Peter Glass - a name which conjures interesting memories. I
first met Peter in 1980 at West Valley High School in Fairbanks, AK
where he was doing his intership in couseling. What made Peter stand
out among the 70 or so teachers there was when he burst into the
staff lounge annoucing, "Jeeze (or maybe Jesus) I don't know how you
guys can stand it here - there are sooo many beautiful chics with
great bodies!" It was probably one of the most improbable things for
a male teacher in a high school to say much less a counselor who
would possibly be alone with students including female students.
Those of us whom knew 
Peter
surely knew he was horny but to pronounce it when and where he did
was outrageous and of course Peter. Later I got to know Peter better
when he became the counselor at Barnette and elementary school. Peter
ranked very highly among teachers as a sincere helpful counselor that
was good for kids. His single problem was that he was so sincere and
truly concerned he couldn't let go of the problems he heard - his
compassion and desire to help coupled with the knowledge of the many
problems of very young kids ate at him until he had to give up the
job and move on. The final thing I remember about the 'Reet' was his
infamous cartoon of Stan "the man" Luj'an, an asshole of a principal
who he knew in the bush and who then got a job here in Fairbanks. We
shared a mutual dislike of this 'less than a man' person and Peter
often sent me Lu'jan jokes and cartoons. -
Alexander McFarlane
My name is Fred Bongiovanni. I'm in Fairbanks Alaska and am
sending you info on Peter. I never got used to calling hime "The
Reet" as most of his other friends do. We are good friends though.
You've been sending stuff to my other new address. I've enjoyed
reading all of it. Like Peter was, I am a counselor too. I knew Peter
had friends far and wide. I've heard many of the names in
conversations and phone calls to Peter over the years. It might be
good to place some faces to the names since a few of you "outside"
friends already know each other. I've know Peter since about 1984 or
so. He left Alaska in 1988 but we've always kept in touch. I even got
to spend a few days with him last July. He and I stayed at a hotel
together in L.A. He drove down from Santa Barbara. Together we drove
down to friends of mine in the San Diego and Oceanside area. We went
to the Comic Book Convention together. I even got to see his movie.
He gave me a copy. I'm passing it onto old friends of Peter. The last
time I saw him was in in 1990 on my way to Australia. My whole family
loves Peter. My wife was cleaning the house out a bit this summer and
has collected photos, letters, postcards and artwork of Peter's. I
even have part of a video I took of him when we went salmon fishing
together a few years back. I will get the tech people at my school to
try and help me get it all to you. If not I will send some to you via
snail mail. Not sure how to do the movie but I'm sure they know how.
It's 11pm so I've gotta crash now. Looking forward to reading more
about the "INCREDIBLE REET"! -Fred
Bongiovanni.
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October 24, 1981 at the wedding reception of
Billy Rogers in the basement of the Eagles Hall in
Fairbanks. Billy wrote, "Is that the look of the Reet who
unbeknownst to him will be getting oral attention in the
parking lot that night from one of the
bridesmaids?"
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In this second picture he's dancing with her
.
But we're not telling which one she
is...
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Billy's
Wedding
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After much searching, I was able to find only one Reet
artifact in my archives, however, it is fairly cool: 
an
ad from the University of Alaska Fairbanks student newspaper (The
Polar Star -- not sure of the year - early '80s is as close as I can
get -- '82 or '83? I managed the club from August 1978- August '83 --
so it had to be in that time frame -- going senile I guess ...
Perhaps Paul Sugar or Pat Fitzgerald can help pin the year down if it
matters. The ad indicates that you can catch "The Best of The Reet"
at The Pub (note that it was a three hour show and he was in good
company -- he shared the stage that week with John Hammond! and the
Alaskan musicians Teij, Jim Passard and Banish Misfortune). For the
years I new Reet in Alaska, Devo was king. I mean that was who he
worshipped at that time. He knew everything about Devo and loved to
talk about them and would get a kick when I played there stuff in the
club. I still have cassettes he made for me of pirated Devo songs.
Anyway, that is a big part of my memories about the Reet. I was
hoping to find a picture of him in his devo suit that he would rip
off at the beginning of his performances, but no such luck. Reet and
I crossed paths a lot. He was a great fan of the musician Pat
Fitzgerald and his bands that I hired frequently. He also was a great
supporter of my movie program so he liked to hang out in the club.
When he approached me about performing, I was nervous at first but
then grateful to have him perform. His performances were unique,
wonderful, weird and totally off the wall; a breath of fresh air for
the Fairbanks crowd. I moved to Santa Barbara in 1985, and after
several months I was surprised to find out that the Reet was in town,
but we crossed paths rarely -- usually in a video store. It wasn't
until I moved to Texas in 1998 that the Reet contacted me and we have
been emailing each other occasionally since.
- Robert George (former manager
of the Wood Center Pub where the Reet performed)
Hello from Bethel, Alaska. Reet did some shows with my husband too
in Fairbanks, AK - Paul Sugar. I think we may have a recording of the
"Jews Brothers." Are there audio capabilities? Also, we have pictures
from our drive south with the Reet when he moved from AK. Also, I'm
sure Paul has rememberances he can share from the Pub and Solstice.
He is in Canada right now and will be sure he sees emails when he
gets home.. - Cyndee Sugar
(some time later...)
I met the Reet at the University in Fairbanks, Alaska. I'd seen
him around on campus and at the international cinema program, but I'd
never really talked with him. One fall evening in 1980 the Pub on
campus was showing Zappa's "200 Motels." As fate would have it, I
wound up right behind the Reet. As the movie started and I began
singing along with all the songs Reet turned around and said to me,
"I'm impressed that you know all the words, but I really came to hear
Frank and the boys do the singing." I said, "That sounds fair
enough." That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. -
Paul Sugar
I became Reet's and his infamous
roommate/teaching partner's (Jimmy Joe Izzolo from Queens, NY), point
of contact whenever they came to Anchorage for R &R or if they
needed supplies from "civilization." Whenever there was an
Anchorage-based conference or convention for teachers, or a holiday
break, Reet and Jimmy would come into town and stay at my place.
During this period we referred to Jimmy Joe as the "drunken sailor,"
because of the way he would spend money and buy everything in site to
compensate for his long, dark months of deprivation in the "bush."
They would share lots of wonderful stories that included tales of
their experiences living in the Yupiik Eskimo culture. I remember a
great 8mm film that the Reet had of his fishing through a hole in the
ice and pulling out gobs of eels that were migrating up the river
during the winter. I can still picture the scene with a gooey mass
of slithering eels at Reet's feet, as he laughed in his arctic parka
at the spectacle. Jimmy had a husky that he brought with them to
Anchorage at times. I remember him bringing whole frozen salmon to
feed Homer. He would chop the fish in half with a hatchet and give
the dog the "fishcicle." Eventually Reet tired of life in the bush
and working for autocratic administrators who were transplanted along
with their cronies from Oklahoma into their remote kingdoms. The
Reet had a series of confrontations and disagreements with his
principal Clyde, and decided it was time to move on. He moved to
Fairbanks to persue his Master's in school counseling. I visited him
periodically when I passed through Fairbanks when my visits to other
rural schools in Alaska allowed for stopovers. It was in Fairbanks
that Reet developed many lasting relationships with friends that he
made while going to school and working in Fairbanks. Some of these
connections (like Paul & Cindy Sugar) have remained friends of
mine also over the years. Reet had a wonderful little house in
Fairbanks that was a virtual museum of his life and interests. Every
square inch was covered with albums, comic books, and memorabilia.
During this era, Reet was the best man in my wedding during the
summer of 1982. In the near future I'll try to provide you with some
photos of the Reet , tux and all during this festive event. One of
best recollections of Reet's antics at the wedding reception was his
playing of the "William Tell Overture" on his teeth on stage with the
band. He then sang his rendition of "Jamaica Farewell " with the
band to the delight of all, except that of my new mother-in-law. As
a career military wife of a Marine Colonel, the sight of Jewish boy
from Queens on stage telling her to relax was not what she had
envisioned as the dream wedding reception for her favorite daughter.
Another milestone of the wedding reception was that it was here that
he connected with Kathy Apple, a relationship that continued
long-distance (Fairbanks-Anchorage) but eventually did not work out.
I believe that Reet maintains contact with the Apple who has since
moved to Reno. I'm not sure what led to the build up of self-doubt
and existential questioning, but Reet began to question his career
choice, his skills in the field of education, and what he wanted to
do with his life. I think a lot of it may have been due to the
cumulative effect of "cabin fever" and too many long, cold, dark
winters. These can have a way of making everything look bleak.
Whatever the reasons, Reet decided to pack it up and head out of
Dodge. This was no simple task. He had to give up his house,
because the real estate market had collapsed with the crash in the
oil industry which drives the economy in Alaska . The bank took back
the house after Reet's departure from Alaska, and the Reet was living
on the road. - Wayne
Binns
Reet & I remained in touch during his time in Alaska, and I
remember a visit in 1980 by him to California, when we had front row
seats to Devo in San Francisco. Yes it's the live shows that we went
to that I remember most fondly. - da
jeff
These pictures are from Billy Roger's collection.
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Gulkana fishing trip pictures with the King salmon.
"That was a great trip. The photo with Reet changing his
underwear was great. Him and Brian Carter had just got stuck
in the water fall at Canyon Rapids on the Gulkana and were
totally soaked. Of course Brian said it was the Lord who
saved them and Reet argued it was his good Karma. It was a
hellava trip. Peter's fish was the largest of all we caught
weighing in the 40-45lb range which is a big fish on the
Gulkana." - Billy
Rogers
even this poor dog looks embarrassed
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gee, Guess who the uncle is...
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well.. it ain't the goodyear blimp,
but if ya hang on real tight... and a good stiff wind comes
up...
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For the other Alaska Art. and pix
.go here.
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where have we seen this wooly hat
fashion statement before??
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