Jutta's Report Stirs Herb's Memories

Hey Denny: You are right , a great addition to our memories from Jutta ! I serviced some of Jutta's father's Mercedes cars at my father's gas station in Keewaydin when Mr. Hagar worked for Curtiss-Wright in Quehanna in the 50's and early 60's.

I recall a 190D (diesel) sedan that he drove regularly to work. I did the oil changes, greasing, and general maintenance on the vehicle for a very particular customer who was immensely proud of his vehicles. I believe he brought other vehicles for service but I can't recall for sure, unable to distinguish (in memory) his from the fleet of Mercedes operated by C-W, which we also serviced for a few years until they established their own service garage at the Quehanna facility.

C-W also owned Studebaker-Packard during that time period so they also had those brand vehicles in their fleet. Roy Hurley was CEO of C-W at that time and kept a 300SL Gullwing coupe in Quehanna for his use when at the facility. That was a real RUNNER !!.

They also had Studebaker Golden Hawks which were unquestionably the hottest production vehicle of that time with their supercharged 289 V/8 as standard equipment.

Jutta's info stirred these memories for this old writer. Another interesting fact, Jutta's son Carl's friend is from Bellefonte, just 20 miles away ! It truly is a small world .

Thanks. M.L.(Herb) Maney

Jutta Hager Helps Take Blog to a New Level

From the beginning, this website was to be a lot of things -- certainly more than a trip down high school memory lane. It was conceived as a place to share news about our 50th anniversary reunion next year, photos, ideas and information about ourselves and our families from childhood to the present. Here’s how we put it in the very first post in April 2007: "Greetings, fellow members of Clearfield Area High School Class of 1959! This is your website, created especially for our 50th year reunion in 2009. Come early, come often and share your thoughts, insights and memories of the marvelous and not-so-marvelous moments we shared and all that has happened since."

Since then, we have shared many wonderful moments, photos and contributions– particularly from Joyce Moody, Herb Maney, Peggy Jo Knepp, Sue Sherkel and Karl Nagle, Sonia Borst, Peggy Borst, Orvie Kline, Tom O’Day, James Boron, Virginia Mabie, Barb Martell and others.

Lea Davidson, Ann Bartley and Phil Graham also have sent a number of great photos which will be posted in the near future.

We also have had some laughs. Who can forget Wilbur Shirey and the mythical girl scouts who invited him to his fantasy dances at non-existent venues in the Eighth Grade – and the back-and-forth chatter that ensued from his story?

Then there was Orvie Kline’s memory of a smiling Herb Maney posing for a Bison photo and stymieing Keith Knepp’s attempt to load a nuclear fission exhibit into a van.

Amidst all this, only few of us – primarily James Boron (See April 19 posting below), Wil Shirey and the blogmeister - have shared anything resembling a “life story.”

This has changed.

We are delighted to present (drum roll, please) the delightful, serious, studious, brainy, high-achieving Jutta Hager, who came through last week with some marvelous photos. With some gentle prodding, she produced even more.

Jutta says she looks forward to attending our 50th anniversary reunion next year, and we certainly look forward to visiting with her.

So, without further ado, we present the life and times of Jutta Hager, with photo captions in her own words. Here’s hoping Jutta’s response inspires other classmates to come forth with their own stories and photos.

- Dennis Mollura

Jutta Hager - In Her Own Words

Except for a year in Washington, DC., I've lived in the Boston area since coming here for college. After working for several years as an editor of earth science textbooks, I went back to school in geology (why not?).

After getting my Ph.D. in 1978 I taught on and off, but have been in consulting since 1984 and for the last 15 years have had my own (small) company ( See http://www.hagergeoscience.com/).

(Editor's Note – Jutta is overly modest. Check out her company's website. You will be impressed.)

I have a significant other, but no husband (divorced 2), 4 stepchildren and one son, who graduated from Northeastern in Boston and is currently finishing his first year of medical school at USC in Los Angeles.

I couldn't make the reunion planning meeting of April 5th, but am definitely planning on getting to the reunion next August.

- Jutta Hager

Jutta and Her Mercedes 190 SL, As Beautiful as We Remember

Hi Dennis, You are correct. The car was a 190 SL, and that is Margaret Long. The other girl in the car is a German friend from my pre-Clearfield days, who was visiting at the time. Her father was a colleague of my father's in Huntsville, Alabama, where we lived in the early 1950's. My father gave me the car in pristine condition as a wedding present in 1964, so I got to drive it around the Boston area for a while. The sad tale is that the maintenance and insurance costs were so high that I eventually had to sell it.

Jutta with Son, Carl

Here I am with my son, Carl, who started medical school in LA last fall. There were some tough times during his teens, so I'm especially proud of his accomplishments. As seems typical of many in his generation, he's both adventurous and idealistic--he'll be volunteering this summer in Uganda at an AIDS clinic--and plans to climb Mt Kilimanjaro on his way back home.... His girlfriend is from Bellefonte, and my visiting her family brought about a recent Clearfield photo (see below).

Visit to Former Home on West Cherry Street

Photo in front of my old house in Clearfield last summer. I was visiting friends in Bellefonte, and they thought it would be fun to drive over, since I hadn't been back since we moved my freshman year in college.

Christmas in Clearfield

Jutta & Josie

I don't know what you've heard from other alums relative to the reunion, but I had a wonderful time going through old photos (my mother, who died in 1996, saved them all). What's interesting to me is that thinking about those days got me back into horseback riding, which I really loved, and I've been taking lessons here since last September. It's very relaxing and a great stress reliever.