December 8, 2004 Coffee Klatsch

December 2004 Coffee Klatsch Pictures

Wow! What a turn out! We had a total of 31 folks show up this month. There were several first timers, all from the records bureau, the backbone of the department. Sandy Milton was here from her new digs in Arizona and a number of her coworkers came down to be with her. It was great to see Celeste Griffin, Barbie Scardina, Edna Whitcomb and Barbara Seymour, who were all “newbies!” The others from records, who have attended other CK’s, were Barbara Jansen, Annette Genovese, Judy Wheeler and Rita Nicolosi. It was also good to see Sue Coder, who worked records at one time before moving to the court system. Sue said Darryl is doing well, like the rest of us having his good days and bad days. We hope to see him at one our CK’s some day.

Charlie Stumph was the other Arizona visitor. There were some “out of county” visitors, including Tom Fox, Ken Self and Tony Rojo. Ed Dunacheck could also be considered an out-of-county visitor now since he spends most of him time at his estates in Johnson Valley.

 One of the highlights was a Christmas card brought in by Royal Lord. Of course you say, what's interesting about a Christmas card? We’re all getting cards at this time of year. This particular card was postmarked 1948, the postage was one and a half cents, sent to Royal Lord (Royals dad) from James A. Musick. Royal's dad also worked for Sheriff Musick.

Since Jan and I are now “full time RV’ers” there was quite a bit of discussion about RV’ing, including class “A” motor-homes vs. class “C” motor-homes. It seems driving the transportation buses was a real advantage when it comes to driving a class “A” RV. Of course I tried to convince Charlie and Tony it’s just a matter of perception, all to no avail

As luck would have it, I had my camera with me and took several photos of those in attendance and hopefully Jack will have room to put them on our web page. Unfortunately Kathy King-Wilmot and Rita Nicolosi arrived just as I was leaving and I didn’t get their photo. My apologies to the both of them!

Those in attendance were: Kay Flynn, Tom Conner, Bud Kretsinger, Ken Self, Ed Dunacheck, Charlie Stumph, Jim Baker, Tony Rojo, Al Massucci, Bob White, Frank and Dawn Petronella, Don Mendenhall, Chuck, Kimbell, Royal Lord, Dewey Wiles, Barbara Jansen, Sue Coder, Sandy Milton, Edna Whitcomb, Celeste Griffin, Judy Wheeler, Barbie Scardina, Barbara Seymour, Tom Fox, Annette Genovese, Mike Brown, Terry Williams, Rita Nicolosi and Kathy King-Wilmot.



November 10, 2004 Coffee Klatsch

It was a great turn out with one out of towner, Al “The Bear” Vincent, who it is always great to see. Al had a real humorous story to tell about running over his leg with his own pickup truck. Now I know all who weren’t there will be wondering what happened. Too lengthy story to tell here. Suffice it to say it was a good story. Al said he recently got a phone call from Buryl Battelle who now live in Midlothian, VA.

Charley and Sally Kimbell had quite a trip this summer and fall. In Aug. and Sept. they went to Chicago to visit their daughter and hit a couple of county fairs in the neighboring states, Iowa and KY. Then it was a flight to Anchorage, AK to catch a cruise to Vancouver, rent a car and drive home. Sounds like a real dream of a sightseeing trip.

Tony Rojo and wife with friends joined an RV caravan to San Felipe, Mexico for one week. Tony said it was a great trip. They were parked right on the water front in the RV park where they stayed. Tony said although he did not go fishing himself several of the men in the party made some great catches.
Bob Benson said his and Pat’s trip to Switzerland was far too short. He said it is a beautiful country and only wished they could have stayed longer. Bob that things are very expensive there.

It was good to hear J.D. Green didn’t need surgery on his knee after his little mishap on his motorcycle. He no longer use a cane but still walks with a little of a gimp. Although that could be due to age instead of injury! Hmmm!!!!!

Larry Schram and Bill Denton said they had a great trip, especially enjoying New Orleans. Larry is quite a gourmet cook as well as a connoisseur of good food. He tried a new dish in New Orleans, crawfish et tufP (sic), which he said “is to die for!” I’ll take his word for it. They also made a tour of the Amish country in PA, which they enjoyed immensely. As many of you know Larry and Bill are very big into woodworking and had an opportunity to see some handcrafted woodwork in Shaker county in KY as well as some weaving.

Those in attendance were, Tony Rojo, Bob White, Bud Kretsinger, Al Vincent, Charles Kimbell, Jerry Krans, Mike Brown, Kay Flynn, Ron Frazier, Al Massucci, Terry Williams, Bob Benson, Jim Beisner, J.D. Green, Bill Deton, Larry Schram, Howard Mol, John Mauger, Royal Lord, and Richard “Dick” Timboe.




October 13, 2004 Coffee Klatsch

It was good to see Tom Conner again. Several people told him they had stopped in Yellowstone to see him but he wasn't there. Tom said he gave up the job managing the Fishing Bridge Trading Post and RV Park when it changed to new management. He was up there this summer and said things were a real mess under the new management. When Tom was managing the place he said he had about ninety employees which the new management downsized to about half that number.

Charlie Stumph was in town for a visit and made the CK. He said he has cut way back on his traveling and teaching but still enjoys doing it.

Tony Rojo and his wife, being a brave souls, took their grandkids on a motorhome trip up through Montana. He said he didn't stop off to see any of the retirees up in that area so they can beat him up the next time they see him or send him some choice thoughts about his failure to remember his old friends. Just kidding!

Royal Lord said he and Charlene just got back from a wonderful ten day cruise to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He said the food on the cruise was absolutely wonderful and the country they saw was beautiful.

My apologies for be so late with this issue of the CK news. I waited so long to write the article and being a person who's memory is getting shorter and shorter all the time, it seems, I can't recall all the things that were discussed.

We finally sold our house and are in the middle of escrow. Those of you who have been through it know what a hassle it can be as well as the chore of getting rid of 36 years of accumulated junk. What a daunting task. We are suppose to close escrow the 24th of November then we will be among the homeless. Already got my sign painted, "will work for food or shelter!" (-: Initially we plan on staying in the area until Jan gets through with some major dental work. We will take a few short trips. I talked to Cal Bailey on the phone the other day. He and his wife Jan will be in OC in November and we plan on getting together so he can give me some good pointers about full time RV'ing and picking a place for a "home-base!"

Those in attendance were: Chuck Kimbell, Terry Williams, Charlie Stumph, Jim Baker, Tony Rojo, Mike Brown, Kay Flynn, Ray Karr, Don Mendenhall, Tom Conner, Bob Talley, Don Lambert, Dave Keller, Royal Lord, Bud Kretsinger and Dick Timboe.


September 8, 2004 Coffee Klatsch

Our numbers were down again this month. It appears a lot of our retirees are doing the things retirees should be doing, cruising, traveling, fishing or whatever else retirees do to relax. In fact several of those present were discussing their pending travel plans.

Of course there was some discussion about the Ventura recalculation and who it will impact at the present time. Basically there will be about a 14.5 % adjustment on the gross pay down and will not impact the base pay. However, (and this is a BIG HOWEVER) at the present time it is only being recalculated on those retirees post April 2002. Shelley Carlucci in the CEO's office informed me that, at the present time, it would ultimately be retroactive to post-1997 retirees. She said once all the details had been worked out something in writing would be sent to the retirees. If you are a post-2002 retiree and wish to submit a request for recalculation of your pay-down you can submit your request by email to shelly.carlucci@ocgov.com giving your name, Soc. Sec. Number, and date of retirement. Guys who have already received their readjustment said it takes between four to six weeks after submitting the request, so be patient. Folks, right now that is all I know about it so please don't bombard me with all kinds of questions I can't answer.

Ray Karr gave an update on Bob Kemmis battle with his cancer. The chemo seems to have reduced a couple of the tumors, however, another tumor has been found in his hip. Ray said he is maintaining a positive attitude and fighting the good fight. We wish him the very best.

Jim Dorsey was telling Dave Keller and I about an invention he has been working on and hope to have it in production in the near future. It is a device to broadcast an alarm when someone falls into the water and will work in both fresh and salt water. It sounded very interesting with a multitude of possible applications. Jim said there is currently a similar device on the market now but it has several flaws, which his device will correct.

Those in attendance were: Dave Keller, Mike Brown, Kay Flynn, Terry Williams, Knobby Walsh, Bud Kretsinger, Ed Dunacheck, Don Lambert, Al Massucci, Bob Talley, Ray & Chris Karr, Royal Lord, Don Williams and Jim Dorsey.

Mark your calendar for next months Coffee Klatsch, Wednesday, Oct. 13, Main Place Mall, Santa Ana. Hope to see you there.


  August 11, 2004 Coffee Klatsch

Our numbers weren’t quite as large this month as in times past; however, that did not diminish the level of visiting. The only out-of-towner was George Johnson, who has just very recently become an out-of-towner having moved the sunny climes of Arizona. They are still in the process of getting their house fixed up the way they want it and still don’t have everything unpacked. They have done quite a bit of remodeling, including getting floor tile throughout, and that has been a real mess.

George said they have enjoyed the spectacular lightning displays generated by the famous Arizona electrical storms, but they are not real enamored with the dust storms that seem to accompany the electrical storms. Marilyn seems to be adapting to the heat without any problem.

J.D. “Dick” Green came hobbling in with a cane, and much to his embarrassment he told us the cause of his situation. It seems Dick decided to take a ride on his motorcycle across one of the remote, dirt roads in the San Bernardino Mountains, BY HIMSELF.

Dick said he was traveling about five or ten miles an hour when all of a sudden his bike dumped him. At the time he was more embarrassed and shocked rather than thinking he was hurt. After righting his bike, he rode back to his cabin, and by then was feeling some pain, but drove his pickup on home.

Dick said by the time he got home he was in such pain it took him about a half hour to get from the truck to the house. When he got into the house he called out to his wife, who was upstairs, and said that he thought he would just stay down stairs for a while. Anyway, to make a long story short, it turns out he broke a toe and tore something in his knee, which might require surgery.

Dick said he had just returned from attending a surprise birthday party for Jim Owens. It turned out not to be quite as big of a surprise as Lynn had planned. When the vendors began to setting up a large tent and chairs,

Jim -- being a trained investigator -- figured something was afoot. About fifty or sixty people were there, and the surprise guests were their daughter Michelle and Dick.

Bob Benson said he and Pat would soon be leaving for a three-week trip to Switzerland. He said they plan on spending most of their time in Switzerland. Sounds like it will be a great trip.

Royal Lord said they recently got back from a vacation trip in Montana, stopping to see Sam Spencer in Libby. He also let me know I had Sam’s address wrong in the retiree list, which is now corrected. However, as I understand it, Libby is so small that if you stood in the middle of town and yelled “SAM” real loud, he would know you were in town!

It was also good to see Bob Mennes, who is still a working stiff and can’t make it to the Coffee Klatsches that often. Unfortunately, Bob has recently had repair surgery on his right shoulder and is still in the healing process, having to give left-handed handshakes. Bob said he went to flight school in Kingman, Arizona for qualification in twin-engine certification so he could fly the company plane.

Those in attendance were: George Johnson, Bob White, Dave Keller, Bud Kretsinger, Knobby Walsh, Don Mendenhall, Mike Brown, Terry Williams, Ed Dunacheck, Bob Benson, Bob Mennes, Dewey Wiles, Al Massucci, Royal Lord, Don Williams, J.D. Green, Jim Beisner and Howard Mol.





  July 2004 Coffee Klatsch

It would be hard to pick just the right superlative to describe the phenomenal gathering this month. There were twenty-six attendees, including one first timer and six infrequent visitors, two of them being from out of state.

Now I must “rag” on Judy Wheeler just a little. A reminder email was sent out to all the local retirees for the July Coffee Klatsch. Judy sent an email back saying “I can’t make Wed. coffee klatch. We are leaving Saturday for a Caribbean cruise for a week. You know us women, we have toooooo much to do to get ready.” Then on Monday the following email was received from Mrs. Judy; “Hi Gene, I received a call a couple of hours ago from Vicki “Emerson”-Hunziker. She’s in town for a couple of days to see Susan. Jerry Krans is going to bring her to the Coffee Klatch. I’ll be there!!!!” I guess it’s just a matter of priorities!!!

True to her word Jerry brought Vicki to the CK. It was great to see and talk to her. She has become quite the “farm” girl. Vicki said even though she became completely immersed in farming, including working several years for USDA, she is proof of the old adage “you can take the girl out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the girl” and she’s still a city girl at heart. She can tell you all about crop rotation, wet farming, dry farming, chemicals and numerous other aspects of farming. Vicki said the closest big city to them is Denver, where they go several times a year.

Our other out of town visitors were Charlie Stumph and Jerry Texley. Jerry said he has recently become a Nevadian, moving to Henderson, in a gated community. Unfortunately I did not get to visit with Jerry or Charlie enough to bring you up to date on what’s been going on in their lives. Jerry did give me a business card, which shows he is a member of the International Police Association, Region 52.

Our infrequent visitors were Judy Wheeler, Jerry Texley, Tony Rojo, Dewey Wiles and Andy Romero. Tony said he and the wife are doing the RV’ing thing now and love it. Dewey said he no longer works at Orange County Retirement and will possibly be a more regular attendee. Andy brought fliers for his up-coming retirement party, AGAIN, (see AOCDS web page) in August.

Those in attendance were: Gene Endsley, Kay Flynn, Bud Kretsinger, Knobby Walsh, Vicki Emerson-Hunzziker, Jerry Krans, Ray Karr, Chris Karr, Bob White, Judy Wheeler, Dewey Wiles, Jerry Texley, Ed Dunacheck, Al Massucci, Tony Rojo, Jim Beisner, Bill Denton, Chuck Kimbell, Larry Schram, Charlie Staumph, Don Williams, Howard Mol, Andy Romero, Don Lambert and J.D. Green.

Mark your calendar for next months CK, August 11th, Paradise Café, Main Place Mall, Santa Ana. Let’s make it another stupendous get together.


June Coffee Klatsch - June 10, 2004

We had another good turnout, although there were no new faces or visitors from out of town. It was good to see Frank & Dawn Petronella, who hadn’t been there for a while.

Ray and Chris Karr recently returned from a short vacation. Ray said they spent some time with Deanna & Mike Phoenix at their ranch near Lake Lopez. Ray said it is beautiful country. Mike said anyone visiting up that way is welcome to stop by for a visit.

While they were there, they all went over to the coast and visited with Bob and Ernie Beevers in Los Osos. They both are doing fine, although Bob uses a cane now to give himself a little insurance against falling.

Don Mendehall said he “kidnapped” Harvey Hill to help him take a backhoe up to his place in Montana. Don said they had about every kind of weather you can imagine while making the trip.

Ed Dunacheck said he would be dividing his time between his home in Orange and his place out in Johnson Valley, although most of the time will be spent in the Valley. Ed said the peace and quiet grows on a person out there with all the clean air, clear skies, and, most of all, no traffic. He has made friends with a bunch of retirees living there, and they do a lot of off-roading into the backcountry. Ed also had been getting a little prospecting in, as well as visiting sites where there are lots of petroglyphs. Ed was wearing a brace on his left wrist, having taken a spill on his dirt bike, which can be one of the hazards of off-roading.

Tom Fox is also dividing his time between Palm Desert and Orange County. Tom said he’s staying busy with real estate speculations, along with a friend of his.

Those in attendance this month were: J.D. Green, Don Mendenhall, Charles Kimbell, Don Lambert, Ray Karr, Chris Karr, Frank Petronella, Dawn Petronella, Bob White, Ed Dunacheck, Jim Beisner, Bob Talley, Larry Schram, Howard Mol, Carl Fisher, John Mauger, Dick Timboe and Tom Fox.


May 2004 Coffee Klatsch

Well let me tell ya, that “REMINDER” sent out on Monday really did the trick! A whopping 18 folks showed up. But, what we lacked in quantity is far exceeded in quality. As usual the discussions ran the gamut, aches and pains; who’s moved where or planning on moving someplace; vacations (that’s a misnomer, we’re on permanent vacation) taken or about to be taken, etc.

Believe it or not, one of our former retirees is about to retire again! Andy Romero said he is hanging it up as COP Orange P.D. in August, but will be looking for something else to occupy his time. Some guys just never want to kick back, relax and take life easy.

It was good to see Charlie Stumph over from the warm state of Arizona. He said he had a class to teach at Cal State Friday so came a couple of days early to make the CK. He said he’s staying with his son and daughter-in-law in Mission Viejo and having fun chasing their new baby around. And the very best part is he can play with the baby then give it back. AMEN!!!!!

Carl Fisher said he had one person contact him about the executive driving job. Unfortunately I didn’t get to find out if the call panned out or not. You know, short term memory, I forgot to ask!

Al Massucci said he keeps busy going to grandkids school and sports functions, but is looking forward to making more trips home to the big “C!” That’s Chicago for those of you not in the know.

Jerry Krans now has four grandkids to play with and send home. Gwen (his wife) is staying busy teaching school two days a week, which she dearly loves doing. Oh well, to each their own!

Deputies Kent Colton and Frank James brought additional fliers for the 1889---2004 Commemorative Book for any of the guys who had not signed up for a copy. Also Frank is still trying to find out additional information on the Robert Schultz shoot out in Danna Point. If you have any information or know of anyone who could provide additional information on the shoot out please contact Dep. Frank James at (714) 231-1884, he would be eternally grateful and if the information is good enough he may spring for some type of libation reward!

Those in attendance were Kay Flynn, Charlie Stumph, Mike Brown, Terry Williams, Bob Benson, Al Massucci, Dave Keller, Don Lambert, Jerry Krans, Chuck Kimbell, Andy Romero, Howard Mol, Larry Schram, Bill Denton, Carl Fisher, Bud Kretsinger and Dick Timboe.


   April 2004 Coffee Klatsch

We had another good turn out for the April CK. It's always good to see new faces as well as some of the infrequent visitors. I believe this was the first time Les Osman has been to the CK. It was great to see and visit with Les. Les said he will be spending more time down in this area and will try to make other CK gatherings. Of course it is always good to see Harvey Hill who usually drops by once or twice a year.

The big surprise visitor was Gael (Harvey) Locklin. Most of the "old-timers" will remember Gael from the Crime Lab and Property Room. She now works Court Liaison for Cypress P.D., where she has been for about ten or so years.

There was much talk about upcoming cruises and motor trips around the country. I was sorry to hear we are loosing one of our regular attendees. George and Marilyn Johnson are moving to Chandler, Arizona, which is just southeast of Phoenix. Jan and I will look forward to visiting them when we travel to the Mesa area to visit my sister.

I reminded George of the Prescott CK. He said he would try to make it up there for one of their gatherings.

Carl Fisher told me he is looking for guys who want to pick up a little extra work. He needs someone to relieve him, from time to time, as an executive driver. He said it will usually be four to six days and month and the hours can vary from two to fifteen hours, including standby time. Carl said anyone interested should give him a call at (949) 510-3804.

Those in attendance were: Harvey Hill, Don Mendenhall, Bud Kretsinger, Kay Flynn, Ed Dunacheck, Jerry Krans, Chuck Kimbell, Jim Beisner, George Johnson, Don Lambert, Les Osman, Al Massucci, Bill Denton, Royal Lord, Gael Locklin, Howard Mol, Ron Frazier, Carl Fisher, John Mauger and Dick Timboe.
 

March 2004 Coffee Klatsch

Another good turn out even though a few of our regulars were no shows. Undoubtedly traveling the country and enjoying the retired life. Ray Mayer said this would be his last attendance for a while, as they will be heading back to Durango now that the weather has improved in that area.

Tom Conner said he won’t be going back to Yellowstone this year as the concessionaire contract has been taken over by another company and their operating procedures are not necessarily to his liking. Of course that’s good for us as we will get to see more of him.

Once again it was good to have Bert Muench (83 years young) visit us with his friend Esther Greennhalgh. Talk about a small world, her husband Jack (deceased) and I started class 8 academy together. Bert and Esther go out to the casino in Temecula about once a month so Bert has worked it out to make the trip from Victorville each month to coincide with the Coffee Klatsch date.
Our only other out-of-town visitor was Charlie Stumph, making it in from the metropolis of Bullhead City, Arizona.

Several of the guys gave me their new email address. It seems a lot of folks have become unhappy with EarthLink and decided to make a change. That said, I would like to remind all the retirees to keep me notified of any email address change so I can update the retirement roster as well as keep you notified of any happenings concerning retirees that you would be of interest.

It’s always good to see Andy Romero when he can sneak away from his chiefly duties managing Orange PD. Andy said the CK normally conflicts with one of his staff meetings.

Those in attendance were: Kay Flynn, Chuck Kimbell, Mike Brown, Tom Conner, Bob White, George Johnson, Ray Mayer, Larry Schram, Don Mendenhall, Bud Kretsinger, Knobby Walsh, Don Lambert, Ed Dunacheck, Terry Williams, Bill Denton, Jim Baker, Dave Keller5, Charlie Stumph, Bert Muench, Andy Romero, John Mauger and Howard Mol.



February 2004 Coffee Klatsch

It was good to be back and visit with old friends at the CK. I truly appreciate Mike Brown taking over for me and keep track of the attendees. Looking back over the attendee records I see that we had several first time visitors and a few infrequent visitors. At the June gathering, which, by the way, was one of the largest we've had. Makes me kinda wonder if my leaving had anything to do with it! Hmmmm!

Tom and Jackie Harrison visited the June meeting and if memory serves me that was the first time Tom has visited the CK. I'm sorry I missed him and many of the other first timers. Also June appears to be the first time Rich Remmel visited but has returned a few more times since then.

Tom Pfeiffer and Bill Kanne were at the July gathering. Jan and I visited with Bill and Sally at their home in Nixa, MO (just outside Springfield) in December. In fact we got to visit several of the out of town visitors in their own back yard, so to speak. (More about that and photos in the next 10-98 article.

Bill and Sierra Miller, from, Williams (Sky Country), AZ were the only out-of-towners at the August gathering. We had the pleasure of spending some time with them in January. (See 10-98 for more.)

Glenn Clary was at the October gathering. Glenn and Donna were gracious enough to let us park our RV in the front yard in June.

The only first time visitor in December was Dewey Wiles, one of our locals, but still a working stiff so he can't be a regular attendee. One of these days he will get old like the rest of us and call it quits.

Now to the February gathering. We had several out-of-towners, including Kathy Wagener, Joe Mitchell, Ray Mayer, Bert Muench and Dick Olson. I don't know if Ray can really qualify as an out-of-towner, since he and Vivian have become "Snow Bird," residents of our beautiful Featherly Park, waiting for the snow to melt in Durango, CO before heading back to their base.

It was great to the see our senior retiree Bert Muench (Click on thumbnail for larger picture). Jan and I didn't get to visit with Bert in June, while in Lucerne Valley, as he was under the weather. But he looked great at the CK. Bert's friend Esther brought him to the gathering and may be the cause of that bright, youthful sparkle in his eyes. Hopefully we will see more of Bert at future CK's.

Attendees at this months gathering were: Bud Kretsinger, Chuck Kimbell, Kathy Wagener, Kay Flynn, Joe Mitchell, Sim Middleton, Bob White, Jerry Krans, Ray Mayer, Ron Frazier, Mike Brown, Royal Lord, Ray Karr, Knobby Walsh, Don Mendenhall, Ed Dunacheck, George Johnson, Al Massucci, Bob Talley, Bert Muench and Dick Olson.