Monday, October 29, 2012
Blog Reminder
Please remember that the blog works backwards. To follow it in some kind of order for this 45th Reunion...go to " 45th Reunion...Here We Go Again"....and read that entry first....then continue " UP".... Also, remember to click on " comments" at the end of each Post.....or you'll miss what others are saying !
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13 comments:
Pam Standford-Sweeney is in Kansas City area as a teacher, her is the 2008 picture from the school she attended as a Freshman, Sophmore and Junior
Here is the picture
http://picasaweb.google.com/fallshigh68/ReunionWeekendFriday#5253764222577440578
Jim Eklund obit is in the Topeka paper today, Rest in peace Jim
Karl Losey, his father's obituary is in today's CJonline and shows Karl as living in Auburn Kansas, you may want to look in Auburn phone directory for him.
Info on Paula McKenzie: She died on July 6, 1975 at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. Paula was a passenger in a scout vehicle driven by John Daubenmeyer, an employee of the Boy Scouts of America. The vehicle rolled off an embankment and overturned, resulting in Ms. McKenzie's death. Paula had just graduated from the University of Kansas Medical School in June of 1975.
Sorry...misspelled driver's last name....should be
Daubenheyer
McKenzie v. Daubenheyer
US District Court, District of New Mexico
February 18, 1977
Dear Mr Anonymous...thanks for info on Karl L. I was able to track him to Burlingame. As for Pam Sweeney, no such luck. Do you have any add'l info on her?
I think I found Pam Stanford thru her Falls High reunion website. I sent her a message. Thx.
I worked in the Health Lodge in 1975 at Philmont. Spoke to Paula McKenzie only briefly, but saw her around occasionally. Doctors had a 2 week rotation at Philmont, I believe. You could instantly tell she was a wonderful person.
I rode up in Air Force crane to the accident scene to retrieve the vehicle and occupants./victims.
I have always been troubled by such an unfortunate loss. I thought she ought to be remembered and think of that day from time to time. I was 23.
I stood on the spot where the accident happened within an hour or so and watched the vehicle being pulled up the slope. The road at that point is more than wide enough to have accommodated the two vehicles that had come face-to-face. The carry -all driven by JD backed up the road to the outside of a curve, with an incredibly steep drop-off, and dropped a wheel over the edge and the vehicle went over too.
The accident never should have happened. A senseless loss.
My oldest child, a son, graduated from medical school just 2 weeks ago. I have always felt a sense of sorrow for the McKenzie Family. As a parent it is an endeavor to follow and assist a child through a graduate school education, with the medical school process being particularly stressful.
I will always remember Paula because it ought to be done by somebody.
Trace
Philmont Ranger 1971, 1972, 1973
Philmont Environmentalist 1975
To All:
I would like to add a post script to my previous post.
I have driven a carry-all at Philmont on backcountry roads.
I want to mention the carry-all vehicle's peculiarities and how those affected the driver's perceptions.
They are big clumsy vehicles with poor visibility regarding the position of its wheels on the road surface.
The glass in vehicles back then was not tinted, so you could see out the windows in all directions but you could not see the ground behind the vehicle as the vehicle was designed to be high off the ground.
Apparently, two vehicles approached each other on a narrow part of the road, as I understand it, and the driver of the carry-all backed up the road to the outside of a curve. There was plenty of room, but I think that the clumsy size of the carry-all and lousy visibility of its position to the ground from the driver's seat contributed highly to the accident.
In hindsight, all of us would have avoided the accident, in one way or another, but I think the driver did (at that time) just what all (or certainly most of us Philmont licensed drivers) would have done at that time, not having the lesson of this accident to teach us.
To the driver, I think there appeared more than enough room to back the carry-all to permit the Ford Bronco to pass.
I am an attorney of 36 years now and am convinced that it was an extremely slight mis-judgment that caused a tragedy. Though the driver was at the wheel, I just cannot fault the driver, in my opinion.
In that situation, it was a very subtle mistake, very, very subtle, and with the "issue" of the confronting vehicle in front of him, the driver's attention is naturally directed forward toward the other oncoming vehicle, not to the back.
Trace
(I would also note that the prior comment of "an embankment" understates the topography. I was there and saw it.)
(I do not fault the commentator, as that person was probably not there and likely heard mention of it from someone.)
The slope was so steep as to be almost unwalkable It fell away for 200 or 300 feet to a stream buried in trees. That is an appalling distance to look at and consider falling down if you slipped. I thought that then. It was the steepest grade I had ever seen at Phil
ont in my 4 years there. I did not go down the slope as I thought it was unsafe to walk it and as one staff person had already headed down with a cable, only one should be risked. (In 1971, I ran and walked the entire length of Philmont in 11 hours 24 minutes-a record-and I know something of walkable and unwalkable at Philmont.)
With some effort and risk the staff member made it to the vehicle and attached a cable and then we retrieved the vehicle.
To all - regarding Mr. John Daubenheyer, who was driving the vehicle that killed Ms Paula McKenzie. He just recently passed away after being in ill health for some time. From what I was told, Ms McKenzie was his fiance at the time, and he never dated after that.
I read the comments about my sister Paula J. McKenzie with interest. I have been curious about John E. Daubenheyer over the years and wondered what he made of his life. He never had any relationship with Paula other than her driver the day she died. Paula worked at Philmont's Health Lodge as a MD the summer of 1975 and would have started her residency program in August. She was returning to the Health Lodge after stitching up an injured scout in the back country of Philmont when she was killed.
Hello Scott (and my condolences concerning your sister). I'm glad you mentioned that (about John never having a relationship with her except as driver) - as I was somewhat skeptical when I heard that by a supervisor at work one day, but just took it as face value. John worked for the Fed govt (office worker in DC) for many years until his retirement. Sadly, it wasn't uncommon for him to tell tall tales, and for the several years I worked near him, he seemed to have a very lackadaisical and non-interested attitude toward basically everything. I don't know if it had anything to do with the accident with your sister (as he never talked about it - I found out about it by accident via Google a few years ago believe it or not), but he was in bad health with medical problems the whole 8 years or so worked around him, and the impression I got was he let go of caring a long time ago, and it showed both in his attitude and his work ethic unfortunately. Again, my sincere condolences concerning Paula, she seemed like a very caring, dedicated young lady.
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