Darrell and Sally Linton out in Idaho proudly notify us that Brittany has accepted a college scholarship early in her high school senior year in her home state of California. I know she had several offers but wanted a small college and this will be right up her alley. Fast pitch softball is a great game and pitcher oriented for almost all games have just a few runs. Her ERA has been about one half run a game her high school career. I'm sure Darrell and Sally will keep us posted. /s/jack.

For Paige Emerson and Britany Linton, the culmination of years of hard work on the softball fields has paid off for this pair of Rocklin High seniors who both recently signed National Letters of Intent to play softball at the collegiate level.

Emerson, who was Rocklin’s starting shortstop as a junior last season, signed on with the University of Pacific (UOP) in Stockton and will major in Sports Medicine. Emerson led the Thunder in hitting last season with team highs in hits (36), batting average (.424), slugging percentage (.765), and on-base percentage (.495).

The pitching side of this college bound duo is Linton who will be attending Saint Marys College in Moraga, California as a Business Administration major. The right-handed Linton was one of the areas top pitchers last season recording an earned run average of .501 in 153 innings of work. Linton also boasted an impressive 19-7 won-loss record as the team's pitching ace.

Not only were Emerson and Linton three year varsity players for the Thunder, but the two also played together on the same travel team, the Running Rebels Gold (Stockton), coached by Bob Regpala.

This spring, Emerson and Linton will head a list of returning starters for a Rocklin team that lost in the semi-finals of last year's Division II Section playoffs.

When I was stationed in Japan, during the Korean War, I was walking down the Ginza in downtown Tokyo one afternoon when I spotted a familiar face. There was none other than Larry Servich walking toward me. He was in in Japan on R&R from Korea. We didn't have too much time to catch up since I had to be back on duty in about an hour and he was scheduled to return to Korea that evening... A couple of weeks later I looked up from my desk and spotted another familiar face...There he was...none other than Lee Irwin... It turns out Lee was stationed in Japan, as I was, so we got to meet together several times over the next 6 or 8 months of my tour of duty...But it just goes to show you what a small world we live in.
Jim Hammer
(Note by Jack): Jim Hammer joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1950 and then was called up prior to entering his senior year in the fall of 1951 at Baldwin. As was Chuck Brieck who had joined the Air National Guard. Both missed their senior year and resumed that upon their discharge a few years later but we always considered them 1951 classmates. Chuck died a few years ago in Texas and his sister Priscilla is in California. Larry Servich went on to become a policeman in, I believe, McKeesport and died about fifteen years ago. Now, all high school football players look like Larry Servich but he and Rich Baraty stood out in their day. Lee Irwin was class of 1950 and married 1951's majorette Wilma Smith who was so vital to our class reunions. Sadly, they both passed away just a few year ago.
(Correction/addendum by Priscilla Brieck):
My brother, Chuck Brieck, entered his senior year at BHS in September 1950. He registered for the Draft and upon receiving his "Welcome" letter from the government to join them in the Infantry in October 1950 he immediately enlisted in the Air Force. He left home via train at Penn Station on November 20, 1950. While in the Air Force he received his High School Diploma. After serving a four-year term he returned to Whitehall with his wife and used the G.I. Bill of Rights for college and a degree in Engineering, following in the steps of our father.
He had never joined the Air National Guard as stated in Jack's note.

I can't tell you all how blessed I am to have contact with my brother's classmates/friends. I was so excited to finally be attending the same school as my brother but it was for a very short time, just two months. You all are such great folks and it is wonderful to be able to read this blog and keep up with you through the years.
Best regards,
Priscilla Brieck Class of 1953

I noted that Jim Hammer doesn't know where Lafferty School was . It was located in the northern end of Baldwin Borough,near Becks Run and Carrick. It was a two room school with three grades in each room. When my Dad went there, it housed 4 grades in two rooms. With three grades in our room, the teacher had 24 different lessons to prepare each day. There were 11 kids in my grade and only 4 of them graduated (Larry Servich, Chuck Gegick, Anita Karel, and me) Did you know that Chuck and Larry died in the same week many years ago?
We were taught Reading by the look-say method. There was no phonics instruction which might account for so many not graduating. Your Reading grade on your report card was based on one oral reading just prior to the end of the six week grading period.
I don't know if any of you played "Buck, Buck, how many fingers up. It was our favorite winter time game played in the basement of the school. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it,I will describe it. It involved two teams with one team lining up single file bent over so their backs were parallel to the floor and wrapping their arms arund the person in front of them thus forming one line of 5 or 6 kids. The other team would then one -by-one leap up as far as they could on the backs of those below. When all members were safely on, the captain of the team on top would hold out1,2,3,4,or 5 fingers and say,"Buck, Buck, How many fingers up? The captain of the team below, would try to guess. If he guessed correctly,the teams changed positions, but if he guessed incorrectly the team on top got to dismount and do it again.Could you imagine mothers today. They would storm the school trying to put an end to this barbaric game. We loved it!!!
Lafferty School was changed to a Senior Citizen Center many years By: Ron Christ

Many of you know that I was a teacher/administrator in the Upper St. Clair School District prior to teaching at California University. However, very few of you know that I was also the first varsity basketball coach USC ever had.Prior to 1957, USC only went through Grade 9. Students then matriculated to Mt. Lebanon, Peters Twp., or Bridgeville to finish their schooling. Those school districts became overcrowded and so the Upper St. Clair School Board decided to keep the ninth graders as the first graduating class in 1960. In 1957, I became the basketball coach at age 24; at the time, the youngest coach in WPIAL. I coached for four years and my record was 54 wins and 30 losses. We would have won more games if only we could have made more foul shots. Our foul shooting percentage was 49% which remained a mystery to me since in one faculty/ varsity game I made 14 out of 17 which is 81%. Somehow, I couldn't get them to replicate the technique. At the end of the fourth year, I was offered the principalship in one of the elementary schools and accepted the position. At the time, USC had a ruling that you had to teach in the building where you coached so I had to resign from the coaching position. I am including a picture of the 1960 team who were in the first graduating class.

Ron Christ

Several of the Elementary Schools are now gone like Union School that is now some sort of School Administration Building. Below, Jim tells of where the Pleasant Hills crowd went until eighth grade. Actually, our 1951 Class Prez Jack Smith's younger sister, Sue, went to Brentwood High so it was a tossup each year for PH students but now I think they have a close by high school. Senator Orrin Hatch went to McGibbney School and Ron will tell us where Lafferty fits in. Bob Dean, obit below, lived out near Sickman School and the clay pigeon shotgun club and Option Supply. I heard Sickman is closed and then I heard it is a giant elementary school, too. The playground of Union School was a beehive of activity for pickup sports depending on the season and today is a nice Little League Field. Some of you may want to e-mail me with elementary school reminisces. /s/ Jack

It was the Pleasant Hills Elementary school on Old Clairton Rd.for the first seven grades. We went to Roosevelt School down in Large, PA for our eighth grade class. It was just off of Rt. 51 across from the Large, Pa., Whiskey Distillery. (Jim - was that Old Overholt Rye Whiskey?) Both schools are now gone with the PH school being tore down for a PH Presbyterian Church addition and the Roosevelt school turned into a commercial property.We...our eighth grade class....had a choice between Baldwin and Clairton for our High School. I believe all the classes after ours had to all go to Clairton High School....
I can't remember just where Lafferty school was!!?? /s/Jim