West Queen Anne

1933 West Queen Anne Class Picture

dearmyrtle — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:05:39 +0000

Gosh, am I ever thankful I saved the WQA and QAHS reunion papers from two drawers in Dad’s guest bedroom when we closed up his home after his death. Two more boxes wouldn’t break me, and I just didn’t have the heart to dispose of the items. I thought I had Dad’s genealogy safely squirreled away for later perusal, but boy was I wrong! The things I’ve discovered shuffling through the reunion boxes have brought real insight into my family history.

West Queen Anne Class of 1933, Seattle, Washington

ABOVE: Today’s photo is innocently labeled on the back with the words “This picture belongs to me.” I assume this is the graduating class of 1933 because of the etching “1-33″ made on the negative on the upper right before printing of this image. The school had a practice of taking class pictures in January. This image includes my Dad’s sister Beverly Player, seated in the front row, second from left, and she was indeed one year behind my Dad in school. Accompanying her unsigned comment are signatures from many classmates, and four others, of significance to me:

Glen S. Player, Jack Player, Mother Player and Dad Player.

I nearly fell out of my computer chair when I read that. This means my uncle, father and grandparents handled this pic and signed the back. These signatures then represent more of an “autograph collection” not limited to those whose images appear in the class picture. Again, I’ll try to transcribe decipherable signatures.

Brita Lindstrom

Anna Mae Matheson

Flora McCorkle

Charles Bipps

Cora Atkinson

James Farr

Marion A. Thorpy

Wallace Aiken

Izora Pecks 8B

Mother Player

Patricia

Sarah Moowad

Denis R. Cole

Faith Holmes

Donald Grantvedt

Ellsworth Sunde

Ruth Gordon

Gordon Graham

Walter Brytges

Burton Antill

Beulah Barber

Jack Player

Jack Graaf

Ruth Piltz

Jack Schwartz

Evart Lamping

Evelyn Gilmore

Gordon Lilly

“kuppie”

George IV

C. Murray

Carl Heu

LWB

Dad Player

Ken Weiser (could this be Beverly, Jack and Glen’s cousin on their mother Myrtle’s side?)

Beatrice Hamilton – including the words “found but not lost”

Leonard Wood

Jean Robinson

Pauline Bernice

Theresa Machmeier

Virginia Matheny

Virginia Beeler

Margaret

Helen Barlow

Fat Lucy

Dick Neuharth

Bob Scott

Vivian Winchell

Easton Skogsberg

Victor Beckman

Mary Runner

Blanche Philmister

Bill Roth

Billy P. Kemrah

Suella Neely ”Good luck and love”

Molly Wand

Elaine Wicklund

IDA

Glen Player

James Daley

Edith Connor

Villa Brock

Billy Moe

Bert Hall

Stanford Stalwart

Patricia Brown

Filed under: West Queen Anne School

1932 West Queen Anne Class Picture

dearmyrtle — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:32:05 +0000

Found this amazing treasure in Dad’s stash, with signatures on the back. I think some of the signatures were made in 1932 when Dad first got the photo, and other signatures were added later in life, perhaps at a reunion? Just thinking, not sure. I’ll try to transcribe them as best I can. My Dad, Glen S. Player is the the first guy on the left in the back row.

1932 West Queen Anne Class, back side showing signatures.

Grant Wilcox

Roy Fritch

Pat Arney

Marion A. Thorpe

Jack McKue

Helen Johansen

Jeanne Arney

Albert C Hastings

Lloyd Townsend

David Ulrich

Freda Shepherd

Jimmy Berry

Jean Usher

Dorthelle Willard

Elsie Webster

Orville Schley

Anne Honore

Shirley Teasdale

Fritz Wedeberg

Hilda Hullen

~~Bob Barker~~ (crossed out)

Glen Player

Jack Steiner

Bob Kellam

Lisa Keller

Virginia Weston

Jim Sco [illegible]

Phillip Gould

Harry Brockway

Ruth Berg

Peirce Donnelly

Mary Thompson

Lloyd Olsen

Marjorie Tegneun

~~Patricia Arney~~ (crossed out)

Dorothy Mann

Filed under: Uncategorized

Queen Anne High School Song

dearmyrtle — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 19:32:47 +0000

In the last months of Dad’s life, I’d take him for drives up around Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington where he once lived, attended school, and then after the war set up his private medical practice. As we drove up the “counter balance”, Dad would wax nostalgic about his elementary and high school days. Dad passed away in 2007, but I can still hear him sing his high school “fight” song:

Queen Anne High School, on the hilltop
Yes, you bet we’re here
And we have our team here with us,
Nothing do we fear, rah, rah, rah.
We’ll make pie of ..any.. High
Now won’t that be a shame?
So fight, fellows, fight, fight, fight.
Until we win this game.

Imagine my surprise when I found that as the first entry in the Queen Anne High School Class of 1936 Reunion Sing-A-Long booklet among my father’s treasures. Other songs include many he taught us as little kids riding with him in the car:

Dad’s copy of the 50th Anniversary of QAHS Class of 1936 “Sing-A-Long” booklet.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Oh! You Beautiful Doll
Sentimental Journey
Shanty in Old Shanty Town
Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips With Me
Carolina in the Morning
California Here I Come
That Old Gang of Mine
Down By the Old Mill Stream (an especially fun one!)
Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home
Beautiful Ohio
Five Foot Two
Show Me the Way to Go Home
I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover
Shine On Harvest Moon
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Side By Side (Oh we ain’t got a barrel of money)
Auld Lang Syne

No, my dear Father-Dad, auld acquaintance shall not be forgot!

Filed under: Queen Anne High School

WQA and QAHS

dearmyrtle — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:22:16 +0000

From a cursory review of the bankers’ boxes, it would appear that memorabilia from both West Queen Anne (grade school) and Queen Anne High School are part of Dad’s collection.

West Queen Anne 40th Reunion invitation & unidentified newspaper clipping about the founding of this Seattle school in the 1890s.

Queen Anne High School Class of 1936 Golden Anniversary Reunion “Sing-A-Long”.

If you look closely, you’ll note the tiny crocheted “Grizzly” bear holding the QA ’36 pennant. How creative!

Filed under: Queen Anne High School, West Queen Anne School

Source of materials

dearmyrtle — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 17:30:40 +0000

Today I unearthed two bankers’ boxes of West Queen Anne reunion materials collected by my father over the years. Hopefully this blog will find interest among other descendants of this school, prompting a dialog to further understanding of our parent’s experiences at WQA.

A proud graduate of West Queen Anne Elementary class of 1932 and Queen Anne High School 1936; my father, Glen S. Player, MD organized and supported class reunions for over 70 years.

Glen S. Player at West Queen Anne, now converted to condos. Photo by author, June 2001

Following undergraduate studies at University of Washington (1936-1940) Dad received his medical degree in 1943 from the University of Oregon Medical School, now called the Oregon Health Sciences University. He completed post-graduate studies with the School of Neuropsychiatry at New York University 1944-1945 and took related classes at Cornell. During World War II, Glen served in the US Army as a neurology consultant, England General Hospital 1945-1946; and Halloran General Hospital 1946.

At the close of the war, Glen returned to Seattle and set up his office at 1623 Queen Anne Ave North as a General Practitioner and Surgeon. He was a member of the King County Medical Society, and was a past national civil defense chair for the American Medical Association. When Glen retired he had served as a physician for 50 years, caring for the grandchildren of some of his original patients.

As early as the 1950s, Glen showed a keen interest in genealogy. He left a written personal history and recollections of his parents and grandparents, so his posterity would know about their roots. His life spanned a time of great technological advances which he embraced. He participated in the computerized indexing of Ellis Island passenger arrival records.

From Dad’s manuscripts, photos and scrapbooks I’ll pull more about the school and some of his classmates.

Filed under: Bio