Kathy Woods:
CLASS OF 1973
Van Nuys High SchoolClass of 1973
Van nuys, CA
Kathy's Story
Hi Shantinians - How many of us are second generation VNHS graduates? My Mom, Marjorie Vanderlip, graduated from VNHS in 1933. The ceremony was held off campus because of earthquake damage from the 6.4 Long Beach quake in March of that year!
After I graduated VNHS, I completed my BA degree at UCLA in 1977 & got my first job at a religious & educational film company (think 16mm film) with tasks that included answering their switchboard (1 ringy-dingy, 2 ringy-dingy). Our last publication was a film strip on head lice. Thanks for VNHS journalism classes on wording & editing this very important topic :-)
I married Bob Grella (VNHS class of 1971) in 1976. We had 1 daughter, Jan, in 1979 and divorced in 1981. Prior to moving to Flower Mound, Jan was attended a magnet program at VNHS - the 3rd generation at this school.
In 1981, I started as a contract employee for Xerox Corporation (on DeSoto Av in Woodland Hills) & was hired as a permanent employee in July. Thanks to a manager (did anyone watch the LA T-Birds & recognize Dick Lane saying "whoa Nelli?" - my manager was the same Nelli Wilson), I got into a specialized process area & spent the rest of my 40 year career with Xerox in that specialized topic. Along the way, there were lots of other topics that came along & I had the opportunity to visit multiple US locations along with traveling to England & Guatemala to train.
In 1983, I married Bob Woods (father of Stephanie Woods, VNHS class of 1985 & Ken Woods, Birmingham HS class of 1987). I call him Bob #2; he calls himself Doctor Bob, after getting his PhD in organizational behavior. As many of you may remember, I was one of the Willie the Wolf mascots. Turns out Bob #2 was his high school mascot too (Central Catholic High in Pittsburgh, PA)!
Were you watching the "Ice Bowl" on Thanksgiving Day in 1993 watching the Cowboys lose to the Packers? I was and, because of advance warning that Xerox would be moving me to Dallas in 1994, wondering why would I ever want to move there? I got here in March 1994 and have been here ever since.
There really is a mound in Flower Mound - 50 ft in elevation (who says Texas is flat?) on 5 acres but, on a clear day, we can actually see downtown Dallas (approx 25 miles away).
School is back in session here: we've purchased our Season Tickets for Friday night high school football games. Who would have thought we would need them? Local school revelries can bring in 10,000 fans for a game! For those of you who were part of marching band & drill team - Thank YOU. Little did I know how much time & effort go into your programs. The last time I was at a CA football game (late 90s) there were 5 students in the stands with snare drums & music was piped in over the loudspeakers. The largest local band here has 350 students participating in band, not including the color guard folks.
Speaking of music, my "hobby" is ringing handbells with Church choirs! I'm...Expand for more
a Methodist on the 1st Sunday of the month & a Presbyterian on the 2nd Sunday so I can ring with each choir.
One unique part time job I have had was working with the Dallas Morning News. We would report for work each Friday night at 9pm, have a huddle & discussion about our previous week's performance & then wait for High School coaches to call in & report their football highlights & box scores. Our job was to type as many stories as possible & ensure they were submitted by midnight so the stories would appear in the Saturday Sports edition.
Another fun job was working (part time) at The Container Store. My 1st day at the register, I successfully caused rows of stacking baskets to fall like dominoes. Never a dull moment.
I "retired" from Xerox in 2021 & am currently working approx 15 hrs a week at Chick-fil-A. I wanted a job where I could actually move around. I live 1 mile from the store & ride my bike to/from the location to give me additional exercise. This job succeeds in the movement requirement.
As a kid, for summer vacations, we would go camping which included a week at Big Basin Redwoods State Park (up the mountain from Santa Cruz). On one of those trips, I had fallen into a pond with water over my head. I didn't know how to swim but, after returning from that trip, my sister (Lorraine, VNHS class of Winter 1969), brother (Fred, VNHS class of Summer 1970) & I were signed up for swimming lessons at VN/SO Park. How funny the reunion carries on at that very location!
To my GAC/GAA friends, my apologies for not being more competitive in basketball & softball. I do remember one softball game at Verdugo Hills High on a cold, windy afternoon. My job was to keep score & my hands were so cold I had to erase mistakes with both hands - my fingers were no longer flexible. I really enjoyed badminton but suffered from several bruises when I was on the receiving end of Tova's (I think she was the team member) serves. That doesn't include the bruises I inflicted on myself from the bow string during archery.
I loved chemistry with Mr. Fife. I wasn't good at it but found it very interesting. I also enjoyed California History with Mr. Whitehead. One of the events we talked about was the 1961 Bel Air fire that burned over 6000 acres. I think the quote was 4 acres burned every minute when at its peak. Almost 500 homes were burned during that event.
Have you ever read a paper you wrote in school & wondered who actually authored it? We read Hamlet in an English class & had to write a paper. Several years later I read the paper that had my name on it, but it sure sounded much more sophisticated than me. (is that proper English?) AI wasn't anything we were concerned about at that point in our lives but I sure made a good stab at it.
For all of you who went into the educational field; thank you for your efforts. You DO make a difference.
Enough about me, what's happening with you?
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