The youngest of the Chance family, Gary, a ‘67 grad, enjoyed academics, especially math and history, and also excelled in woodshop classes. In fact, he went on to teach woodshop for 29 years at Antelope Valley High School, then spent nearly another decade teaching wood shop at a continuation school and a high school independent study program. His mother, brother and two sisters also graduated from Anaheim High.
GARY CHANCE – ’67
May 13, 2012 by
FRED FRANK – ’53
May 13, 2012 by
Anaheim High Class of 1953 graduate Frederick Byron “Fred” Frank III passed away at age 76 on April 15, 2012. He was born on February 12, 1936, to Charles and Irma Frank and raised in Anaheim. After graduating from Anaheim High and serving in the Army, he earned a degree from Chapman College in 1960.
Fred then launched into a music career, working in the studios of Los Angeles singing on many television and film projects. He performed in many stage plays, was one of the first members of the Dapper Dans Barbershop Quartet at Disneyland. He also shared his talents as a teacher and spent 10 years in education and taught choral music at Los Alamitos High School.
Another major accomplish was serving as the choral director and soloist on the T.V. program “Hour of Power” at the Garden Grove Community Church. Fred began a traveling music ministry for over 20 years, visiting churches in all 50 states.
Fred Frank – Age 75
In the early 1990s, he moved to San Clemente and started a music production company, Comfort Music, which focused on the funeral industry. More recently, he began a company “Growing Through Grief” that brings comfort and encouragement to those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Click on the following link for a tribute to this outstanding Colonist:
http://pinterest.com/donpayne7/fred-frank-tribute/
1983 Class year contact
May 7, 2012 by
Representatives of Class of 1983 are: Ray Esparza, Mary Braver Gonzales or Wiley Randolph at AHS1983classreunion@gmail.com or via Facebook .
AHSAA Awards First Scholarship to 2009 Grads
April 20, 2012 by
In keeping with its mission “to promote and support opportunities and programs for the benefit of AHS students,” the Anaheim High School Alumni Association named senior Kimberly Alvarez as its first Colonist Spirit Award winner. Kimberly, who received a $1,000 scholarship toward her four-year degree, was selected from a field of 34 applicants for her well-rounded background in academics, extra-curricular activities and pride in being a Colonist.
Top six finalists of the first AHSAA Colonist Spirit Award were Irvin Rodriguez, Ana Montoya, Stephanie Ibarra, Reyna Hernan
dez and Kymberly Alvarez.
Two other Anaheim High graduates who benefited from alumni-funded scholarships were Luis Amaya and Melissa Mateos, male and female athletes of the year. These students were selected by their coaches to receive the Bud Fassel Memorial Scholarship. Each received $1,000 toward their educational expenses.
Luis Amaya, recipient of the Bud Fassel Memorial Scholarship, is congratulated by Jerry Woodward from class of ‘59. A star athlete in football and track, Jerry was mentored by the Bud, a ‘36 AHS grad who returned to his alma mater in 1956 as the first full-time equipment manager at the high school level. Bud’s son is ’67 AHS graduate Jim Fassel who went on to quarterback for the Chicago Bears and coach the New York Giants.
A 1936 grad, Fassel was the football team manager and basketball captain. He returned to his alma mater in 1956 as the first full-time equipment manager at the high school level and was an important member of Anaheim football program for the next 25 years. He greatly influenced the career of his son, ’67 graduate Jim Fassel, a Colonist football star who went on to quarterback for the Chicago Bears and coach the New York Giants. Both father and son are inductees of Anaheim High’s Hall of Fame.
Mixer & Movie Night Filled with Colonist Memories
February 27, 2012 by
Alumni mixed it up at a recent Mixer & Movie Night at Arturo’s Cantina & Grill, a Fullerton restaurant owned by Class of 1949 graduate Arturo Cano.
Grads enjoyed watching restored movies dating back to 1938 up to the 1970s while enjoying a light buffet. The AHSAA used the event as an opportunity to honor the Cano Family, whose family attended Anaheim High School, served their country during WWII and the Korean Wars, established eateries that became legendary and served their community in numerous ways.
Arturo Cano from Class of 1949 still runs his restaurant which he established in 1957. After serving his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Arturo Cano set out to make his mark in Fullerton. He came home to his 10 acres of land in 1947 and wanted to grow and sell tomatoes and other crops. His mother, Catalina Cano, suggested he open a Mexican food restaurant like his older brother, Joe, owner of the La Palma Drive-In, nicknamed “The Bean Hut” by local teenagers.
The restaurant soon became a huge success with the locals. Over the next several decades, the cantina’s popularity began to outgrow its available space, and Arturo opened an entirely remodeled restaurant in 1978, boasting an enlarged kitchen and doubled the seating capacity. The long wait lines were a thing of the past and business boomed.
Along with celebrating the Canos as an Outstanding Colonist Family, the Feb . 9 event also marked the Association’s third anniversary as a non-profit corporation. Enjoy these event photos:
Cassie Miller – Voice Heard Around the Globe
August 29, 2011 by
Cassie Miller’s Anaheim High teachers and classmates always knew she would hit the big time. A natural, Cassie was a star member of the school’s choir and a featured vocalist in theater productions throughout her time at Anaheim High and Fremont Junior High.
Now she’s touring the world and performing for audiences that number in the thousands, making stops along the way at Carnegie Hall, recording studios, TV and film sets.
But Cassie hasn’t forgotten her hometown roots. She performed for the Sept. 11 Service and Remembrance sponsored by the City of Anaheim to remember victims of the 9/11 terrorists attacks, including AHS Class of ’67 grad Charles “Chic” Burlingame, the pilot for American Airlines Flight #77, which was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon.
Returning home to sing for another Anaheim audience has brought Cassie full circle in a career that started immediately upon graduating in 1978 from Anaheim High when she joined the Knott’s Berry Sisters trio. She also paid her dues singing on cruise ships and performing in various shows at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland.
Cassie’s big break came when she began singing background and touring with Perry Como and Andy Williams. She stills considers sharing the stage with these legendary singers a career highlight and “a dream come true.”
Cassie said she found her forte when she began singing with a local big band in Long beach in 1984. This experience ignited her love for the swing era. Since then she has worked with many ghost bands and swing bands including the Harry James, Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller orchestras and others.
Her most recent tour was a departure from the big band genre as a background singer for Supertramp. She recently returned from a tour in France, performing for an audience of 77,000 people.
Other career highlights including doing her own solo tour of jazz clubs overseas, singing with John Lithgow at Carnegie Hall and being “Big Band Singer of the Year” by the LA Music Awards.
Her song styling has brought her wide acclaim from many entertainers including Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, Placido Domingo, Jerry Lewis and Liza Minelli.
Cassie has also appeared in commercials and print ads for such companies such as IBM, Chrysler and others that have aired all over the US and other parts of the world.
Still she is drawn to her Anaheim roots and shared an interesting part of her life. “My parents adopted me when I was a few days old. I ended up finding my birthparents and siblings, only to discover that my birthfather had also gone to Anaheim High and I went to junior high with one of my half-sisters, but never knew it at the time. My birthfather and I both had the same music director, Sheldon Disrud, who is still living.”
More about Cassie, including her schedule of appearances, can be found at www.CassieMiller.net.
Frank Kellogg – Class of ’44 Honors Grad Day, D-Day 67 Years Later – June 7, 2011
June 7, 2011 by
Remembering D-Day graduation at Pearson Park
http://www.ocregister.com/news/classmates-303511-kellogg-day.html
Anaheim 1940s Grads Celebrate School Days at Old AU
April 3, 2011 by
Graduates from the Classes of ’43, ’44 and ’45 gathered at Anaheim High recently to reminisce about their school days nearly 70 years past (see photo slideshow of the event below).
The campus was then named Anaheim Union as the only high school in town serving the city’s then 11,000 inhabitants. Anaheim High also served the outlying farming and dairy communities. Many ‘40s grads in attendance recalled riding the bus to school from what would become the cities of Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma and Stanton. [Read more…]
From Cook Auditorium to Broadway, ’75 Grad Coming Home for Local Appearance
January 26, 2011 by
Anaheim High Class of ’75 graduate Bob Lauder will bring 30 years of experience as an actor and singer to his performance this weekend in the Fullerton Civic Light Opera (FCLO) 40th anniversary show at historic Plummer Auditorium.
Bob, who recently finished a national tour as Old Max in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” will be among Broadway performers and FCLO veterans who will celebrate the theater company’s 40 years as one of the region’s major cultural resources.
The company will be presenting favorite Broadway musicals, from classic ballads to big dance spectaculars. For tickets to the Jan. 28 show at 8 p.m. or the Sunday matinee at 2 p.m., visit www.fclo.com or call 714-879-1732. Plummer Auditorium is located at 201 E. Chapman, Fullerton.
While at Anaheim High, Bob was a drama major and played in the band’s brass section with the marching, stage and pep bands. A Las Vegas resident, Bob is also famous for his role as a real bearded Santa: www.lasvegassanta.com.
See Bob in action at http://www.bigleague.org/video_grinch.htm and support this Colonist by attending the FCLO 40th Anniversary celebration.
Story of Lost Letterman Jacket Has Happy Ending
December 22, 2010 by
Little did Jim Langford know when he lent his Class of ’70 letterman jacket to a friend participating in a ’50s night that it would take more than 20 years to be reunited with a favorite high school memento that held so many memories for him. Jim was a lineman on two CIF Semifinalists teams in 1968 and 1969.
Jim figured the jacket was a goner, like his friend who disappeared after a divorce. (Apparently, the ex-wife donated the jacket to a thrift store.) But the fates were with him when Class of ’87 Colonist Angel Zavala happened to be shopping in at Goodwill in Lake Forest and spotted the classic Colonist jacket from the corner of his eye. He swooped it up for $5.99, knowing he purchased a piece of Anaheim High history.
The jacket remained hanging in Angel’s garage for nearly six years. Then one day last summer he received a call from friend and fellow alumnus Tom Bateman, a Class of ’89 grad and immediate past president of the AHSAA. During their phone call, Angel mentioned finding the jacket and the two decided to put their heads together to find the owner.
It took several more months, but they finally learned that the jacket belonged to Jim by searching yearbooks and football programs to trace the jersey number from the jacket. From there, they contacted Linda Fast Cooper, a Class of ’69 grad who is also an AHSAA board member. Linda had Jim’s phone number and called him to inform him that his jacket had been recovered, to ask if he wanted it back and to find out how it got separated from its owner.
Jim was ecstatic and it was arranged that he would retrieve his jacket at the Dec. 4 Alumni Breakfast, where AHSAA President Jan Domene assisted Tom and Angel in sharing the story of how the jacket was lost and found with the nearly 100 alumni who attend the monthly breakfast at Jagerhaus in Anaheim. In a happy ending to the story, Jim gave Angel back the $5.99 he had spent on the jacket, causing their Colonist classmates to give a big cheer.
Photo caption: Jan Domene, Tom Bateman and Angela Zavala present Jim Langford with found letterman jacket.
