Golden Eagle Status

We have reached the "South Pole" of our journey, that being twenty-five years of history between 1947, Class of 1965's birth year, and 1922.  The "North Pole" is twenty-five years in the opposite direction from 1947 to 1972.

This fifty-year block of time in the history of Cloverdale covers many aspects of the lives of all those who will become "Golden Eagles" on June 11, 2015.  Everyone who began first grade in 1953 and/or passed that major milestone on the road of life, high school graduation, in 1965 will earn an imaginary Golden Eagle feather to put in their imaginary headdress.

Congratulations and well done!

Cloverdale in the Early Days

Cloverdale was coming together as a town in the early 1860s.  Dr. Shipley of Cloverdale paints a picture covering six decades starting in the mid 1860s.

And So It Ends

Our journey covering fifty years, 1922-1972, is complete.  We’ve lived the best of times.  Nearly one hundred topics have been addressed and there are that many more which could be covered.  Time and space set boundaries.  Within the following pages, Froggie will demonstrate his Magic Twanger’s capabilities and cover some highlighted topics that were bypassed along the way.

Winging It

No Reveilles exist for 1922 or 1923.  So let's throw some water on a hot topic - fires. Like many things, fires accompany life. The five most spectacular blazes in Cloverdale's history are listed below:

The Grove

One of the best decisions ever made by Cloverdale was to purchase “The Grove” known today as “City Park.”  Parties of all kinds, Scout activities, countless baseball games, high school football games before 1960, and many other events are held at this location.

Spirited Sorts

Jane Leist and "Mother" Murray's relative Isabelle Murray lit up the scoreboard in 1924.  Both high performers in many ways, they returned to Cloverdale's classrooms as teachers.

Isabelle Murray became Mrs. Isabelle Nobles after high school.

Healdsburg to Cloverdale

Roaring 20s

Missing in Archives

The Roaring Twenties played out big time in Cloverdale.  The Class of 1927 has Old Homestead in their back yard -- Preston.  Buried in the dust and ashes of history, this magnificent structure provided a lot of jobs for Cloverdalians.

Year of the Banker

Pioneer Families

Some scoundrel absconded with all fifty-two issues of the Reveille for 1931.  By this year several family names had taken root and are present in Cloverdale today (2015).

Moonshine

No Reveilles exist for 1932.  Using 1932's space we will shine a bit of light on the Viet Nam of the 1920s, Prohibition.  This decade had a devastating effect on Cloverdale.  The period was a nationwide constitutional ban on the sale, production and transportation of alcoholic beverages that remained in place from 1920 to 1933.

Braccialini

For an entire century the Braccialini name has been a vertebra in the backbone of Cloverdale.  Class of '65 lucked out as we have Dan Braccialini on our roll call.  His relatives, Anne, Judy and Class of '33's Minnie did their name proud back in the day.  Dan has a calming effect on his surroundings.

No Doubt

No doubt who is Class of '65's unanimous choice for graduate of the year in '34.  Without Rollo Bandiera there would be no Ron.  Without Ron our class would be like a table with 3 1/2 legs.  Thanks Rollo, you bailed us out long before you got into politics -- Mayor of Cloverdale in the late '60s.  How's this for knowing the ropes? Jane Leist and Harley Groves were pulled from their jobs and sent to support the war. Rollo's dad shattered his ankle at the onset of grape season. Rollo was sent home from the war zone to fill in for his dad.

80 Years Later

Much has been said about the Class of '35's John Santana, but there's more. Eighty years after he graduated high school his legacy looms large in Cloverdale.  Three daughters Linda, Antoniette and Patty are lifelong residents of Cloverdale.  A son, Jerry, lives in Oregon.  Baseball has been paramount within the family for nearly a century but they have branded their legacy as outstanding athletes on football fields and bowling alleys as far East as St. Louis, Missouri where Mrs. Santana (John's wife) won the National Handicap tournament in 1969.  As impressive as all this is the asset more admirable than all the ribbons and trophies...they all have earned a citizenship award for being good people.

Life is Now in Session

The most remembered female teacher in the 125 year history of C.H.S., Miss Leist, was in the classroom in 1936 declaring "Life is Now in Session, Are You Present?"  She had a gift of inspiring students and encouraged them to perform up to their potential.

Thugs and Misfits (Continued)

Continued from previous post:

Thugs and Misfits

Articles from the Cloverdale Reveille

Continued in next post...

Lawman of the 20th Century

No Reveilles exist for 1937 so we'll fill in with a legend from that time frame.  The recipient of our Lawman of the Century recognition goes to police chief Jim Ledford.  Graduating with the C.H.S. Class of 1932, he followed a career in police work.

The following article is an account of how Chief Ledford took care of business.

8 from 8th Grade

The eighth grade class of 1938 had eight students with familiar names in our 1965 circle. Angeli, Giampoli, Imperiale Sumner "trust me" Lampson, Murray, Rege, and Vadon continue to have roots in Cloverdale on some level.  Anyone, and there are many in the first fifty years of the 20th century, with Murrany as a last name are related to our Class of '65's prize possession, Diane Mother Murray. Randy Imperiale and Charlie Fayter have direct ties to '38's members - you choose the eight names.

3 of a Kind

In 1939 Ron Bandiera was counting down…eight years until birth in 1947.  Wanting Ron to feel welcome, the Bandiera name was prominent in Cloverdale.  Emilia and Lena are aunts and and Mariana is a cousin.  Ron has continued to maintain the high standards of the Bandiera name over the past 67 years minus a few years in the early ‘60’s—ya, high school.  From this triangle, Emilia married Bob Bilbro.  Lena hitched her wagon to a De Marcantonio, and Ron's third and final aunt, Norma, married Bud Hixson and they are parents of Judy and Gary.  Cousin Mariana took the Zapponi name and created Mike, a member of our class who ditched us about sixth grade.  He has processed what he did @ 55 years ago and we’re all but positive he’ll show the 27th and repent.

Class of '40

In the first half of the 20th Century basketball and baseball dominated the sports scene.  Football was in the future.  Many of the standout athletes have familiar names.  Ray Zittleman and Bill Potter lost their lives while flying bombing missions over Europe.  Marie Vadon is in our Class of '65 circle.  She is Jim Vadon's sister, aunt of Tim Vadon, married to Kathy Greppi and here's the connection--sister of Charlie Wright Greppi.  Whew! Enough of this. :-)

P.S. Marie's mind is as capable today as it was when she held high honors on the high school basketball court.  She is recognized as Cloverdale's premier historian.

Last "Normal" Graduation

1941's graduation was to be followed by year's end by the onset of WWII.  Occurring six years before Class of '65 hit the street in 1947, several '41 graduates are connected to our class.

Henry Parker is the uncle of Dennis, Cheryl and Penny Parker - none Class of '65 but close enough to mention. Charles Burgans - Charlie Wright Greppi's uncle.  Margaret Burgans, Charlie's aunt.  Betty Jean Caldwell has direct ties to us through Charlie.  Her daughter-in-law is Kathy Greppi Vadon, wife of Tim Vadon and sister of Charlie.Cuneo lines up with Giovannetti.  Henry is doing well and lives in the Yuba City area.

All others have passed.

Santanas

Harley Groves

Harley, the Phantom of the Forest, came from the Bull Elephant side of town.  He had a way of teaching us juveniles high standards while keeping the rowdies in line.  He shaped many of us into future leaders mainly through Boy Scouts.  It is said good teachers train people. Great teachers train leaders.  Great job, Harley.  Now, what's your take on the bucks at the Lockhorn?  He will be there the 27th along with our Spirit Club.

Legendary Teacher

Gains and Losses

Cloverdale beat its chest all of 1947, the hot item was the arrival of several members of the Class of '65. Born there, graduated there, and experiencing life after sixty-six there.

Another hot item from 1947 -- the loss of the U.S. Hotel in the most devastating fire in Cloverdale's history. How's this for Karma? The business currently occupying the space where the hotel stood -- The Lockhorn!! Is it possible Julie and Marc were planning our 50th Reunion before they were one?  Refer to "Born to Party".

Life During the War

Life during the war was greatly altered. Supporting the war effort was paramount as our nation was in a fight for its life. Materials, fuel, food, and most everything was limited. Our nation strove to keep as much as possible at pre-war levels.

Ray Zittleman

70 Years

Coxswain Quinliven

Dennis attended Cloverdale High his junior year and most of the senior year.  Classmate Marie Vadon Hill remembers him well.  She remembers him as handsome, athletic, and friendly.  The nation was shocked by the onset of WWII and Dennis was on the leading edge of countless courageous, patriotic, Americans who put their life on the line for their country.  Dennis is acknowledged on the American Legion’s Plaque at the Vets Building, the base of the flag pole at City Hall, and the soon to be dedicated Veterans Memorial at the Cloverdale Cemetery.

Four of Our Best

Cloverdale lost four of its best in WWII.  The following is a tribute to each for their sacrifice.

Bill Potter

Locals

Ron Bandiera, Dan Braccialini, George Cavagnaro, Nikki Ferrari, Mark Haehl, Randy Imperiale, Diane Murray, Julie Peters, Steve Rebottaro and Charlie Fayter had dads or relatives directly involved in the war effort.

The War

About Face

We have recounted our life’s memories with regard to the Class of 1965 from our starting point, 1947.  The journey has covered highlights to 1972.  Rewinding to 1947, we will explore twenty five years before we were a gleam in one or both of our parents’ eyes.  That’s a total of fifty years of history.  Mr.  McMillan and Mr. Pawlan are proud we are so into history.

Returning to 1947 and looking south towards 1900. There is a lot of the past that went into shaping members of our class before we were born.  Ron Bandiera, Marc Black, Dan Braccialini, Paul Giovannetti, and Dave Peters followed their relatives and developed careers in and around agriculture.  Talbert Petersen, Ken Little, Merle Reuser, and Craig Rose followed in their dads’ footsteps and worked their way through life in the construction or timber industry.

1946 saw Cloverdale begin the healing process after a four year grueling war which directly involved just about every able bodied American.  It was a time to regroup and resume the baby making process which had been put on hold for four years for most families.

Long Term Friendships

Travel and Adventure

High School Sweethearts

Conflict Over Conflict

The conflict in Vietnam intensified throughout the ‘60s and more of our high school graduates were called upon to deal with the situation.  Tensions within America grew to an all time high.  Our class was well represented with at least three Marines, four Air Force, six Army, and thirteen Navy.  It is believed the Navy had something to do with using Diane Renay’s hit song “Navy Blue” being released as a recruiting tool.  Sneaky, but it appears to have worked.

Sadly, one of our Eagles represents our Class of ’65 on “The Wall” located in Washington D.C.  Steve Weigt owns a space there.  Honorary Class of ’65 member Duane Baumgardner is remembered there too.  There is a smaller replica of the Washington Wall in Pensacola, Florida and a traveling wall that has been viewed in all corners of America.

In addition, Steve and Duane are remembered at the Veteran’s Section at Cloverdale’s Cemetery.  City Hall in Santa Rosa shows their names as does a monument on the Sonoma State College Campus.  All can be seen 24/7.  Both Steve and Duane will be remembered forever.

By the end of 1969 most military had paid their dues and returned to civilian life and thinking about our 50th Reunion, Right?  Arnold Mendoza and Roger Fonnest chose a career in the military.  That wandering nomad Merle Reuser found a recruiting office in 1971 and joined the Navy.  He spent his time slamming airplanes on the decks of aircraft carriers and into other aircraft.

The Vietnam War ended in the early ‘70s leaving wounds and scars that exist in many today.  Fortunately most of our class has lead successful lives and are enjoying our grandchildren and retirement.

The Aftermath

It’s early morning June 12th and the voice in the sky is reminding us “Life is now in session, are you present?”  Life is predictable in that it always moves on, with or without you.  We are high school graduates, a major milestone.  At this point, being adults, we chose our course.  By the final day of 1965, thanks to Vietnam, our class had scattered like a covey of quail around the planet.  Steve Weigt, Arnold Mendoza, Roger Fonnest, Frank Anglesy, Dave Belford, Marc Black, Ed Bowen, George Cavagnaro, Dennis Dalbec, Frankie, Butch Giocolini, Paul Giovannetti, Ron Goodman, Earl Hall, Gordon Langevin, John Love, Bill Mix, Curt Moore, Carl Murphy, Ron Petersen, Stan Pickle, Greg Reeder, Merle Reuser, Roy Richardson, Craig Rose, Danny Wallis, Roger Watts, Bearcat Don Wright, and others were our representatives in this global migration.

Pursuing higher education, Deloris Andrini, Dan Braccialini, Connie Erickson, Bill Frederick, Nancy Foster, Paul Giovannetti, John Greenhalgh, Christina Grist, Audrey Haczela, Mark Haehl, John Porter, Merle Reuser, Bill Walton, Dennis Wilkison, Larry Wolfe, and others supported college campus bookstores for years.  Others like Ted Emmel, Ken Little, and Gary Young began careers.  Ted’s span over 40 years at M.G.M. Brakes in Cloverdale, his tenure was surpassed by our Class of ‘65’s John Love.  Sadly Ken’s clock stopped at 5:45 AM one October morning in 1970.  A logging truck he drove for H.O. Sharp left the roadway and Ken was called home.  Gary Young met a similar fate over ten years later.  Gary’s big rig left the roadway at The Geysers and when the dust had settled, Gary had checked out.

By Dec. of ’65 our entire class was on their way working through life after high school.