Teacher's at our 50th Reunion

We were so honored to have several teacher's attend our 50th reunion, and the alumni picnic the following day. They included Edward Ortiz, Dorothy Campbell, and Donna Heimerdinger-Hall, who attended the reunion banquet, and Coach's Jim Bass, and Ken Dowell, and M.C. McLaughlin, who attended the alumni picnic.

Mr. Ortiz was our band teacher in the 7th grade, and was one of the early teacher's at Kearny High. He wrote the Kearny High Alma Mater in 1944. He has been active in San Diego's musical culture for over 60 years, and is still associated with several local bands. He also loves to dance, and gets out every chance he can. At our reunion, he was on the dance floor more than most of his students. One of the evenings highlights was the introduction and recognition of Mr. Ortiz for writing the schools Alma Mater. The band played the Alma Mater, and all of the Kearny alumni joined in to sing it. How lucky were were to have such fine teachers.	Letter received from Mr. Ortiz after our 50th reunion: Thank you so much for a most enjoyable evening at the Kearny 50th reunion. It was by far the best organized and wonderful reunion I have been to, and I've been to several. The decorations, the picture taking, the music, the gifts, were outstanding. The alumna who gave so much backing for the entire evening by being so generous really made for an exceptional evening. I just can't express myself enough to say how much it meant to me to be invited to this gala night. Everyone I could see was having a glorious time. Not having the men wear ties was a stroke of genius, it made everyone feel welcome. When the alumni sang my Alma Mater, it brought tears to my eyes. Again, thank you so much for thinking of me and inviting me to this most memorable event. I'll never forget it. Most sincerely, Edward Ortiz
DONA HEIMERDINGER-HALL .
Letter Received from Mrs. Hall after our 50th reunion: This Sunday morning was filled with more Kearny memories as I accessed www.Kearny53.com. Wish I had known of it before October 4th! Thank you all for having me as an honored guest at your '53 reunion banquet. What gracious treatment I was given by Helen, Annetta and all the lovely people who remembered me from P.E. Dept. Those "snazzy" uniforms, too! I always felt grateful and fortunate to have began my teaching career at Kearny. We may have been a small school on an undistinguished campus, but we were a tough group of eager, full of life students and teachers. As I looked around at the banquet room and saw all of the beautiful productive people there, it was obvious that Kearny High had been a GOOD launching pad for our lives!!! Sincerely, Dona Heimerdinger Hall	Dorothy Campbell, JoAnn Maus-Landis, & Dona Heimerdinger-Hall Mrs. Hall, who taught girl's P.E. was also involved with the Drill Team and Drum Corps at Kearny. She and her husband have Arabian horses and live in Alpine. .
DOROTHY CAMPBELL .
Dorothy Campbell	Mrs. Campbell taught P.E. while she was at Kearny. She later transferred to Einstein Jr. High where she was a Counselor and also girls Vice President. She attended our 50th reunion with Mr. Howard Runk, who was a counselor at Einstein. Mrs. Campbell still resides in San Diego.
. JIM BASS .
Jim Bass was the Baseball coach at Kearny during our era. He an his wife have attended the alumni picnic the last few years.	Jim and Ellen Bass
. KEN DOWELL .
Ken and Margie Dowell	Ken Dowell was the basketball coach at Kearny during the time that we were all there. He an his wife have attended the alumni picnic the last few years.
. M. C. McLAUGHLIN .
Mr. McLaughlin was a shop teacher, and many of us guys had fond memories of our time in his class.	M. C. McLaughlin and his wife