George Fraser – Class of 1970

George Fraser - Class of 1970

George Fraser – Class of 1970

George Fraser has the distinction of being Anaheim High’s first player in CIF history to make the CIF selection three years in a row, twice on first team. He was also on the 1967 Colonist football team that won Anaheim’s first outright CIF championship in the 4- A Division.

A natural athlete, Fraser was a stand-out player from the beginning. He played football, basketball and ran track as a boy in New York with a Catholic youth organization before moving to Anaheim in 1964. [Read more…]

1980’s BAND & COLOR GUARD ALUMNI REUNITE, RAISE FUNDS

Members of the AHS Band and Color Guard from the class years of 1980-1985 gathered recently for a reunion that not only included an evening of sharing memories, but also raised $4435 for today’s Colony musicians.

Attendees, including Zig Kanstul, the band director from 1980-1985, shared memories of the hundreds of hours of practicing and performing in parades, half-time shows and numerous competitions, between bidding for silent auction items and purchasing tickets for the opportunity drawing to raise funds for Anaheim High’s Colonial Regiment.

The planning committee was headed by Dan Barragan. He is working to bring AHS Band, Color Guard and Drill Team members from all class years together to support current students in the AHS band program. He can be reached through “The Anaheim High School Band & Color Guard/Drill Team Alumni Group” on Facebook or via mrdano32@sbcglobal.net.

Hollywood Legend Marie Wilson – Class of 1933

Mabelle Marie Wilson 1932When 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.

[Read more…]

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…]

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.”

http://www.examiner.com/public-schools-in-anaheim/novack-named-new-superintendent-of-anaheim-union-high-school-district

Cassie Miller – Voice Heard Around the Globe

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

Remembering D-Day graduation at Pearson Park

 

http://www.ocregister.com/news/classmates-303511-kellogg-day.html

Traveling Trombone Returns to AHS

It took a 63-year journey, but Robert Watter’s treasured trombone has returned to “Old AU” to be played by a new generation of Colonists. When Bob, a former Anaheim High band member from Class of 1949, heard the 160-member Colonist band was looking for instruments, he decided to take his trombone out of retirement.

Bob, who is married to Janet Vincent from Class of 1951, first played the instrument when he joined the Anaheim High Band in 1948. His talent for playing the trombone caught the ear of band director William Cook and Bob was recruited to play in the popular nine-member swing band that performed for the school’s Military Ball, dances and other  functions.  (Bob is pictured fourth from left in this photo of the Swing Band from the 1949 yearbook.) Bob was also a member of the Varsity A Club, swimming and water polo teams.

After graduating from Anaheim, Bob’s trombone traveled with him to his next three gigs, which included the Fullerton Junior College Band (1950), the Santa Ana College Band (1951), then the U.S. Air Force Band (1952). Once he left the military, Bob retired the trombone and it was safely stored in his attic for the next 40 years.

The beloved instrument made an encore appearance at the June Anaheim Alumni Breakfast, when Bob presented his trombone to Anaheim’s new band director Breysi Garcia, a Class of 2000 AHS grad. Breysi brought along five of his top trombone players to entertain the breakfast crowd, many of whom were former band members.

Breysi also informed his fellow alumni that the band, known today as the Colonial Regiment, is working to raise funds for a trailer to transport instruments to its many performances. Alumni who care to donate to this effort are encouraged to contact Breysi at  garcia_br@auhsd.k12.ca.us  or emailing anaheimalumni@yahoo.com.