What a Week

The October 1, 1975 Disneyland Line noted:

Leisure plans and carefree days are on the agenda for these Disneyland employees who retired this week. They will be taking with them countless memories and experiences as well as our warmest wishes. Each and everyone of them will be missed.

Following this is a list of 34 names. In these days the Line would normally only mention one or two people that may be retiring, if any. Later, the Line had a regular "Golden Ears" column that included a photo and paragraph describing retirement plans for long-tenured Cast Members. As I recognized many of the names on the list, it seemed an almost historic group of retirees. As of July 17, 1975, there were 109 Club 55 members. Five Club 55 members, or 4.6% of the total, retired this one week! Most of the other names I've come across several times thus far in my thesaurusing activities. Here is my annotated list of retirees, all drawn from the information I've already assembled:

• Howard Block: Employed at the Park for 20 years and served as a Foreman on most Park attractions.
  
• Helen De Masi: Decorating Department.
• Harry Dickey: Animation Department, Actuator Shop.
• Herman Falk: Paint Shop; received a 15-Year service award in November 1975.
• Eugene Galentine: Club 55 member of the Disneyland Fire Department.
• Kenneth Getty
• Robert Hanna: Retlaw Foreman on the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad; contributed to Backstage Disneyland ("Mainly on Main Street" column) and received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• Herman Heidel: In Disneyland's Plumbing Department since 1957; received a 15-Year service award in November 1975. In 1971 Herman was a representative on Disneyland's Maintenance Safety Committee (each Maintenance department had one) and in March 1974 had a winning Creative Idea to disperse a foam build-up on the Bear Country waterfall.
• Dorothea Heidemann: Merchandising; received a 10-Year service award in November 1973.
• Homer Holland: Club 55 member from Main Street Operations. Homer served on several committees (Employee Cafeteria Food Committee, Operations Safety Committee, Main Street Stage Safety Committee) and in September 1973 had a winning Creative Idea to mount rear-view mirrors on the Main Street horseless carriage and fire trucks.
• Steve Horvath
• Carolyn Hughes
• Edwin Johnson: Maintenance; received a 10-Year service award in November 1974. Served as the Maintenance coordinator for Disneyland's 1971 United Fund drive.
• Katherine Kilpatrick: New Orleans & Plaza Inn Kitchens.
• Lulu Miller: Club 55 member of Costuming. Lulu was known to everybody at the Park for her motherly ways. Stuff from the Park has a photo of Lulu taken in the late 1950s.
• George Kohlenberger: Sound Department; received a 10-Year service award in November 1975. With others (including my uncle), George helped maintain the first Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show at Disneyland.
• Walter Lindstedt: Maintenance; in 1972 participated in a 16-week blueprint reading class with other Maintenance Cast Members at the University of Disneyland.
• Urban Mendoza: New Orleans & Plaza Inn Kitchens.
• Adrian Munoz
• Ralph Myers: Finance Division; received a 10-Year service award in November 1973. Ralph was one of the original signers of the Charters of Organization for the DRC [Disneyland Recreation Club] Federal Credit Union (today's Partners Federal Credit Union).
• Charles Nichols: Came to Disneyland in 1959 at the request of Eddie Meck as the head of Disneyland's Photo Department; received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• Ethel Penfield: Worked at the Baby Station since 1957 (possibly from its very first day). In 1975 Ethel recalled, "One man came in with his family and told us that through the years I had helped change and feed all six of his kids!"
• John Power: Superintendent of the Electrical Department; received a 15-Year service award in November 1973.
• Fred Roamer
• Fran Salazar: With Landscaping since the late 1960s.
• Elias Salloum
• John Schimmelman
• Joe Soto: Landscaping; received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• Golvin Street: Main Gate Ticket Taker.
• Charlotte Teague
• Helen Westin
• John Westlake: Maintenance; received a 15-Year service award in November 1974.
• George Williams: Club 55 member and Mill Foreman.
  
• Hugh (Woody) Woodsworth: Club 55 member in Payroll.

That's quite a roster to walk out the door in one week!