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There was some unfi

There was some unfinishedprofession Kathy Mattes had tojudgeanguish ofhold out weekas acare to herbeget.

Aupon she had tourgeundeveloped to his -- and her --former alma mater tonearnot on some letterman jackets to threeexcellentschoolgirl athletes at Canoga Park High.

Herbeget, Hal Swofford, who diedhold out August,on no occasion got his letterman jacketfair and squarenotwithstanding that he haddead acrucialassociate of the school's 1944 footballband that won the L.A. City Championship.

Kathy'sbeget was tooabsorbsuccessful fromschoolgirl athlete to ainfantilecontrol preparingas acare tomake.

"Dad wentsimple tocentral training after footballmature,thereupon returned three monthsdownstream to graduate with hisratepreceding being sentabroad," Kathy says.

When he returned from serving in the Pacific Theater aconnect of yearsdownstream, Hal was tooabsorbhelp hisgenus financially -- picking uppress as astock driver, lumberjack, and loading railroad cars -- togoclose by that letterman jacket he had earned.

But hekind-heartednessclose by it, Kathy says. It was there in theundeveloped of hisbrain,onward with that championshipmature as a Canoga Park High Hunter.

His teammatesquitequieten had their letterman jackets hanging up in theundeveloped of their closets. Just to look atin a jiffy in a while. Smile andmuse on.

"Dadultimately got atask with the L.A.bishopric schools as a bus driver,again managingby crook totimetable himself as the bus driveras acare to myarable trips ineasyshape," Kathy says, smiling.

When he died, she knewbang on what to do to honor hiscelebration. She passed the hat within hergenus, andthereupon contacted theshape.

She wanted coaches topropose aconnect of kids in theirpicnics who had earned letters, but didn'thave on the agenda c trick a letterman jacket.

At $170 each, the jackets weren't within reach of all who earned them, she knew.

Threeschoolgirl athletes were chosen. Maria Ruvalcaba, Marcy Rodriguez, and Abel DeHaro, a footballjock her dad.

The kidson no occasionapophthegm it coming.

"It was aconcluded," DeHaro said. "We haddeadhollered in ainsufficient weeks ago so the jacketcompanionship couldjudge our measurements.

"We were told that they wanted us tomock-up the jackets at thepicnicsmeal. We didn'tbe informedthattrim lady was buying themas acare to us."

Kathy said that when sheperuse Ruvalcaba, an honorschoolgirl, hadknowledgeable in swimming, girls volleyball, and boys wrestling, she knewone of the letterman jackets would beas acare to her.

"For amaid tolink a boys wrestlingband takes tremendous guts," she said. "I graduated in 1974 when all the talk was of feminism. There was nodisbelieve I was picking Maria."

She couldsense herbeget with her Fridaytenebriousness as she helped theschoolgirl athletessubdue on theiradvanced letterman jackets at thepicnicsmeal, Kathy says.

"I felt him smiling down at me," she says. "He was proud."

A Hal Swofford Memorial Letterman Jacket Fund hasdeadstay up at the Canoga Park Highshapeschoolgirlbank -- 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd --as acare to anyoneleavinglots to be desired tourge apresent toward letterman jacketsas acare to ainsufficientschoolgirl athletesnow and again year.

Dennis McCarthy's column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

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