Fred Hartman Remembers:

I remember some shop called "The Spud Nut" on Mass.....with the most interesting and tasty little hamburgers....also I remember the Blue Mill, the Chuck Wagon BBQ, and Joe's Donut Shop.

I remember as a little kid sitting at the end of the KU basketball team bench in Hoch Auditorium watching Clyde Lovellette play center.

I remember riding our bikes to go fishing or frogin' or to the Round Corner for a cherry Dr Pepper or cherry lime aid.

I remember one of my best friends in grade school, Bob Wilson, and playing marbles, reading comics, and riding our bikes....Bob died way too young.

I remember the grade school gang that played football, baseball and stickball at the junior high including big Jim Calvert, Don Strunk and many others.

I remember our great 19th Street Merchants baseball team and Gene Fritzel, our coach, who gave so much of his time.

I remember Nanny Duver the first day of class asking for a volunteer to lead calisthenics (I volunteered), and him yelling at me "that's back stretcher, not back breaker , son!#@" as I had mislabeled the exercise.

I remember we had more than our share of great looking girls in our high school class.  We were truly blessed.

I remember and thank God for really excellent teachers such as Howard Mehlinger, David Rhoades, Howard Johnson, and coach Perry.

I remember Don Binns coaching the tennis team and the fun he made each season.  And I remember Stan Hanson and Jack Maloney made the practices, trips, and matches great.

I remember most of the guys I played baseball and basketball with over the years at various fields and gyms.

I remember Friday night poker games with classmates like Mike Garrett and Jim Kring.

I remember going to KC to listen to the Silvertones.

I remember summer trips to Colorado with Dennis Shaver, the funny and irrepressible Tod Roberts, and others.

I remember starting our rock and blues band the "Rainmakers" in Joel Fritzel's garage with Scott Winters and Fred Bramble...and later Bob Asher and Charles Allphin.

I remember how fast the opposing stands emptied of male high school guys who came after Dan Hazelet, Carroll Hird, me, and several others when we displayed their large school banner upside down in the Haskell Stadium end zone at half time....we never ran faster.

I remember we did the same thing the next year at their stadium.....same result.

I remember thinking during the time, that we were in school, that "there can not be a better high school class of great people......"