Waltrip High School
Class Of 1967
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- 50th Reunion JUNE 2-4, 2017
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- 30th Reunion 1997
- 25th Reunion 1992
- 20th Reunion 1987
- 15th Reunion 1982
- 10th Reunion 1977
- 5th Reunion 1972
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- Ribbon Cutting OCT 20, 2017
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Steven Baker
Residing In: | Santa Rosa, CA USA |
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Spouse/Partner: | Melania Kang |
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Occupation: | Retired |
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Children: | Adrian, born 1992 Laurel, born 1994 Noah, born 1998 |
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My wife and I have been together since 1979. In 1983, we started a movie catering company based out of the Dallas area. We provided the food for the cast and crew. We were mainly working for film companies that were based out of New York and Los Angeles and were filming in Texas. In early 1986, we catered the Coen Brothers movie "Raising Arizona", and then, later in the year, were asked to cater a movie to be filmed in Lake Lure, North Carolina - "Dirty Dancing". I had been a good friend of Vicki Swayze (Waltrip and College) and her Mother Patsy and had known her younger brother Patrick (Buddy) since he was fourteen, so it was fun to see him. Small world.
After we finished that job, we opened a cafe in San Francisco in 1987. In 2017, the City of San Francisco awarded us it's "Legacy Heritage" status. We recently sold the business after 33 years of operation. It was a good, long run. I'm now a volunteer driver for Catholic Charities.
We live in Sonoma County, about an hour's drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge.
As a joke, my brother Ronnie nominated me for "Most Handsome Senior". I went down to the office to pay the $3.00 fee, and the clerk told me the one other person who had been nominated had dropped out, so I was automatically the winner by default. My friends really got a laugh out of that. The final note: my last name in the photo is printed as "Bakey" instead of Baker....
Another memory: I was friends with Gary Barton, who was Vicki Swayze's boyfriend at the time. Gary called me one Friday night and asked if I'd like to join him in "egging" Coach Burton's house in the Oak Forest neighborhood near Waltrip. Gary drove a green Volkswagen at the time, and I drove a blue Volkswagen. We stopped by a local "U Totem" store and bought eggs. We drove up across the front yard of Coach Burton's house, and our friends who were "riding shotgun" (passenger side) threw the eggs at the house. Louis Calderera was riding in my car.....
Vicki Swayze happened to read the "minutes" each morning in the main office before classes started. That following Monday, she heard from the faculty that the Coach's house had been egged, and that whoever had done it had been driving a Volkswagen. A baby-sitter at the Coach's house had seen a Volkswagen speed across the front lawn. Vicki alerted Gary and me that we were going to be called in and questioned. On Tuesday, Assistant Principal Burch called me in to his office. He said someone driving a Volkswagen had "egged" Coach Burton's house, and wanted to know if I knew anything about it, especially since they had the names of any kid who drove a Volkswagen. I told him I had been at home studying, and that i didn't know anything about the incident. Gary made up some story, too...
Vicki passed away in the 1990's, and I found out that Gary Barton also passed away recently....they were good friends.
Steven's Latest Interactions
Posted on: Mar 07, 2024 at 3:02 PM
Happy (belated) birthday Debbie! I hope you and Carol are doing well-I will always have the best memories of you and your family.
Is it already really time for another birthday, Glenn?!?! Do these years seem to be flying past? Hope you enjoy the coming year!
Happy Birthday Kathi! May the coming year be a wonderful one for you.
Posted on: Oct 14, 2023 at 2:53 PM
Hi Tina - well, I better say "Happy Birthday" now before it slips my mind to do so on 10/21! May the coming year bring you good health, peace, happiness and an enjoyment of every day!
Posted on: Sep 20, 2023 at 4:33 AM
Happy birthday Judi! Hope things are going good down Lockhart way!
Posted on: Jul 01, 2023 at 2:52 AM
Last month I backpacked into the Grand Canyon with my two sons and camped for two nights under the stars. It was a great trip: perfect weather, spectacular scenery and very few people. One of my sons and I had hiked in and camped there in 2019. We decided to do it again this year and my other son joined us. It's one of my favorite places on earth. I especially like hiking down in the morning and enjoying the awe-inspiring vistas as the sun arcs across the canyon. And you can't believe how beautiful the nighttime sky looks, too. Nature at it's finest. We plan on doing it one more time next year.
Happy Birthday Ann!
Posted on: Mar 20, 2023 at 11:41 AM
Happy birthday, Martha! All the best to you on your special day.
Oh, what a nice guy Gil was. I'm so glad I attended Waltrip's 50th in 2017 and spent some time with him sharing some fun, great memories from so long ago. I messaged his brother earlier when I heard this sad news and let him know what many of you already know: Gil was just a great guy. Rest in peace, old friend.
Oh, what a nice guy Gil was. I'm so glad I attended Waltrip's 50th in 2017 and spent some time with him sharing some fun, great memories from so long ago. I messaged his brother earlier when I heard this sad news and let him know what many of you already know: Gil was just a great guy. Rest in peace, old friend.
(EDITED to add:)
PLEASE take a look at this.
KHOU TV July 19, 2019
HOUSTON — The family of former Mayor Louis Welch found footage of the Apollo 11 launch missing for 50 years.
Most of the family had never seen the films until now.
Cameron Welch brought two 8mm reels to KHOU 11 News studios to see them for the first time.
“I’m very anxious," he said. "Hopefully it works.”
The film was shot by Gil Welch - Cameron's uncle, who for years claimed to see history with VIP stars when he was 19.
CLICK ON THIS LINK:
Former mayor’s family finds Apollo 11 film missing for 50 years | khou.com
Posted on: Feb 23, 2023 at 12:21 PM
Looks like it may be time to put another candle on that cake, Glenn! I hope it's a good year for you and Stacey.
Posted on: Jan 19, 2023 at 8:06 PM
Happy Birthday Butch! All the best to you in the coming year! Things are going good out here in California - except for all the rain, which has finally tapered off!
-I have special memories of Vicky. She was a wonderful, talented, caring person. We were friends at Waltrip, attended the same college together, and both lived in the Montrose area with the same circle of friends. We shared many fun/wacky times. Here are a few:
-Vicky would call me and several friends occassionally to help her Mom Patsy with a dance recital when they were held at the Waltrip auditorium, generally on a Saturday afternoon. Patsy had a dance studio and would need help with lighting, sound, scenery sets, etc. Pat Ballard ('66) and I got the call to help, and on that particular day, had a few beers before we went over to help. Five minutes before the show, Vicky and her Mom came up to me backstage and begged me to go out and dedicate the performance to their former seamstress, who had passed away the previous week. I really didn't want to, but did it anyway. I nervously walked out in front of the curtain, a hush fell over the audience, and I made a rambling, impromptu speech about a person I had never met. When I walked backstage, Vicky came up and thanked me, and then said: "It was a great speech, but you forgot to mention her name!"
-One day in the summer of 1966, Vicky stopped by my house for a visit. I had been over to her house several times (I was also friends with her boyfriend Gary Barton) but had not met any of her siblings. This time she brought along her 14 year old brother "Buddy" (Patrick) During the visit, she mentioned how strong Buddy was for his age, and thought he could beat me in arm wrestling. (No way, I thought- he's 14, I'm 17) We got down on the floor in the living room, and I couldn't believe how strong this kid was. I barely won.
-One time, Vicky's boyfriend Gary me asked to help him "egg" Coach Burton's house. We drove to a 7-11 around 9:00 one Friday night, picked up several dozen eggs, and drove over to the Coach's house. Gary was in his green VW, and I was driving my VW and we both had friends riding in our cars. I followed him up onto the front lawn and we egged the house. The folowing week, Vicky, who usually read the "morning minutes" over the PA system, heard in the office one morning that any kid who drove a VW was going to be questioned, because a babysitter had looked out the Coach's window and had seen a VW drive across the front lawn. She immediately tipped Gary and I that we were going to be called in for questioning by Assistant Principal Burch. Later, when we were summoned to his office, we calmly provided an alibi ("I was home studying") Thanks, Vicky!
-My parents had a beach house on Trinity Bay in Baytown. I decided to have a party there - without clearing it first with my parents. There were about a dozen of us, including Vicky and Gary, in addition to cases of beer. The party went on late into the night and the following day. About 10:00 the next morning, a friend called her Mom to let her know she'd be back home that afternoon. She had previously told her Mom about the party at my parent's bay house. Her Mom mentioned my Dad had called that morning and was trying to locate me, so she told him about the party, which she assumed he knew about. He said he'd drive down and check things out. When I heard that, I sounded the alarm for everyone to help clean up and get out ASAP. We grabbed trash bags and picked up beer bottles and food containers and other incriminatiog evidence, cleaned the place, jumped in our cars, and made it out before my Dad arrived. He never asked me about it...although I told him about it decades later.
-I had heard through friends in the mid-70's that Vicky had moved out to the LA area and was helping her Mom in her dance studio (Her family had moved to that area.) She also had been teaching English as a first language, had met a man taking one of her classes, and later got married to him. They had several children. Later, as her issues became more pronounced, they divorced and he gained custody of the kids.
-My wife and I had a film catering business in the 1980's. The last project we did was "Dirty Dancing" which was filmed in Lake Lure, North Carolina in 1986. It was quite coincidental that Patrick was in the cast - we spent time tallking about Vicky and his Mom and lots of memories from Waltrip, Oak Forest, Houston, etc. When he got back to California, he gave my contact info to Vicky, who got in touch with me. That was the last time I heard from her.
-In 2016, my wife and I were living in Sonoma County, which is about an hour's drive North of San Francisco. We decided to take a trip to southern California to visit a certain state park. Part of the trip would be by train, and the rest would be by rental car. It just so happened the train stopped in Simi Valley, where we were staying that first night. Simi Valley "rang a bell." I remembered Vicky was buried there, along with her Mom and Dad. I got up the next morning, located the cemetery, and drove over to visit her gravesite. I took a photo of the engraving, and sent it out to mutual friends. It was poignant. So many special memories etched forever in my mind about a time so long ago.
Posted on: Sep 20, 2022 at 1:24 PM
Hope you’re having a blessed Happy Birthday Steven.
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