Archives for May 2012
Hollywood Legend Marie Wilson – Class of 1933
When growing up in the Colony, she went by Maybelle. But Katharine Elizabeth Wilson soon dropped the nickname when her family moved to Hollywood and she sat her sights on an entertainment career. Maybelle transformed into radio, TV and film star Marie Wilson, a blonde bombshell whose new moniker became a household name.
The only Anaheim High graduate with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Marie earned national recognition for her role as the voluptuous blonde, scatter-brained secretary in “My Friend Irma,” the title role of a radio series that became one of the most popular shows of the late 1940s.
She starred in the television series of the same name from 1952 to 1954, then played the character in two movies titled, “My Friend Irma” and “My Friend Irma Goes West” featuring the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Virnell Bruce – Class of 1964
- Virnell Bruce – Class of ’64
Anaheim High Class of ’64 author and playwright Virnell Bruce will be speaking and signing copies of her book, Shells: A Cameo of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Sunday, May 16, 3 p.m., at Laguna Beach Books, 1200 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 105, 949-494-4779, www.lagunabeachbooks.com.
Virnell also wrote a one-woman, two-act play based on Anne Morrow Lindbergh, one of the most accomplished women of the 20th century. Her presentation will provide insight into the her life, which was filled with great tragedy, loneliness and high-flying adventures with her husband, Charles Lindbergh, the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Her book won a Special Citation Awarded from The Colonial Dames of America, an organization that recognizes non-fiction books of merit that focus on American life—past, present, or future—that broaden the understanding of American history, politics, or culture.
Virnell, who recently retired following a 36 year career in the aerospace industry, teaches at the Christopher Wren Association, an educational program affiliated with the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Sheila Taylor Lowe – Class of 1967
Most people manage to succeed in one vocation, but Anaheim High Class of 1967 graduate Sheila Taylor Lowe has made her mark in three major career fields.
Along with her profession as a court-qualified forensic handwriting expert, Lowe is also a multi-published author. Her award-winning mystery fiction series features a female protagonist who, not so coincidently, is a handwriting examiner. With a master’s degree in psychology, Lowe is also approved by the state to provide continuing education to marriage and family therapists.
As a forensic handwriting examiner with 40 years of experience, Lowe provides court testimony in cases of forgery. She explains her craft: “Beginning in the brain, the writing impulse travels through the nerves, into the hand holding the writing instrument, and flows out through the ink trail left on paper. Handwriting is an accumulation of thousands of visual and auditory experiences and can reveal how you have integrated all that you have seen and heard throughout your lifetime.”
Her full-time forensic handwriting practice includes a wide spectrum of corporate clients, mental health professionals, attorneys, private investigators and staffing agencies, among others. She also analyzes handwriting for individuals, helping them understand themselves and others better.
Her examinations of celebrity handwritings have appeared in Time, Teen People, and Mademoiselle, and her articles on personality profiling and handwriting analysis have been published in several bar association magazines. She’s also the author of Handwriting of the Famous & Infamous and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis.
But one of her most notable accomplishments as an author is her four-book mystery series inspired by actual cases she’s become involved in as a handwriting expert. Like the author, the book’s protagonist, Claudia Rose, is a handwriting expert. The fourth installment in her mystery series, Last Writes, was published in 2010 by Penguin. She’s now working on a new stand-alone thriller Lying…In Bed. For information on her book series, visit www.claudiaroseseries.com.
Jo An Burdick Gottlieb – Class of 1951
Anaheim High Class of ’51 graduate Jo An (Burdick) Gottlieb credits living a life she describes as a “dream come true” to being at the right place at the right time. In one instance, the right place and time happened to be sitting on a curb in 1939 at age 5 with her parents and sister in front of Anaheim’s old Chung King Cafe on Center Street (now Lincoln) waiting for the Halloween Parade to begin.
“Looking to the east I saw the band approach with girls out front holding these shiny things.” The objects that caught her attention were batons being tossed and twirled by the band’s majorettes. From that day forward, Jo said her dream was to be the “best darn baton twirler ever.”
But she never imagined that from her humble beginnings, practicing with a bamboo pole in the alley behind her homeat500 N. Vine Street, that she would one day lead the nation’s top parades as a majorette, appear on stage and screen with entertainers like Frank Sinatra and own her own baton, dance and music studio. In Jo words: “It’s been one fabulous ride.” [Read more…]
2011 Season – League Champion Colonists in CIF Once Again!!!
What high school football program in Orange County has made the most playoff appearances? …has won the most league championships? …has won the most games?
The answer to all of these questions is… ANAHEIM!2011 Varsity Cheer Squad Wins National Title
Anaheim High’s Varsity Cheer Squad took top honors this past weekend (April 16-17, 2011) at the “Sharp International Cheer Las Vegas Nationals.”
Competing against 26 other teams in the high school varsity division, the AHS squad earned high points in stunts, tumbling and other skill sets to earn the top division title.
Anaheim had four teams competing throughout the event. The JV squad earned 2nd Place in its division and the school’s coed stunt group of Geraldine Diaz and Christian Banda also took a 2nd place ranking. The coed stunt group of Justin Martinez and Iris Reyes placed 2nd in partner stunts.
When not competing, AHS cheer team members were making friends with other cheerleaders, playing cheer games and rooting for other teams. Parent chaperones also got into the spirit and even performed a dance routine that included a stunt.
The 41-member cheer team is coached by Christina Capen.
AHS Students Shine as Performers, Athletes
AHS theater students gave exceptional performances during the 10th annual TheatreFest at Cal State Long Beach, competing against nearly 700 students from 23 Orange and Los Angeles county schools.
Anaheim High attended the festival for the first time, with seven contestants: two sang musical solos, three gave dramatic monologues, three presented comedic monologues, and one competed in the technical theater category.
Junior Gloria Ojeda was awarded 2nd place in the Comedic Monologue category and two AHS students made it into the semifinals: Erik Perez, Dramatic Monologue; and Renee Sampang, Comedic Monologue. Rounding out the AHS team were Natalie Elder, Carlos Perez, Theresa Mendivil, and Erwin Mancilla.
Gloria shined in her performance of a monologue from “In Search for Intelligent Signs in the Universe,” by Lily Tomlin. She played the role of Trudy the Bag Lady. There was laughter and sadness for her portrayal of a homeless woman jaded and shunned by society, said AHS Theater Director Sharon King.
“The rave review from the audience confirmed her success,” said King, who added that her students were grateful for the opportunity to participate in the festival. “It’s wonderful to know that, even in tough economic times, high schools have committed their time and money to support the arts. We were proud to represent not only Anaheim High School, but the Anaheim Union High School District, as the only school from our district to attend.”
SPORTS:
In keeping with its tradition of producing outstanding student athletes and winning teams, Anaheim High has produced multiple sports standouts in 2010.
Record Breaker
Junior Alex Perez recently broke the 800 meter track and field school record held for 51 years by Class of ’59 grad Gary Shepard. The young Colonist, now nicknamed “Rabbit” by his Class of ’59 counterpart, ran the event in 1:56.28, besting Shepard’s record of 1:57.1.
Note: Because of track and field events converting to the metric system, Gary’s original record of running the 880 yard dash in 1:57:8 was converted to 1:57.1, using the National Federation of High School Track and Field conversion table.
Gary spearheaded an effort to install a new track and field record board in the gymnasium as an incentive to current AHS track and field athletes to break the school records. The project certainly served as a successful motivator and Gary will be presenting Alex with a trophy recognizing his accomplishment at an upcoming ceremony.
Athletes of the Year Lauded
Congratulations to Michelle Torres and Jose Madera for being selected Anaheim High’s Female and Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Michelle participated in volleyball, basketball and softball and will be attending UC Santa Barbara this fall.
Jose, a senior cross country and track athlete, was also named Orange League Male Athlete of the Year. Deemed the greatest distance runner in Anaheim High history by Coach Brian Castelli, Madera has the 22 fastest times run on 11 different cross country courses over the past 12 years by an Anaheim long-distance runner.
His fastest time is 14:30 at The Woodbridge Cross Country Classic and 15:02 at Mt Sac, which are considered astonishing and among the 10 fastest in the CIF this year across all divisions. Madera will be attending the University of San Francisco on a full athletic scholarship in cross country this fall.
In addition, Torres and Madera are Bud Fassel Scholarship winners. This award is given by Jim Fassel, Class of 1967, in memory of his father Bud, a Class of ’39 grad who served as Anaheim High’s equipment manager for nearly three decades.
Congratulations also go out to Eleana Hernandez and Bruno Avila for being named Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Eleana participated in volleyball, basketball and softball and will attend Fullerton College. Bruno participated in cross country, track, football, soccer and baseball this past school year. He will attend Fullerton College and play soccer in the fall.
All-League Players Named
Seven Colonists were chosen for the 2010 All-Orange League Baseball Team under the tutelage of AHS Athletic Director and Baseball Coach Dave Torres.
Named to the First Team were senior pitcher Zach Gaddy, who was 6-0 with a 1.65 ERA; senior catcher Alex Ornelas, who hit .456; and junior infielder Jose Rojas, who hit .471. It is the third time Gaddy has been chosen All-League and the second time for Rojas.
Second Team members include senior pitcher Omar Robles, who had a 4-1 record with a 1.86 ERA; sophomore infielder Damian Gandara, who hit .382; senior outfielder Izzy Reyes, who hit .453; and junior designated hitter Manny Tafoya, who hit .441. It is the second time that Reyes has been chosen to the All-League team.
The Colonists finished the season with an overall record of 17-11, after starting the season 1-6. They had a 13-2 record in league play and finished in 2nd place, one game behind Savanna. They qualified for the CIF Playoffs for the 5th consecutive season and 7 out of the last 10 years.
Congratulations to all these outstanding Colonists athletes, and to those not listed here, who have contributed their talents to continuing Anaheim High’s tradition of being “Home of Champions.”
Elizabeth “Liz” Lohman Novack – Class of 1971
- AUHSD Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Novack
An unwavering commitment to ensuring that every student succeeds and a long track record of maintaining positive relationships with the community led to the selection of Class of ’71 graduate Elizabeth “Liz” Lohman Novack as superintendent of the Anaheim Union High School District.
Her connection to Anaheim schools, besides being a graduate of Anaheim High, includes serving as assistant principal of Dale Junior High School and principal of Walker Junior High School.
While at Anaheim High, she was an exemplary student who participated in numerous activities, including serving as a section editor of the yearbook and as a member of the Cheer Squad, Safety & Welfare Club, the Senior Executive Committee, Press Club, Pep Club and Girls’ Athletic Association.
“I can personally attest that this is a great district with a long history of excellence, and I’m thrilled to realize a lifelong dream and come back as superintendent,” said Dr. Novack, who most recently served as assistant superintendent of human resources in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.
In Newport-Mesa, Dr. Novack was one of Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard’s top advisers. He said Dr. Novack was instrumental in developing a service-oriented culture in the district. Dr. Hubbard also cited Dr. Novack’s contributions to the district’s Leadership Institute, a two-year program that develops in-house talent. Dr. Novack single handedly created and implemented the intensive program, which recently resulted in a teacher being hired directly from the classroom as a principal.
Dr. Novack began her 34-year career in education as an elementary teacher in the Downey Unified School District. She worked as a secondary science and health teacher in Chino Unified before coming to the AUHSD in that capacity. After her tenure as an administrator in the AUHSD, the spent the next six years as associate superintendent of human resources and instruction in the Cypress School District.
She also has served as an adjunct professor in the teacher preparation and credential programs at Cal State Long Beach and UC Irvine. Before assuming the job in Newport-Mesa, Dr. Novack was Cal State Long Beach’s University Ombuds, serving as an independent, neutral resource for informal problem-solving for the entire university community.
Dr. Novack received her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and her master’s degree in educational administration from Cal State Fullerton. She received her doctorate in education from Claremont Graduate University.
“I am a daughter of the Anaheim Union High School District, and I am who I am in large part because of the district I am about to serve,” the new superintendent said. “I look forward to a long, productive tenure as your superintendent and working together to enhance the legacy of the Anaheim Union High School District.”
Jan Harp Domene – 1969
Jan Harp Domene, a ’69 grad who became a nationally recognized advocate for children and education: JAN DOMENE
Jan (Harp) Domene – Class of 1969
