Bob Kelahan Tells His Story

Bob, circa 1969

My dad's first job out of college was at the Asarco smelter just outside Salt Lake City that was later sold to Kennecott, so that's where I was born (in a hospital, not the smelter). Asarco transferred him every few years so I grew up in a few different places. That's a plus in that you get to see new places and make new friends, but on the downside it's difficult to make lasting friendships. We moved from Utah first to the Texas gulf coast, then to near Montreal, and then to El Paso. From all that a Texan French Canadian accent, y'all, ay?

Peggy, circa 1980

My dad was transferred to the Hayden smelter and we moved to Kearny in February of '68. So for my first day at RHS I'm wearing an oversized JV baseball letter jacket from my old high school in El Paso. I was certain it would be a perfect chick magnet. They wouldn't know I was nearly the last picked for the team and got to play in only two games. Sadly, I think they soon figured that out when instead of continuing with baseball I tried out for the golf team.

Tim

After graduating I went to Rensselaer, a technical college in upstate New York. Why? - Mostly wanderlust, plus they sent me a really neat looking college catalog. The Navy would be paying for it all, but that committed me to serving four years after college. By my sophomore year it was apparent that my becoming a Navy officer was not in our mutual best interest. I was also getting increasingly concerned about what a chemistry major would do in the Navy - analyze the water outside the ship? You would think I'd have thought all this through before starting down that path, but noooo. Fortunately the policy
allowed me to bail without penalty before starting my junior year. That immediately led to the next problem - how to pay for an expensive college. My parents had moved back to Texas and I had seen enough of New York by then, so the answer was simple - the University of Texas. At the same time my dad and my brother, both engineers, convinced me to switch to chemical engineering. Turned out to be good advice and a good fit for me. My mom's hope for attorney or physician was shot for good.

Dan

I had fond memories of childhood vacations to the St. Louis area to visit grandparents and cousins. So when I had the opportunity to start my career there I jumped at it. That's where I met my wife, Peggy. She was a Montessori kindergarden teacher. I don't recall the attraction - kind of skinny, not very tall, no sports car. Oh, towards her? - Well, she was really cute and her personality was a good contrast with mine (no wisecracks please). Amazingly, she even stayed with me as I went on a never ending search for the ideal job. This led me back to college, then to Chicago briefly, a little longer in eastern Kentucky, and then ten years in Houston. Along the way a few critters joined us. Peggy insisted we name them. So first there was Tim and then Dan while in Kentucky, and then Katie and Jenny while in Houston.

Katie

We had always thought we would someday move back to St. Louis, so when an opportunity eventually came we did just that. We've been back here nearly 20 years now. Monsanto, like many big companies, likes to periodically prune out older workers and my time came in 2005. They want to pay me to leave? Where do I sign?

Jenny

I'm not ready to fully retire yet and Peggy has too many undesirables in my job jar, so I continue to do some projects and consulting in process control and simulation. Lately it's been nearly full time developing training simulators for refineries and chemical plants. It's like developing a flight simulator except instead of getting the student to take off, fly steady, and land, all without crashing, the goal is to start up the plant, make good product, and shut it down, all without it blowing up. Good fun.

Bob

Peggy still teaches part time. All the critters are out of the house now. Fortunately they all live nearby so we get to see them often. Tim is an electrical engineer working in process control. Dan is a restaurant manager. Katie and Jenny are occupational therapists working with special needs children. A side interest with Jenny - she dragged us to Ireland three times to watch her dance with the best. Okay, we did go willingly. She doesn't dance competitively anymore but continues to teach Irish dance part time. And no, she did not get that from me. I can't walk and chew gum at the same time - just ask someone from the golf team…

Peggy

Hobbies: Irish festivals and hiking the national parks (no gum); Favorite sports team: St Louis Cardinals (duh!); Goal: climb Croagh Patrick at age 60; Chance RHS classmate encounter: running into Audrey Burnam on the UT campus (what are the odds of that?).

Kearny memory: The smell of a desert rain. The evening I arrived in Kearny it was after dark and either had just rained or was about to. Our apartment was half way up the hill. Looking down at the lights below I could hear a small group practicing music. The smell in the air was unmistakable and unforgettable. I think you can distinguish that of central Arizona from other desert areas. I am reminded of that smell very vividly whenever passing through central Arizona and a storm is nearby.

Alex and Becky Manriquez Say, "Hi."

Alex '69 and Becky (Foster) '70 Manriquez send their greetings, along with a link to their blog. It has pictures of kids and grandkids and dogs and everything! Check it out here.

Daryl Mallett Wants Your Photos

Hello all,

I am a freelance writer in Arizona and, with co-author Lyn Scott, am working on a book entitled The Copper Corridor, which is a photographic history of the towns along AZ-177 and AZ-77 from Superior to Winkelman.

During my research, I found your website announcing the reunion and would very much like to hear from all of you about your experiences living in the area, your family histories and seeing your photos and possibly including them in our book.

I can be reached at 480/275-0232 or darylmallett (at) aol.com. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Daryl F. Mallett

Kearny Gets History on Day One

There's a pretty interesting article online describing how its founders worked to give Kearny its own historical identity from the very beginning. The article also contains lots of other good stuff about Ray and Sonora and the changes that came when they were displaced by the mine. Check it out here.

Kathy Case Kangas Tells Her Story

I am Kathy Case Kangas. My parents were Randolph and Berniece Case.

My dad first was teacher and principal at Washington Elementary School, Sonora AZ. Then he became principal of Lincoln Elementary School along with Washington Elementary School. And he was also a substitute teacher. I was in one of the classrooms that he substituted for. My dad was Principal of Lincoln Elementary until we left there in 1963. My mother was English and History teacher at Ray High School. She came after Mrs. Crowell was librarian (I think) and took it because nobody else wanted to! She was Jr., Sr. Class sponsor, and also Prom sponsor. In the meantime she was also the drama, play director.

We moved to Seligman AZ 1963-1964, then to Ajo AZ 1964-1980. My mother quit teaching in 1980 and Dad retired 1981.

I graduated from Ajo High School class of 1967. I was held back a year in fourth grade due to illness and would've graduated with the class of 1966. Even though I finished high school in Ajo I wanted to stay with my friends in Kearny and graduate with them!

It was the jobs that brought my parents to Ray. They had attended the University of Arizona and were looking for work. They completed their masters of education in 1957, Tempe Normal School, for education.

Tess asked me about some of my dad's trials as principal. The main thing was discipline as it is today. Dad always tried to be fair in every situation. Don't know if these boys in particular remember this scene: During their 8th grade time a bunch of boys were becoming girl crazy and some rather bullish, always picking on someone. So finally my dad had enough and had them box it out in a real ring. I think with the help of Mr. Murchison and some of the coaches. There were some blows and some bloody noses but after that no more fights! Another trial must have been to him to have me as one of his students! Never thought of that until just now. To me I was always trying to keep out of the way.

I have a complete set of annuals from Ray High School that I would like to be able to scan somehow. Would also like to keep in touch with everybody.

Oaxaca 2009

Had a great time at our Oaxaca 2009 mixer. The Ray High Blog was much discussed as people were excited to hear about it. Facebook was also discussed as a way of keeping up with daily activities (see www.facebook.com/neto.corral). Topics that came up were: Did Mr. Kuykendall ever teach in at Washington Elementary? Russ Cooper, where do Joe Cooper & Bob Cooper connect with you? Whatever happened to Queen Saundra Speers & Princesses Sharon Weeks (Weeksie) and Priscilla Osuna?

Anyone remember the big rumble between Ray & Sonora students that went on for three days? Of course, we agreed we won. Much discussed were secret romances between Ray & Sonora students during our high school years (that was taboo, remember?)


Baldo, Sandy (Owl), Goyo & Sandy's wife.

Neto, Tommie, Sandy, Goyo, Papo, Chuey, Baldo.

Goyo, Papo, Chuey & Baldo

Papo, Monchie & Chin0

Chuey, Papo & Chino (Mystery Pic from a previous blog)

Eddie & Papo

Neto & Goyo

Fifth Annual Oaxaca Mixer!!

Don't know if you youngsters remember any of us old-timers from the old Ray High but a few of us are getting a mixer together for this Thursday night (July 9, 2009) at Oaxaca's in Phoenix (1516 W Van Buren). If you remember nicknames like Papo, Chino, Chuey, Neto, Papemo, El Five, El Rastrillo, La Monchie, Gollo and Curqui, you might want to stop by starting around 6 p.m. No agenda, just eats and drinks and reminiscing..... Guess which three are in the photo taken in the playground of Washington Elementary in Sonora.. Some photos of previous mixers are attached (if I get this right)!