Patrick Butler:
CLASS OF 1964
Inglewood High SchoolClass of 1964
Inglewood, CA
Crozier Junior High SchoolClass of 1960
Inglewood, CA
La Tijera Elementary SchoolClass of 1958
Inglewood, CA
Schallenberger Elementary SchoolClass of 1958
San jose, CA
Lincoln Glen Elementary SchoolClass of 1958
San jose, CA
Patrick's Story
********************** 29 June, 2015 **********************************
My Facebook account is all messed up so I'll put my news here. The wonderful Corvette has 22, 800 miles on it as it nears its 4th birthday. We have a lot of fun with the River City Corvettes of Sacramento, a club made up of many folks our age, all Corvette owners, and 'party till ya puke' types !! We had to put Morgan (the dog in the profile pic) down as she contracted cancer, as I did last March. Chemotherapy and radiation all summer got it, but it screwed my systems up royally. Always a thin guy, I went from 157# to 97#; at todays Dr. apt., I weighed in at 125.4, what I weighed in High School. Waist is down from 36 to 32. Still can't taste much food, and swallowing it is a b-I-itch too. ... Got a new puppy, one of Mar'Tina's, sired by "Swagger", the OES at the Westminister Kennel Club Show! 'Tina' showed 'em how its done at the OESCA National Specialty Show this past fall in Albany, Oregon picking up points and ribbons galore !! ... Janet is still at United Air Lines, with total control of the baggage room/area at SMF ... in February, we had some time so hopped a set of planes for Edinburgh, Scotland for a week; went to see a band we like (Fat Sam's Band, good ol' Boogie-Woogie music!) play their 'Final Show' at "Queens Hall" Feb. 15. Lattes with the leader, Hamish McGregor, on the Friday Morning, meetings with him and the band before and after the show AND, BONUS !! Hamish stops the show part way into the 2nd half to INTRODUCE US TO THE AUDIENCE because we came all the way from Sacramento, California !! Quick trip, but a very fun trip !!
******************************************************************************************************
Latest update: 03 December, 2011
**** Latest Wonderful News ****
I finally did it !! I bought the Corvette !! It is a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Limited Edition Centennial Grand Sport Convertible, 'Carbon Flash Metallic' (VERY DEEP Graphite gray Metallic) with flat black racing stripes on the hood/deck. The order went in to Chevrolet on 20 July, '11. It came off the assembly line on 13 Sept. '11. On Saturday, 24 Sept. '11, I flew to Lexington, Kentucky via Chicago/Ohare, rented a car and drove down to Bowling Green. My appointment to pick it up at the Naional Corvette Museum (option R8C) was set for 07:45, Tuesday 27 Sept. '11. Got an individual tour of the assembly plant and the museum. Add over an hour for a complete explaination of every feature and how it all works; there was - 4 - miles on it when I fired it up !! Finally left the museum around 15:30 and drove to visit a friend. The next night was at a cousin's place in Ft. Thomas, Ky., then I drove across Indiana and up Illinois and picked up Route 66 at Wilmington, Illinois. It took three or four days per state except for Kansas and Texas. Got to see Mammoth Cave, Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks, and the Will Rogers, J. M. Davis and Oklahoma Route 66 museums. Stayed in several old landmark Route 66 motels: Munger Moss in Missouri, Blue Swallow and the El Rancho in New Mexico, the WigWam and Route 66 Motel in Arizona. Before reaching the California border in Arizona, I turned north to Laughlin, Nevada; stayed at the Colorado Belle. Then Las Vegas to visit a cousin, stayed at the Venitian. Then up US 93 to Ely, and turned west on US 50, 'The Lonliest Road in America'. It really is lonely out there, got the 'Vette up to 125 (twice) and cruised at a steady 100 for miles and miles. Gas mileage on that Ely - Carson City 100+mph run: 20.98 !! I finally arrived home the evening of 19 October, '11. Five days short of a month on the 'Route"! Pics are on face book (dot) com / R. Patrick Butler. What a trip! What a car!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !!!
*** Fantastic News ***
For my 65th birthday, I'm going to factory order a new 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible with 4LT and the Centennial Package. Gonna fly to Bowling Green, Kentucky and pick it up at the Corvette Museum, right across the street from the factory, and drive it back to California on Route 66. Been planning this for a year; its finally coming around!
***The Latest Puppy News ***
Mellodee is now named Mar'Tina' and is staying with us. First show is our Club's Specialty in August. Hope she wins! We sold the other five puppies and still had three people left over so, they'll get pups from whoever has the next litter. Recession or no, we got full price for each one of them and still, we never have to advertize.
*** Early Puppy News***
Yep! there were seven in there alright. five girls, one boy and one stillborn, like last time. First one born about noon 11 Feb '11. Thank God, a daytime birthing! So way better than the 'all-nighters' we usually have. Lots'a girls is good for those of us that show and breed. I've got 12 buyers and only one has balked at the price.
***Old News***
X-ray of Morgan shows SEVEN -7- puppies ready. Welping probably this weekend! Morgan has gained 14 1/2 pounds in the past month.
Ultrasound at the vet shows that Morgan has 7 maybe 8 puppies. If she doesn't absorb them, they're due Valentine's Day. Here we go...
***December's Doggie News***
Well, two whrilwind trips to Colorado Springs - Dec 11-12 to take our Champion Sheepdog, Morgan, there, and Dec. 22-23 to bring her back home. She was bred with her new 'Boyfriend', Sid, naturally 5 times while there, every 36 hours. Sure hope this one takes; It should, natural breeding is always preferrable to AI. This report is an extention of the paragraph below.
Well, this time Morgan the Sheepdog has decided to leave Christmas alone and go into heat early. She's ready for one last try at breeding so it's off to Colorado Springs around the 10th. Hope this one takes, but good, as she's 5 years old and Meghan hasn't been shown 'cause of her teeth alignment.
Cross your fingers, pray, think positive thoughts, hope I get 7 girls and 3 boys!
I'll keep this space posted.
*** Real Estate Report ***
When they say that home purchases are difficult, they're somewhat correct. When two super clean folks like Janet and me went to buy Janet's brother's house so he could stay in it, got right down to close and the x-wife blows the deal so we went and bought another place for him. Whew! Finally closed on Friday (06 Aug '10) and helped him move over the weekend. Nice place too!. 4-2 1/2-2 story-2 car-2020'sq. in Rocklin, CA, a good zip code in a nice conservative county of this disfunctional state. Didn't really want to return to the rental real estate market quite yet, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. The tax write-off will be nice though. The BONUS of this story is the loan we got: Non-owner occupied 80% LTV, 30 year fixed, 4.875%, 1 point. More expensive house, bigger loan, NO change in closing costs or down payment amount!
*** Summer Fun 2010 ***
In late August, Janet and I had to go to Mexicali to complete the legal work on our lot in San Felipe, Baja. We flew to Palm Springs and rented a new Mustang Convertible. Stayed overnight in Calixico and took the Mustang to Hertz for a loaner to go into Mexico with. Upon returning to Hertz that afternoon, we learned that the Mustang had to go to the Dealer for something and we couldn't have it back! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh, but they had this nice Chrome Yellow Corvette we could have to return to Palm Springs in! Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! Nice! (it was a convertible too!) Hot August afternoon (109), top down, 436 horsepower. Got it up to 120 very quickly. I want one! Maybe for my birthday.
In June, I took another trip to an Oliver tractor show, this time in Iowa. I was born there and I took my time getting back (its been 60 years). On the 13 day trip I saw the John Wayne's Birthplace, the Bridges of Madison County (the 6 that remain), the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad, the Surf Ballroom (last Buddy Holly show), Music Man Square set, Mamie Doud Eisenhower birthplace, the Floyd County Historical Society Museum, the entire town of Charles City -where I was born, the Little Brown Church in the Vale, all of the Amana Colonies, the Hart Parr Oliver Collectors Association Summer Show in Mt. Pleasant, Burlington (went across the Mississippi River to Illinois and bought some outrageous fireworks), Fort Madison, Keokuk, Lock and Dam #19, and Des Moines which I flew in and out of. I have lots of relatives on my Maternal Grandmother's side burried in Iowa so I spent some good time in three cemeteries and found about 80 graves and photographed them. Helps with the genealogy research.
***Winter Fun 2010***
February, we took a week off and went to Maui. Stayed at the Napilli Kai resort. I highly recommend this one! Delicious food, beautiful sunsets every evening, lots of Whales to watch, 75 degrees in both the water and the air. It was a nice break from cold, foggy Sacramento in winter time. Rented a gunbarrel grey Mustang convertible and drove all over the place. I'd do this trip again anytime.
...Expand for more
***Old Doggie News***
Morgan, one of our Champion Old English Sheepdogs, was bred her to another Champion from Colorado Springs. Done by surgical implant with 'fresh chilled' semen shipped in FedEx Overnight on 29 May, '10, if she holds to schedule (which she won't), she'd be due 31 July. But Morgan is late on her periods and early on her babies so we'll probably get puppies around the 28th of July. ****Ultrasound on June 25 showed =0= (ZERO) puppies (Booo, Hissss) so there goes a thousand bucks and we get to try again in 6 months or so, which means winter puppies, Booo, Hissss! **** X-ray on 29 July confirmed that she's empty. Booo, Hissss!
*************************
It sure was nice to see so many fellow IHS classmembers at the 45th reunion. A special Thank You to John Pender for the terrific party friday night. If you missed it, you Really MISSED IT!!
I took a lot of pics at both the party and the dinner/dance. I have put together two pdf files of pics which I sent to Anna as she said she'd send them out to everyone. If YOU didn't get yours and want a set, send me an e-mail through Classmates with your e-mail address and I'll get 'em right out to ya. Sorry it tok so long, Janet wanted to go to Maui so off we went. Such a tough life us po' folks lead.
As Wolfman Jack said: Have Mercy!
*** The Rest of the Story ***
If y'all been reading this all along you know that I had major foot surgery on Feb 9th, 2009. Yikes! It hurt, but a great excuse for more pain killers than the average person needs. They changed my meds to reduce the amount I take, went to some really strong sh** (starts with an M) Controlled, controlled, controled!! Bonus! My podiatrist is a doll! I look forward to my appointments with her cuz she's soooooooo cute! Oh, to be 30 years younger!
***Life after High School***
After IHS, went to El Camino for awhile ("64-"67), and worked at McDonalds on La Tijera and then the new one on Century Blvd. near Hollywood Park Racetrack. I left McDonalds to work for Standard Stations (Chevron) in Crenshaw, Marina Del Rey, and La Tijera/Centinella. Had some pretty girlfriends and a couple of fast cars: Blue '64 GTO purchased from Sue Maronde's dad Darrell's Majestic Pontiac: 389 4bbl, 4-speed, 3:90 posi and a killer clutch, and then a new factory ordered '68 SS Camaro with the L-78 396 engine, M-22 'Rock Crusher' 4-speed, 4.56 Posi. 12.90/114mph at Lions. The late Chris Carr (Loyola '66) taught me snow skiing in '68 and I spent the winters of '68, '69, and '70 at Mammoth, Aspen and Sun Valley. By this time, I had sold the race car and bought a new black '69 VW bug. Spent my summer days off camping in Yosemite. Went back to El Camino ('69-'70) and got an AA degree so I could transfer to somewhere else far away from the traffic.
Got a postcard from dear friend Kathie Jepson (IHS '65) that said maybe what I was looking for was Humboldt State in Arcata. I went up there to check it out. Beautiful! Left LA and transferred to Humboldt State as a Junior (Winter quarter '71). Good old Humboldt State, where the Men are Men, and the Women are Too, and the Sheep are Nervous.
Met Janet in International Folk Dance class Fall quarter '72, and we went on to the Exibition Class traveling all over the county specializing in Hungarian dances like Fries Magyar Czardas, which was our favorite. At college, we lived in a 1920's era, wood stove heated, 350 sq. ft. motor-court cabin with a creek behind it, on 12 acres of redwoods just north of the picturesque fishing/tourist town of Trinidad. Had a 'Ford engine blue' '56 VW Bus (it was that color thanks to Art Bonfert, IHS '70, brother of Anne Bonfert, IHS '64). With a '69 1788cc engine I had built in the front room of the cabin. It hauled A__...well, you know. After the '64 GTO and the '68 'Rat Motor' Camaro I was still wanted to hot-rod whatever I was drivin'.
I graduated from Humboldt State University in '73 with a degree in Business Marketing/Economics. Bought a little house in Blue Lake, CA for $9,750. Bought our first Old English Sheepdog from (the late) Chris Carr (Loyola '66) who was living in Sacramento. Got married May 04, 1974 at Bridelveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, to this day still the best, classiest, most beautiful hippie wedding in modern history.
After a couple o' years building engines, fixing cars and pumping gas, I got a Real Estate license. Sold Real Estate in Humboldt County 'till Carter got elected President. Figured the constant depression of the Humboldt County economy would get nothing but worse with that dorkapotamus in the White House, we sold the now-fixed-up-real-neat house for $29,000, bailed out of (sold) the two rentals we owned in Eureka, and moved to Sacramento County.
Bought a brand new 3-bed, 2 ba, 2 car 1/4 acre lot house in Orangevale in 1977 and spent the next 30 years in the real estate mortgage business making unbelivable transactions in the A-, B, Hard Money marketplace (Sub-Prime before it became a household word). It was fun until the last couple of years when I got real sick, and the business got real ugly. Just about that time everybody else and their brother-in-law got into sub-prime and it all went to he... well, you know where it all went. I'd be happy to discuss this sub-prime mess with anyone...having been in that business for so long, and knowing who and what I know.
Janet worked as a seamstress for several years sewing everything from goose down sleeping bags, parkas, and vests (in Arcata), to suit repairs and custom tailoring for the Sacramento Kings basketball players and local Television news anchors in Sacramento. She got tired of this in 1989 so she left that and went to school in Fresno so she could work for the airlines.
Janet and I have never had any children so we raise, show, breed, sell and rescue Old English Sheepdogs, and will always have one to four of 'em around. Our first one (A'wa'nee) was at our wedding (along with her mother, 'Tuolumne') and our latest (Morgan) is a Champion and we bred her by sergical implant on December 29, 2008, with 'fresh chilled' sent in from Colorado Springs by Fed Ex. This time, same people, different 'boy friend'.
Five years ago ('05) we lost both of our champion boys (Desmond and Bentley) and found ourselves without any dogs for the first Christmas in 20 years. We called Pam Henry in Santa Rosa, probably the best OES breeder on the west coast. It's not easy to just call up a breeder like that and request a show girl; it's not who you know, it's who knows you. We got Morgan in February, '06.
Morgan is a born winner. After winning a 4-point major in her first show, Morgan hit a dry spell for the next several shows; its ok though, the club needed to champion out another (female) which we all helped make happen. Then we did four shows in Hanford. Morgan basically swept the shows: three Best of Breeds, one Best Opposite to Best of Breed, one Group II, eight points and two more majors. Then three shows in Vallejo: one point Friday, One point Saturday, Zero points Sunday. Dang! Only one point to go means entering the Sacramento shows at Cal Expo, which we don't like to do (they're more expensive than most) but do anyway. Then! AKC notifies us that the Friday show in Hanford was a 4-point show, Morgan has 15 points, and is a Champion! We pull out of the Sacramento shows.
************
Janet has worked in the airline industry since Aug. '89 (Skywest, Continental, Delta) and has been with United since Oct. '94. She works the gate or the baggage room for United at SMF and recently was promoted to Service Director, which means she's a slightly more important grunt working for an airline than she was last year! We rarely drive on trips anymore, just to places we can't fly to like Yosemite. Driving to the reunion, 902 miles round trip, I got 36.756 MPG. On one of the 3 trips to Modesto I got 39.852 MPG, second best yet. (I got 40.652 once before). When Janet drives it, the average is around 32-34. Love that little Fit. It's just a go-cart with a 5-door, 5-speed, air conditioned hatch back body with 6 air bags, tilt/cruise and a 200 watt 6 speaker am-fm-cd system. With the new 205/45 SR16 83W Yokohama S-Drive tires on 16" Honda Performance alloy wheels, it's low to the ground and hugs the road well. We even got the 'sport muffler'! It's black with a black interior, dark tinted windows and charcoal gray sheepskin seatcovers. Just what every kid needs today. EPA on this one is 33/38 and it is true to those numbers, one of a very few cars that can do that under the old EPA rules. As I mentioned, I've gotten 40 once, 39 twice, 38 several times, 36 most of the time. Janet averages 32-34 on her 55 mile r/t daily commute.
Janet has 8 more years to work, and we are now looking at places to live other than California (hate the taxes and the government). San Felipe, Baja won out for a winter place as we bought a nice lot overlooking the Sea of Cortez at El Dorado Ranch and plan to build a home there in the next few years. Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Colorado or Northern New Mexico or Arizona are on the list for summer digs. All we ask for is a good airport, and a good hospital within 50 miles or so, no/low income tax and low property taxes and we'll be fine.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos
Register for Free to view all photos!