2000 October 2 / THE SNUG GATHERING I have just got in the door from the West Coast and want to say what a great time was had by one and all at the Snug on Friday afternoon. There were close to twenty of us there for fine refreshments, photos, memorabilia and conversation. I will fan out Peter Kerr's report on the event in the morning. At the moment I am fighting off a virus passed along to me by some low life in my travels and will head off to bed shortly with a bottle of Cognac. Yes, I can already hear the chorus of suggestions that at any other time would certainly upstage the bottle. - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net October 3 / SNUG and FUTURE CELEBRATIONS Thanks for the report on the latest Snug get-together, and confirmation of plans for 2002. They sound great! And those of us from "out of town" have some time to save up for the trip, this time! I think we should also invite some of our old classmates who may not have made the yearbook...but who figure in the rumpus room and our memories. Sue McLean, for example, is coming to visit Oz in a month or so, so I will mention it to her. (Thanks, Mo Dowling, for putting us in touch!) Spring has sprung here and all's well in our post-Olympic haze. - Sandy redoak@dynamite.com.au October 4 / EMAIL ADDRESSES To Pat Barclay, Roz Johnston and Doug Jubb.: Hello? Your respective email servers advise you no longer exist. Could you let us know your new email address. Thanks. - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net October 7 / LOST Hi All, I am not really lost (I know where I am!). My new email address is showers@dccnet.com. I am still talking to anyone who will listen about our wonderful reunion. I was amazed at the way everyone seemed to "pick up where we left off" as if forty years had not passed by. - Roz Roz (Johnston) Showers showers@dccnet.com October 7 / REUNION Hi. I agree with the idea of including people who were part of our junior and high school experience in our next reunion. Not everybody made it to the final year and I don't think they should be excluded. While on the subject, does anyone know what happened to Peter Jefferies? - Judy Judy Anderson Judithlowe@lycos.com October 22 / ELVIS and NORM PRINGLE There is a website with a great photo of Elvis, Norm Pringle and his wife Elsie, taken in 1957 at the Vancouver concert. You will all remember our earlier recollections of disk jockeys Norm Pringle and Red Robinson. Norm of course hosted the House Party from CKDA. On this website there is a download available of the 26 minute Elvis interview with Norm and Red Robinson and where an obviously old Norm Pringle makes the introduction and recalls some memories of playing Elvis recordings at that time. The sound quality is not the best and the download takes about 20 min with a fast computer but, if nothing else, the photo is worth a look. I can remember building a primitive crystal receiver which was no more than some wire wrapped around a toilet paper roller, a lump of galena and a cat's whisker all housed in a Nestle's Quick tin. With a wire connected to the bedsprings and a set of headphones, I could listen to the House Party until it went off the air and did not have to contend with my parents telling me to turn off "that dreadful music." Talk about high tech! The URL for the above is: http://www.cybercloud.com/elvis.htm - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net October 22 / NORM LOCATED After posting my last email, I poured another glass of wine and did some digging. Norm and Elsie Pringle are alive and well in California. After leaving Victoria, Norm worked for Warner Bros. for 20 yrs. He says he is retired but has the Cybercloud radio station http://www.cybercloud.com as well as a music publishing business. Contact: Norm Pringle Pringle Music Publishing 7021 Hatillo Avenue Winnetka CA 91306-3614 (818) 347-3902 - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net October 25 / ANOTHER OBITUARY You will be sorry to hear that W.A. Huggett passed away October 23, 2000, age 83. He taught for 41 years in Saskatchewan and BC. Over the past 40 years I have often remembered his favorite little expression "you have the right idea" from my two years of German which is now mostly forgotten... Nevertheless, Auf Wiedersehen Art. - Phil Phil Johnston ibbyjohnjohn@hotmail.com October 27 / Mr HUGGETT He was a favourite of mine.. I hope some of you in Victoria were able to attend his service today. Miss everyone, and I am so happy about our next reunion! I won't be in Victoria for Christmas this year (my daughters want me to visit them in Spokane) however, I should be in Vic. in February to see my parents. I would love to spend some time with whoever is around.. will let you all know my dates. Love and Blessings, - diane ddwithlove@excite.com October 27 / Mr HUGGETT Phil Johnston attended Mr Huggett's funeral service today and sent along a scanned image of the memorial pamphlet. Phil mentioned that there were in excess of 300 people at the service paying tribute to "a very caring and dedicated teacher, and a wonderful father." - Gary gwilcox@direct.ca October 28 / MEMORIES I don't know how many of you realize it yet, but our website has been designed so that you can view any image on the site while listening to any song on the jukebox: it's just a matter of having the two appropriate windows open concurrently and then downsizing and positioning the jukebox window so you can view the desired image. I was just viewing Phil's image of Mr Huggett while listening to "Theme From A Summer Place." It can be very powerful... - Gary gwilcox@direct.ca October 30 / TO THE OAK BAY HIGH GRADS Please pass my best to everyone ..gee I sure had some loyal fans. The Victoria years were certainly the fun years ... the fabulous fifties. I worked in Post Production sound at Warner Brothers for 15 years and prior to that a company called General Music. I also worked at United Recorders in Hollywood where the Beach Boys started. Even Sinatra would pop in. I once recorded Jack Benny and his violin. He gave me the tape.. I never did get back in radio...maybe just as well. It's a wild scene and my two kids were growing up so I thought I had better settle down. Elsie's sister lives in Kamloops and her son is Don Hay the coach of the Calgary Flames. We just watched the game tonight. They are not doing so good. Next April Elsie reaches her big 80. After the party we are going on an Hawaiian cruise. Thanks again for remembering me. Maybe I could join you in your chat room someday or, better still, your high school reunion. Bye, - Norm Norm Pringle CRASHNORM@aol.com October 31 / HALLOWEEN in OAK BAY For me Halloween brings back memories of fantastic fireworks in the local Chinese stores, the bonfire at the firehall with Fred Usher's band entertaining and, when I was quite young, going "trick or treating." Tricks were played on those who persisted in handing out apples, and on the dentist who handed out toothbrushes instead of candy. A few readers will smile when I mention that occasionally during the evening very loud explosions would be heard indicating a home made devise had been set off. The usual pranks of window soaping and reducing the Bowker Creek bridge to a few planks continued year after year. On one memorable occasion around noon the Sunday morning following Halloween, a rather forlorn person dressed as a robot and looking very out of place was seen wandering down Hampshire Rd. after having been arrested for causing a disturbance by being drunk the previous evening. This robot went on to become a respected member of the investment community in Victoria. As a final note, I heard that Mrs Fred Usher presents the prize for the best costume at the annual bonfire, which is rather a nice touch to an old Oak Bay tradition. - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net October 31 / WEE NORMAN Well, isn't the 'net something great!? To think that all these years later, wee Norman frae the Bonnie Scotland show would join our chat! How I loved to hear you introduce Kenneth McKellar and Jimmy Shand and a', as well as Victoria's very own Jock Dunbar! And those commercials for Brodie's Bakery were awfu' guid, too! You have had a interesting life in California. Thanks so much for joining in our chat. Victoria was a wonderful place in which to grow up...our reminscences are a hoot, and our reunion was fantastic. - Sandy Sandy Forbes / Canberra, Australia / redoak@dynamite.com.au