Greetings from Iraq

Statute of Limitations

Thanks for the info. Sorrily gotta say that I am still in Baghdad...with any luck I will be having turkey dinner in the end of November at home with family. I can't wait!!!

When I went there in 85, it was sorta party central...just imagine rolling kegs literally thru the center of the bowl during the middle of the school day...it happened.

Imagine having a "hugs, not drugs" theme day that was seminar type day that hit all the major local news channels and having TV news crews there, and walking thru the courtyard with beer cups in your hands...during a day called hugs, not drugs...go figure....ahhh, where have all the good times gone...

Or from a few years later, when my brother and few friends broke the worlds longest football losing streak and put a small bend in the water side goalpost (look real close...yep, it's still there...)

Or when we had the rivalry back then with Wilson, and we burned a huge ( I mean huge!!!) "S" in their lawn. As Flounder said in animal house, "oh boy, this is gonna be great".

Or having a teacher openly (and I don't think that bright of a thing to do...) fire up a doobie in the classroom...I take the fifth (amendment, not fifth of booze) on that that one...

Sorry, got onto a roll.
I did do one (maybe more...not sure) good thing...after desert storm in 91, I did come back to talk to Mr. Ptolemy or Mr. Coar's class...

Sorry, just taking a "trip" down memory lane. Really though, Stadium was a great place to go to school, and all BS aside, I do have a lot of pride having gone there.


Take care, and my most sincere best regards,

Wayne Ashby Class of '85

Memories@CelebrateStadium.com

CelebrateStadium.com

Thanks Dad!

Embarrassing and priceless

Since I was a shy teenager, it was difficult at times to be the daughter of the Superintendent of Schools. The graduation exercises in June, 1953 were memorable for me.

This was the day I received my diploma directly from my own father,
Dr. Alden H. Blankenship.

It was wonderful to see the pride in his eyes as he handed it to me. I'm sure my face was bright red at that moment.

Jean Blankenship Class of '53

Memories@CelebrateStadium.com

CelebrateStadium.com

Pitch from the Past

Pacific Monthly magazine

This is out of a December 1906 Pacific Monthly magazine, sent to me some years ago by a gentleman in Chicago. He thought I would be interested in its age and some of the articles.

What a treasure when I discovered this ad. I thought you might find it very interesting, if you haven't already seen it.

I think it is exciting, because of the additional history of Tacoma that it gives.

Chellis Smith Swenson Jensen '53

(click the thumbnail to see the full size ad)

Memories@CelebrateStadium.com

CelebrateStadium.com

Three from '73

Memories

I have three memories to share of my time at Stadium.

The first is that of my best friend at the time, Ann Schadt. I would never have made it through without her warmth and kindness. I hope she knows how much I looked up to and admired her.

The second is of School Counselor John Vitullo. With compassion and understanding he helped me to get out of a horrendous home life.

And, lastly, I am thankful that I was able to spend one year of school with my sister. We enjoyed our very long walk to school (we lived further away than Jason Lee) when she taught me poetry.

We were in a few school plays. We had fun during and after the plays with Mike Johnson. But he had to ham it up and change the last line from Up The Down Staircase to "We are behind you 99.5%" instead of 100%. Thanks alot, Mike!

Coleen Murphy
Class of 1973

Memories@CelebrateStadium.com

CelebrateStadium.com

A Peppy March

Band Memories

Hi !
I have the fondest memories of my 3 years in the Stadium High School marching and pep bands. Those were great times with terrific classmates and a marvelous band leader (Mr. Delwin Jones)
I also had many great days as associate editor of the school paper.

I have lived in the east since my marriage in 1952 but my heart will always be in the Pacific Northwest.

Go Stadium Tigers !!


Doreen Weinstone Fishkin

Class of 1950

Also see:
Alumni Band

Memories@CelebrateStadium.com

CelebrateStadium.com

Paul Margelli

A different "Base" coat

I was blessed to have been a part of the Stadium High choir from 1971-73 under the direction of Mr. Paul Margelli whom we all affectionately called "Mar". He was a talented and hard working choir teacher who expected the best from us and got it.

My senior year we were asked to sing at the State Capital workers’ Christmas Party because the Adelphian Choir from the University of Puget Sound (which was considered the best around) was unavailable.

When they were asked whom they recommended in their place the immediate response was the Stadium HS choir. It was a great honor and we owe all that we were to Mar.

The summer before my senior year my best friend Mary Diamond and I got it into our heads to paint Mar’s office as a surprise for him. It was painted an institutional shade of pink and we thought he needed something better.

We took ourselves off to the hardware store and chose a quart…that’s right a quart…of flat paint in a lovely shade of tangerine. To this day I am not sure how Mary talked the custodians into letting us into his office to paint. Well, we got about halfway done when we realized that not only were we out of paint but it was going to require at least two more coats and that we should have gotten semi-gloss as that was what was on the walls already.

On top of that we had not prepped the walls and you could easily scrape the new color, which appeared very blotchy, off…yikes! Defeated and out of money we slunk out of the school and looked towards the first day of school with dread. What was Mar going to do to us?

We never found out his reaction to the orange paint or his thoughts about what we had done. When we arrived on the first day of school we discovered he had repainted his office a chocolate brown using semi-gloss paint.

He never said a word to me but once in a while I would see him look over at the two of us and shake his head. He was a true gentleman and a class act.

Quincy Knowlen Cook
Class of 1973

Memories@CelebrateStadium.com

CelebrateStadium.com

My Dad, the Judge

Martin Luther Potter '30

The Judge Martin Potter mentioned in the 50 years ago in the News Tribune, this last May, is my father, and he graduated from Stadium around 1930.

I remember when he was a judge, as he knew every cop in the city, so I knew if I did anything he would know it before I got home.

He was an attorney in Tacoma for many years. He also worked as a prosecuter, Justice of the Peace, Police court Judge, and just before he died he was a Superior Court Commissioner.

Here is a picture from a slide taken by Ashel Curtis probably before 1920. Does any one what the event and date was.

I bought the slide sight un-seen, but the description said that it was a slide taken by Curtis, probably in the Seattle area with an event in a bowl, with a building that looks like a castle in the background. What else could it be but Stadium, and it was.

Also see Time Flies

John Potter Class of '61

Memories@CelebrateStadium.com

CelebrateStadium.com