Saucerman School Alumni Association

Check out the brief biography I just wrote for my teacher and mentor, Dr. Willard Hunt Saucerman (1912-1989):

Dr. Willard Hunt Saucerman, Independent Educator I don't know much about the life of Dr. Willard Hunt Saucerman before 1969, but from 1969 through 1975 he was my primary teacher and mentor, and most of what I am today, 55 years later, is due to him.

Greetings, Saucerman School alumni. Another year is upon us; may be 2022 be better than 2021 for all of us, as I'm sure 2021 was better than 2020 (Hell Year).

But now let your minds drift back to 1969 through 1976, the era of Saucerman School. A question for all of you: Who were your most-favorite and least favorite teachers of the school, and why? What did you learn from them? What were you unable to learn from them? Which attributes did you find endearing, and which did you find annoying?

For me, my favorite was Dr. Saucerman himself. I especially like how he told his students, "Don't believe everything you read. Some statements are true, some are false, and some are unsubstantiated opinion. Use your own wits to discern which is which." That's basically "Critical Thinking", something which was very much NOT in-vogue to be teaching to children in those days.

Runner-up was Ms Milling (first name unknown). As I recall, she taught several subjects, including English, Art, and Music. But she also managed to teach a fair bit of philosophy and practical psychology in the process.

My least-favorite teacher was Mrs Fry. Dr Saucerman thought she was the best teacher he'd ever met, but I disagree. I found her to be very hard to communicate with and very authoritarian, and I saw evidence that she had a habit of getting on the phone and gossiping about students to parents of other students, which I consider unethical. All of the other teachers, I got along well with; but Mrs Fry and I were always adversaries.

However, do keep in mind that the above statements are my own opinions only, from my own experiences only. Don't let my opinions sway you! I'm interested in the viewpoints of everyone here. What were YOUR experiences with the teachers of Saucerman School?

Find buried in an old box: This graduation card presented to me, Robbie Hatley (leader of Saucerman School Alumni Association) on the day of my High School graduation from Saucerman School in 1975. It's signed by many of the teachers and students of Saucerman School. Here we can see the signatures of:

Kurt Ruoff
Mrs Fry
Eric (Smoley?)
Grant (Smoley?)
Mary Ellen Torre
Nancy Rabe
Jolie Gordon
Michael Paul "Mike" David
Fredrick Raymond "Rick" / "Ricky" Fisher
Mark Anderson
Eric Anderson
Gary (???)
Ron (???)
Mark (???)
Kevin (???)
Kin (Kenneth Bewick?)
Lryrdsy (????????)
Dale Hollingsworth
Jay Stockdill
Jackie (???)
Genevieve Harris (Teacher?)
Kirk (???)
Willard Saucerman
[illegible] (Marco Torre?)
Clij (???????) (Chris Passmore?)
Sopt (???????)
Bryan (???)
Dana Nance
Chuck Knapp
Christine Woolbright

Some of those are illegible (???????), and some have no last names (???), so I'm not sure who those ones are. But many of these folks I DO remember.

Dr. Willard Saucerman, of course I remember very well, and I consider him to be one of the most important mentors in my life.

Mrs Fry I also remember quite well, but much less fondly. I found her to be impossible to communicate with, and I found her behind-the-scenes back-stabbing and manipulation to be reprehensible. I wish I was able to remember her "with eyes unclouded by hate", as Hayao Miyazaki would phrase it, but I cannot.

"Genevieve Harris", I think was a teacher; the name seems vaguely familiar but I can't place it.

I'm surprised that Mrs Waters didn't sign that card. She was about 70 years old in 1975; by now she's likely been deceased for 40 years.

The only persons among those signatures who are currently in-contact with me are Michael David and Kurt Ruoff. The others are either deceased, or have no interest in regaining contact with Saucerman School alumni, or simply haven't found this group yet.

Marco Torre, Mary Ellen Torre, and Dana Nance I have made contact with, but all three have blocked me on Facebook, because I am atheist and Democrat whereas they are Christian and Republican. 21st-Century USA religious and political polarization strikes again.

Rick Fisher I have attempted to make contact with, but he has failed to reply to any of my attempts, so clearly he has no interest.

Tom Norton I briefly met at Westminster Mall in Westminster, California, circa 1986, but we immediately dropped out of touch again.

Mike David and I met Chris Passmore in Costa Mesa, California back in the 80s. He didn't seem to be doing too well. He was disheveled, admitted to being a heavy drug user, and expressed desire to die before his 30th birthday. I don't know why. In the 70s he was full of enthusiasm for life and wanted to get into aviation engineering. But by the 80s he was a wreck. I have no idea what has become of him.

Marc Grundfor, Louis Anderson, Eric Anderson, and Ken Bewick I met on several occasions back in the 1980s, but not since then, and I haven't been able to find them again.

Mike David and I did make contact with Bob Fassell, but he expressed that he has no interest in resuming acquaintanceship with the two of us, and presumably no interest in making contact with other alumni either.

Dale Hollingsworth, I have reason to believe is in Alaska, but he has failed to reply to my repeated contact attempts.

Doug Rigby, I've been unable to find.

Phillip Perkins, alas, is no longer with us; he died while on military duty, not long after leaving Saucerman School. :'(

William "Buddy" de Parcq, I've made contact with and is currently a member of this group.

The other teachers and students, I either never knew the full names of, or I've been unable to make contact with.

So, that's the status of the attempts of myself, Robbie Hatley, as of Sunday May 16, 2021, to make contact with Saucerman School Alumni. Some successes, some failures, and a lot of open-ended questions.

Cheers,
your fearless leader,
Robbie Hatley,
May 16, 2021

Time goes by, but the alumni stay away. Why? Persons such as Ken Bewick, Luis Anderson, Eric Anderson, Kiet Heisey, Carol Rupp, the Smoley Bros, Tom Norton, etc, are probably alive-and-kicking, out there somewhere, but I haven't talked to them in decades.

One factor that may be interfering is the Millennial Polarization Effect. People are so aghast to find that their old school chums have very different views on s*x, religion, or politics, that they immediately block them. That's not only socially unhealthy, but strongly interferes with things such as school alumni associations. I recommend, be tolerant of your fellow alumni. If topics such as s*x, religion, or politics trigger you, then just don't bring up those topics; or if others make statements regarding those topics which you disagree with, ignore those statements. These opportunities are to precious too waste over such trivialities.

If anyone reading this knows of living alumni of Saucerman School, please forward this page them them. Thanks! :-)

Thread bump: Facebook is threatening to "unpublish" this page because they say it "isn't active". So, here's some activity.

Any alumni of Saucerman School out there who haven't spoke up yet? Post comments here, please. How about the Anderson brothers? the Smoley twins? Carol Rupp? Bob Fassell? Dale Holingsworth? Doug Rigby? Kiet Heisey? Ken Bewick? Marshal Smythe? Anyone from Saucerman School still alive out there? Speak up.

Greetings, fellow alumni of Saucerman School! I know some of you are out there, but I have yet to contact most of you on Facebook! Please post here, like this page, and send a friend request to me, Robbie Hatley, if you are reading this!