways, like this

Thanks for submitting your photo, Kay Butcke LaGrange.

which should be upright.  Or this, from the Wick kitchen >>>

 7/19/1970 >>>

    So, they should be moved counter/clockwise. How?

             IT'S 2019. Where is ROTATE?

    Neither sender nor receiver can upright the picture.

 Y'know there are often problems with using computer images. 

  HAPPY  4TH  

            OF JULY !   

We celebrated our 40th Reunion ten years ago today!

 We toured Kettering Fairmont, played Home Run Derby at Irelan Field then partied at Yankee Trace. There was some rain and some fireworks!

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~            

    A new survey, "Favorite Teacher," has been added.

 Although the list of teachers is long it was just guessing at who might be favorited. Others can be added easily to the list. If your favorite teacher is not on the list, just check "Other" and provide the name so they can be added to the list. 

             Kettering Free Press  

   September 23, 1968         

             Yes, this 1959 educational film was shown to Kettering students to warn about sex.

              "I've got a sore. Down there."

       That was after spending time with these new girls.

          Doctor: You have syphilis. Let me show you some photos of ugly sores. And have to tell anyone you've had relations with.

                   The talk did not go well.

              Kettering students, that's about all you need to know.

The Innocent Party (Color, 1959)
The guilt-tripped noir-like shocker about a happening dude and his SPD.  A cool beatnik-jazz soundtrack highlights highlights this sordid tale produced by the Kansas State Board of Health!

 To see all 17 minutes >>> https://archive.org/details/innocent_party

         Most of us were born in 1951.

       Most will be sixty-eight years old at the Reunion. We are Seniors. We will be Seniors for the rest of our lives. Being a Senior was good at West. There are some benefits now. 

         Friday night's venue, Carillon Brewing,  has a beer garden

          Saturday's lunch at Marion's includes viewing celebrity photos at no additional cost

          Saturday night's venue, NCR Country Club, has a large outdoor patio

 September 6, 1967

                                  Mini-skirts

    " Individual counseling for a student who violated principles of good grooming"

 July 31, 1969   

 Elsewhere in the Journal Herald

        January 23, 1963

March 16, 1969

 The Fairmont Student Handbook 2018-2019 states, as follows:

       PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION Students are to refrain from displaying unprofessional affection toward one another at school.    

Don't know about you, but my experience at West included observing a wide variety of "unprofessional affection" displays throughout my three years there.     

  Founded in 1952, still open at T&C, attended by many Dragons 

 Class of '69 alums Dianne Reinke and Karen Sosnowski featured as soloists (February 21, 1969)

    October 1966

You probably saw your first major league baseball game at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

The last Reds game was played there in 1970.

Beyond the left-field fence sat the Superior Towel and Linen Service building. It was prominently visible to all in attendance and was the target of many a right-handed slugger. Perched atop the laundry was one of baseball’s most well-known signs (HIT THIS SIGN AND GET A SIEBLER SUIT — Siebler’s) gave out a total of 176 of their finest. Reds outfielder Wally Post led all hitters with 16. Willie Mays collected seven suits, tops among visiting players. The most famous home run at Crosley cleared the sign and landed in the back of a truck. It was calculated that Reds catcher Ernie Lombardi’s moon shot traveled 30 miles.

Major upgrades were undertaken at Crosley prior to the 1957 season. The red brick façade was painted white, new lights were installed and the largest scoreboard of its day replaced the old one in left center. The scoreboard stood 58 feet high and 65 feet wide. Atop the scoreboard was eight-foot-tall Longines clock. In addition to showing scores of all the major league games in progress and displaying full home and visiting team line-ups, the new board was the first to feature up-to-date players’ batting averages.

By the 1960s, the economic growth that Cincinnati was experiencing was all but absent from the warehouses and factories of the west end of town. When the Superior Towel and Linen Service laundry left the area and took with it one of Crosley’s hallmarks, it symbolically predicted the Reds’ abandonment of the area. The team, playing in the major’s smallest stadium, was eager to jump on the multi-purpose stadium bandwagon and flee to the publicly financed Riverfront Stadium downtown on the banks of the Ohio. The final game at Crosley was played on June 24, 1970. Over 28,000 nostalgic fans saw Johnny Bench and Lee May homer to edge Juan Marichal and the Giants, 5-4. After the game, a helicopter transported home plate to the new digs downtown. Crosley would spend the next two years as an auto impound lot and was eventually bulldozed in 1972. An industrial park now occupies the site.

       Ted Kluszewski

   251 Home Runs, .302 batting average in 11 years with the Reds

 Wee Dragons

October 1959

August 1960

 October 1967

  Oldest Wee Dragons photo I found October 3, 1970

We are certain we will not be joined at Marion's by Captain Kirk.

They were obviously in Dayton here, but we will not see them.

1969 was an incredible year for movies:

Rank    Title                                                         Gross                                            
1.    Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid       $102,308,889
2.    Midnight Cowboy                                     $44,785,053
3.    Easy Rider                                               $41,728,598
4.    Hello, Dolly!                                             $33,208,099
5.    Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice                         $31,897,253
6.    The Italian Job                                         $31,678,778
7.    True Grit                                                  $31,132,592
8.    Cactus Flower                                           $25,889,208
9.    Goodbye, Columbus                                  $22,939,805
10.  On Her Majesty's Secret Service                 $22,774,493

 Scroll down for additional information on the Tower death >>>

Known by many names, the tower on Patterson Boulevard in Kettering near Hills and Dales Park has been the source of many legends and stories over the years.

There have been many theories and not much known information about the tower. Even the name of the tower has been debated. Some of the names heard over the years are:

• Lookout Tower
• Frankenstein’s Castle/Tower
• Witches Tower
• Haunted Tower/Castle
• Patterson Tower
• Hills and Dales Tower

The theories of its origin and hauntings vary as much as its name. Growing up in Kettering, we have heard many rumors of the tower and its past. One interesting (and far-fetched) story was that the tower was built during the Civil War, and that a woman climbed to the top and plunged to her death after hearing the news of her husband’s death. The most popular story circulating was one of teenagers seeking shelter from the storm, and lightning hitting the tower, killing them all.

The inside steps of the tower. To protect the innocent, we did not take this picture, but Dayton Unknown has been given the rights to the photo.

So what is the truth? Dayton Unknown did research! We found articles to verify that there was in fact one death in the tower, Peggy Harmeson.

This article appeared on the front page of the the May 18, 1967 Xenia Daily Gazette. You can see the front page here.

On May 17, 1967, Peggy and her boyfriend sought shelter in the tower from the rain. Lightning struck the tower, killing 16-year-old Peggy and rendering her boyfriend unconscious. This is the only verified death in and around this tower.

Peggy’s gravestone at Calvary Cemetery in Dayton.

The building of the tower is straight-forward. Construction on the Hills and Dales Lookout Towerstarted in 1940 by the boys of the National Youth Administration. The tower was made from the salvaged stone of condemned buildings in the Dayton area. The year-long project resulted in a tower which was 56 feet high (before the roof came off) and has walls 3 feet thick.

This article appeared in the February 16th, 1941 Dayton Journal-Herald.

Although the true story of the tower isn’t scary or sensational, teenagers will still probably continue to drive past it at night, in hopes of seeing something beyond this world.

Spotted by Sara on the base of the foundation.

         FINALLY

      NOSEY

  the CLOWN!

     Did you ever see >>>

        Fairmont West's own Mary Jo Begley ('68) won a contest and was in this sequel to "The Trouble with Angels." On IMBD >>> 

  Or this >>>

    Played at Cinema South for over a year (61 weeks).

         Pine Club, Oakwood Club or Ponderosa? 

        Presents  the   1962

     Holiday At Home  Parade

 {My favorite is the cowgirls and horses followed by a rocket/missle, all in front of Moore's, Albers and JC Penney Co.}

 Let's go get some fried clams at HoJo's!

   "The Class of '69"

     by the Arondies

 By late 1964, the Arondies begun recording demos and early in 1965, they released their debut single on the Astra label, "69" b/w "All My Love," both written by the band. 

After cutting "69," the Arondies started working with local WMCK jock, promoter, and all-around Svengali, Terry Lee. While TL and Porky were blissfully spinning the record, the other stations shied away from playing a song titled "69."

"My uncle Al McDowell was at KDKA at the time," Scully told the Post Gazette, "so my aunt and uncle took the record to Clark Race and asked if he would play it. So Clark is listenin', and it's got this nice sound, and we say '69,' and he says, 'I can't play this.' My aunt didn't know." We remember a push by the label to rename the song "The Class of '69", but that ploy didn't really fool anyone.

Still, the Arondies sold 10,000 copies of "69," regarded as a garage rock instrumental classic and to this day Pittsburgh's signature rock anthem among its boomer generation.

To hear this instrumental >>> http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/05/69.html

Wayne Avenue

The institution opened under the name of "Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum"

I  {Ed. note - not Jim Wick} worked there as a mental health technician from 1969 until 1973. Yes there was a Kirkbride. It was the geriatric unit in the back. It had the main hall as offices and the wards spread out at its side 3 to a side. Someone also mentioned the little building off to the side of the main building. That was the morgue. During the time I worked there homosexuality was considered a mental illness as well as drug addiction. In fact the young drug addicts were often given a choice in court to either go to jail or to Dayton state. Obviously they most often chose the state hospital. it obviously was a problem because they were intermingled with all the other patients and received no counseling regarding addiction except to stop doing drugs. Same with homosexuality. Just stop. Its amazing how much mental health has changed. There were very few english speaking doctors while I worked there. So often relating with patients was difficult. The most that was done was medication. I went through the tunnels many times with patients and by myself. When the weather was bad everyone went through them to get anywhere else since it connected to all parts of the hospital. In fact one side of the building only had the dinning rooms so the patients on the other side most always used the tunnels to get to the dinning room. I also did some work with the patients at the farm. It was great in the fall when we had real apple cider made by the patients there. 

Broom making at the Hospital

In 1875 the name was changed to "Western Ohio Hospital For The Insane" and in 1894 it became the "Dayton State Hospital For The Insane." In 1970 it was renamed the "Dayton Mental Health Center". Between 1881 and 1905 several additions were made to the facility. By 1894 it was part of a self-contained community with its own power plant and water tower. The hospital had a working farm where a variety of vegetables and grains were produced in addition to cattle and poultry. The farm produced adequate food to provide for the needs of the SOLA facility and ship the surplus to other state institutions. The farm is in what is now east Kettering and was purchased from the Shaker community in 1909. The farm was tended by mental patients many of which lived permanently on that site. 

In the early 1900's a trolley car traveled to the institution from downtown Dayton at regular hours. It was marked "Insane Asylum". An old horse-drawn car marked "Wayne Ave. Hill Car - Asylum" was pulled up Wayne Ave. hill from Wyoming St. to the hospital.

The usual myths and controversial issues still abound regarding the existence of a dungeon with iron chains and cages under the main building. Some say it was definitely there, some say it never existed.

The institution's more recent history has not been so positive. Starting in the 1960's, newspaper reports of the overcrowded hospital conditions and the poor treatment and negligence of patients were often heard. Staff cut-backs began, and by the early 1970's, the institution was quickly failing as a facility. In 10 years the number of patients dropped from 1,600 to an average of 380 patients. Treatment became more community based and sophisticated. A new facility was built on the grounds, and the main building of the Dayton Mental Health Center was vacated in 1978.

 The current drama with parents paying bribes to get their offspring in a certain college is partly behind this year's limited high school college lists. Some schools print a list of colleges without associated student names.

However, we took the pressure of the Dragon Tales Senior Issue list of "Seniors Have Chosen a Variety of Future Plans." Find it at Dragon Tales & More to see who went where in 1969.

   This was our junior class play.

Life With Father is a 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarance Day.

 This was our senior class play. 

Blithe Spirit is a comic play by Noel Coward, first seen in the West End in 1941.

Maybe better choices could have been made that would reflect contemporary humor and current times. Would it be asking too much for a  high school theatre production that was relatable? 😎

 Did you ever get in trouble for ripping some guy's fruit loop?

 The loop trend started with the US made Oxford button down shirts in the 1960's and became popular with the Ivy League. The name given to it by the makers was the 'Locker Loop'. Later however, it began to be called fairy loop or fruit loop.

 From "Ask Andy About Clothes"

 When I was in high school in the mid-60's it was rare for one of those loops (I won't tell you what they were called as some might find it offensive) to last through even one day. As you walked down the hallway someone would invariably rip it off. More than a few shirts were torn in the process. Most guys would carefully cut them off with a razor blade just to avoid this fate.

How to: Survive Fairmont

By Lyndsi Winfield, Features Writer
March 16, 2018
Filed under Fairmont Life, Top Stories

Every freshman needs a survival guide to follow before going into their four year term as a high schooler. Whether it be the transition from middle school to a rather large high school, or the fact that you are heavily outnumbered by 3 other classes who already know how things work here, life as a measly 9th grader can be a tad overwhelming. Here are some tips to survive Fairmont High School.

1. Avoid the Central Unit lobby

A good way to look at Fairmont High School is multiple rivers flowing together. Following the current is your easiest way to get around. But, the Central Unit lobby is a whole other story. Many could compare this lobby to a hurricane; students talking in the middle of the walkways while ruthless teenagers push their ways through to their classes. Whatever you do, avoid this at all costs. We'll be there catching up, but you please keep moving; see you in a couple of years.

Back in the late 1960's we attended a number of WKTR (Ch. 16) studio wresting programs

From April 28, 1967

                 Kind of incredible that Harrigan's did not exist until May 1969 at its original Far Hills location:

 Are they F---ing with Roger? Great run, Norm. We kicked Troy's ass. And before that the Falcons.

 Just had Cassanos last night. So no "la prova e nel gusto" tonight>>>

 We can get 5 cheeseburgers for $1 at the Chef >>>

 Skip deserted Parkmoor over there and I'm sick of Sandy's, even though hamburger/fries/malt less than a half dollar...

Let's Meet for Dinner Tonight at the Yum Yum!

Missing Friends

We have no contact information for 96 alums. Take a look at Missing Classmate and help us contact them. I'd like to see some of them, lots of them. 

We Know Them, But They Will Not Be There >>>

  Paul "Baby" Dixon

     Kenny Roberts The Jumping Cowboy

Uncle Orrie and Nosey the Clown

  Orville and Wilbur

           Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is "a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent." This social anxiety is characterized by "a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing." The easiest way to do that is to check this website. And, of course, attend the 50th Reunion.

Fairmont Athletic Hall of Fame

While there are no members of the FWHS Class of '69 in the Hall of Fame, there are a few older gentlemen you knew and may have encountered at West in 1969. Had we known then, these men may have been more relatable. 

Webster “Webb” Manchester,  Fairmont Dragons

(wearing a white shirt)

(Webb was relatable)

– 1932
Webb earned 6 varsity letters. He lettered in track in his sophomore year and baseball in his junior year. He lettered in basketball all three years and in football his senior year. In a football game against Bradford, he scored every point in Fairmont’s victory of 21-0. In basketball his junior year the team went 13-6. They tied for the Little 3 title, Fairmont, Fairview and Oakwood. They also tied for 1st in the Dayton Suburban League. He was named to the 1st Team for the All Suburban League. In his senior year he was named Captain and the team went 18-6. They won the Little 3 title and he was named 1st Team Montgomery County All Stars. The team qualified for the Class B State Tournament. It was the first time in Fairmont history that the boy’s basketball team made it to the State Final Four. They lost their first game to Margaretta by a score of 23-24. He loved playing for “Pop” Warner. He was proud of being the captain of the only Fairmont High School boy’s basketball team to ever go to the Final Four of the State Championship Tournament. He went to work for the Kettering School System and retired from Fairmont after 20 plus years of service. Webb died on October 25, 2000. Webb was a custodian at West in 1969.

Paul Wagner, Dayton Fairmont Dragons

– 1946
Paul Wagner participated 4 years in football, 4 years in basketball, 4 years in track and 1 year in tennis. He won 11 varsity letters: 3 in football; 3 in basketball; 4 in track and 1 in tennis. In Paul’s senior year, 1945-1946, he was All Miami Valley League in football and the 220-yardlow-hurdle Miami Valley League Champion. Also, Fairmont’s best basketball team record, losing only 2 games, each by 1 point. After graduation Paul played 4 years of football and track at DePauwUniversity in Indiana and coached 6 years at Fairmont High School. In 1958, Paul moved into Kettering Schools administration holding positions of Supervisor of Athletics, Assistant High School Principal and Assistant Superintendent in charge of Personnel and Community Relations. Paul died on February 27, 2014. Paul was Vice Principal at West in 1969.

Chester A. Roush,

Fairmont West Dragons Coach

– 1948-52
Chet Roush was the Head Football Coach at Fairmont High School from 1948 to 1951 where his teams had a combined Miami Valley League record of 26 wins, 0 losses and 2 ties; 3 league championships; and an undefeated (9-0) record in 1951. Mr. Roush was selected as the Miami Valley League Coach of the Year in 1949 and 1951; the South Coach in the 1951 Ohio North-South All-Star Football game; and is an Honorary Life Member of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association. After his coaching career, Chet served as Principal of Randolph High School (1952-1954) and Dorothy Lane Elementary (Kettering,1954-1955); Assistant Superintendent (1955-1958) and Superintendent of the Kettering City Schools (1958-1975). He served as a member of the Ohio Board of Education from 1980-1992, holding the President’s position from 1990-1992 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of State Boards of Education in 1995. He also served as President of the Ohio Superintendent’s Association for the 1972-1973 school year. Chet died on October 13, 2013. Chet was Superintendent of Kettering Schools in 1969.

 Kettering History

(Since in 12+ years in the school system we learned nothing about it.)

The first home. A farmer named John Patterson built the area’s first log cabin in 1798. By 1841 so many people had settled in the area that Van Buren Township, as the city was originally known, was formed. 

http://gen-search.com/files/VanBuren_Township_Montgomery_County_1938.jpg

More than 100 years later, in 1952, Van Buren Township was incorporated into the Village of Kettering. The following year, the western portion of the community seceded and formed what is now the City of Moraine. Moraine seceded?

Kettering was known as the fastest-growing city in Ohio between 1955 and 1965, according to the Ohio History Connection. The population grew from 38,118 in 1955 to 54,462 by 1960. The population peaked in 1970 at 69,599. Since the 1980s, Kettering has seen a slow decline in population because of an aging population and loss of manufacturing jobs.

To see dozens of '60s music videos, free and easy with background information and lyrics visit https://hellyesthe1960s.com/

                                           October 1970

Hara Arena Memories>>>If It had Only Been South of Town?

Hara Arena suffered extensive damage when tornadoes and severe storms moved through Monday night (5/27).

Drone footage shows the roof and side of the structure blown off in several places.

Dayton Gems (IHL) (1964–1977, 1979–1980)
Dayton Owls (IHL) (1977)
Dayton Jets (CnHL/AAHL) (1985–1987)
Dayton Dynamo (AISA) (1988–1990)
Dayton Bombers (ECHL) (1991–1996)
Dayton Ice Bandits (CoHL) (1996–1997)
Dayton Sky Hawks (IFL) (1999–2000)
Dayton Jets (IBL) (2005)
The Marshals (NIFL) (2007)
Dayton Gems (IHL/CHL) (2009–2012)
Dayton Silverbacks (CIFL) (2011–2012)
Dayton Demonz (FHL) (2012–2015)
Gem City Rollergirls (WFTDA) (2012–2014)
Dayton Sharks (CIFL) (2013–2014)
Dayton Demolition (FHL) (2015–2016)

Saw lots of concerts at Hara and hockey. Not this however>>>

Mick, Keith and the boys, three weeks after their first Ed Sullivan appearance. Dayton was not impressed.

There was a DDN story about the Rolling Stones’ first Dayton visit and how the crowd was not amused. Rex Long (?), who got to tag along backstage as a teenager, remembers it as well:

“I observe Mick (Jagger) and Keith (Richards) up against the wall with teenage female high school journalists getting their fingers stuck in Mick's hair. A popular local act, Ivan and the Sabers, play a long time while waiting for the entrance of the Stones. After watching and listening to the audience boo and hiss and throw paper cups and such (I saw a cup bounce off Mick's nose), they play a mere 20 minutes and exit.”

Elementary School Survey lists the Kettering elementary schools in operation in the early 60s. It may not be completely accurate as there were many additions and deletions through the years. If your school is not there, let me know.

Beavertown  

A number of schools have no listed alums...Greenmont, Holt, Meadow Lawn and Prass. Hello? I remember Greenmont and Meadow Lawn as OG. Did those schools feed to Indian Riffle and East? 

Kettering City Schools graduated about 575 students in their class of 2019  on May 22nd.

 As we hoped, Class of '69 alums who we have not seen at Reunions are signing up and will attend our July events. Wherever our Reunions were held in the past alums were able to catch up and reconnect with former classmates. Fortunately we are excited about this year's venues and plans. Whether you remember high school as enjoyable or horrible, or a little of both, you are likely to validate and enhance that history with alums at the Reunion events.

  For months the "In Memory" page on the website was nearly empty. There had been only a couple of comments about one Dragon listed there. Over the weekend Diane Kempfer Miller added information and obituaries for twenty-eight of the alums listed there. It is beneficial to have information about those who are no longer here. Check it out. Thanks, Diane.

                           Rike's at Christmas

 Fans have been waiting for the latest Quentin Tarantino movie, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which is set in 1969, and is scheduled to open on July 26, 2019.

Look back at 1969 every week on ABC Tuesdays at 10 PM.

        You may now register for Reunion activities at the 50th Reunion page, accessed over there on the left. This is it. If you'd rather wait five more years, we're planning to hold the entire 55th Reunion at Marions or Bethany Lutheran Village.

The profile process asks for your first name,  your maiden name (if you are/were married and are a woman) and your current last name. You should not duplicate either name. So many have misunderstood. I have corrected those profiles and I will continue to correct them, but it goes on your permanent record.

Is your name there? Then look at Missing Classmates. If you are not on either list let me know. Please find your name and register and complete a profile. If you see a name and know that person is deceased let us know and we'll mark it with a double asterisk and move it to "In Memory." If you can provide an email address or other information about any Missing Classmates, let us know.

DLM - the original location, Dorothy Lane Market and Far Hills 1949

                       Our website is sponsored by >>>

Can anyone read this?