Class of '76 Favors a "Happy 50th Birthday" Celebration Next Year

Everybody loves a good party. And, if the results of our latest online poll are any indication, our classmates would like nothing more than to get together for another celebration next year.

Inspired by the Andrew Warde High School Class of 1975 and its planned "Happy 50th Birthday" celebration, nearly 60 percent of the respondents to our latest poll indicated that they would like to commemorate the milestone with another get-together.

Twenty-two of the 37 participants (59%) indicated they would be interested in celebrating our 50th birthdays with a party, but not nearly on the scale of our 30-year reunion. A quarter of those responding (nine votes) favored a reunion similar to the highly-successful bash which was held last year.

Eight percent preferred to wait for our 40th reunion, while two people (5%) weren't sure, and one person didn't think a party was necessary. Here are the results of the survey:

We grew up during a very special time in Fairfield. The town was experiencing tremendous growth in the mid-to-late 1950s, and several neighborhoods, schools, and commercial establishments were being built. My neighborhood in Lake Hills was one of several neighborhoods developed a half-century ago.

Andrew Warde High School celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and I'll be the emcee at Osborn Hill School's 50th anniversary observance in November. Holland Hill School acknowledged its 50th anniversary earlier this year, too. Heck, even Leave It to Beaver is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a marathon weekend on TV Land in October.

Based on the number of informal get-togethers we've had since our 30-year reunion, it's safe to say another party should be in the works next year.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."

Mr. Raslavsky's Lasting Legacy at Andrew Warde High School

This is the latest installment in a feature series on former teachers, administrators, coaches, and students at Andrew Warde High School. If you have a suggestion for a feature story or would like to contribute an article, please send me an email at pppiorek@news12.com.

Mr. Tom Raslavsky spent over a quarter of a century at Andrew Warde and Fairfield high schools teaching English composition and grading student essays. However, his fondest memory of his time at the Melville Avenue campus had little to do with Language Arts.

The greatest lessons he ever taught had nothing to do with expository or creative writing and everything to do with teaching high school students about the importance of volunteering, giving back, and being charitable. Those lessons last a lifetime.

"I started a volunteer group to help the American Cancer Society," Mr. Raslavsky told me this morning on the telephone from his home in Shelton where he lives with his wife. "(It was called) Youth for the American Cancer Society.

"It was a volunteer group, and I was the advisor to the group. We accomplished a lot of things as far as fundraising goes. We had a walk every year for 'Camp for Kids in the Sun,'" he added.

The camp, according to Mr. Raslavsky, was located in Hebron, Connecticut. He told me that knowing someone who was suffering from cancer was the inspiration for his involvement with the American Cancer Society.

Mr. Raslavsky, one of the many outstanding faculty members of Wolcott House, initially became involved with the American Cancer Society as a volunteer, and he decided to get the high school students involved in a good cause. He said the youth group was active for a good "six to ten years."

Mr. Raslavsky began his teaching career at Andrew Warde High School in 1970, a year after a one-year teaching position at Rippowam High School in Stamford. He attended college at the University of Bridgeport and Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven before student teaching at nearby Trumbull High School.

Obviously, the classroom has changed a lot over the last 10 to 15 years. Does he often wonder what teaching English and Language Arts would have been like if he and the students had any of the modern technology we take for granted today?

"For teaching English, we'd be using the computers," he laughed. "I'd be instructing on a monitor instead of a blackboard."

Mr. Raslavsky eventually retired from the classroom at Fairfield High School in 1996 after spending 27 years at Warde and Fairfield high schools. This typist had Mr. Raslavsky for English class over 30 years ago. I'm sure Mr. Raslavsky's dedication to his career and students and his passion for writing, to some degree, influenced me to become a ten-year teacher of English at the middle school level and author of this blog.

Mr. Raslavsky also taught his high school students the importance of volunteering and helping with a charitable cause. That, my friends, is a true educator.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."

From the Class of 1976 Mailbag

Hi, Paul.

I am very grateful for the wonderful work that you and Tony are doing with the 'Blog' and 'Reunion Website.'

I haven't felt this connected to high school and our class since, well, high school. The added beauty of the internet is learning about classmates that I didn't know in school and hearing from 'long lost' friends. It's like gaining a whole set of 'new' friends, all with the same special connection to the magical time of our youth.

I really enjoyed your story on 'Coach' Tetreau and the 1959 state championship team. In fact, I think you should consider an 'Andrew Warde H.S. 1959 State Football Champions' sweatshirt for your gift shop. I know that it's not about 1976, but I would take pride in buying one.

I look forward to the continued updates. Thanks again for keeping the 'Spirit of '76' alive.

Regards.

Michael Fetcho
Sharon, MA

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."

Andrew Warde High School Vintage "Film" from 1976 Brings Back Memories

  

Here it is: the vintage 1976 "film" from our senior year at Andrew Warde High School! This eight-minute-plus film highlights students, teachers, administrators, coaches, sports teams, several classes, lunch in the cafeteria, the library, and so much more. It's the same film we saw at our 30-year reunion.

I'd be remiss if I didn't send out special thanks to Joe Malgioglio for providing me with this video of our days at Andrew Warde High School. Many classmates expressed my sentiments. It was eerie watching the video. It seemed ancient, and it felt as if we were watching film from the 1920s. The unsteady black-and-white footage without sound provided a stark contrast of the "technology" back then with what we have today.

Special thanks to DarrylO.com in Fairfield for uploading the film to my Web site. I highly recommend Darrylo.com for all your Web site needs.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this. Please let me know what you think. I would appreciate it if you would take some time to sign my Guest Book. Also, please consider purchasing an item or two from the Gift Shop to help support the blog. I would be most grateful.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.
Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

New Gridiron Season Recalls Fall of 1975

The Fairfield Warde Mustangs, direct descendants of our Andrew Warde Crimson Eagles, begin their varsity football season this Saturday afternoon at home against Wilton High School. Kickoff is at 1:30 at the newly-christened Tetreau-Davis Field. The Warriors defeated the Eagles, 29-12, during our senior year at Warde.

Naturally, the start of another high school football season brings back memories of Fall weekends during our years at Warde, especially the Autumn of 1975. That's when the the Eagles defeated arch-rival Roger Ludlowe High School twice in the same season.

According to our research, that's the only time in the long and storied rivalry between the two schools that it's ever happened. Unfortunately, it also marked the only two triumphs for the Coach Bill Davis-led gridders during the 1975 season.

How well do you remember the 1975 football season at Warde? The Crimson Eagles actually began the campaign with a game against another town rival. Perennial power Fairfield Prep defeated Warde, 28-10, in the season lidlifter. Remember, in those days, Prep was a member of the Metropolitan Bridgeport Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which no longer exists today. The Jesuits consistently fielded strong teams in the 1970s.

The next four games were nightmares. Warde was outscored 128-7 and shut out three times by Danbury, Trumbull, and New Canaan, respectively. Although the Eagles scored 21 points the next week in a 20-point loss to Westhill, they were blanked, 12-0, the following week by Ridgefield.

So, after starting the campaign with seven consecutive losses and four shutouts, the Crimson Eagles finally hosted Ludlowe. They beat the Flying Tigers convincingly, 27-13, for their first taste of victory. They "improved" to 1-7 on the season.

Not surprisingly, Warde was blanked the following week in a 33-0 loss to Darien. After the aforementioned defeat at the hands of Wilton, our heroes concluded the season by traveling cross-town to complete a two-game sweep of Ludlowe by beating the Tigers, 28-6, on Thanksgiving Day.

"Thanksgiving Day was always a football day," Bill Davis' brother, Tom, told me prior to the field dedication ceremony last year. "It was an enjoyable day. We were thankful that we won every Thanksgiving we played." He pointed out that during his playing days, Warde took on Kolbe in the annual Turkey Day rivalry. Davis said the Eagles never lost a Thanksgiving Day contest against Kolbe when he attended Warde.

Despite the 2-9 campaign, the high school football experience during our senior year was fun and exciting. Watching the games at our Melville Avenue campus every Saturday afternoon gave us the opportunity to get together with classmates and develop meaningful friendships which have continued to this day.

Four players gained individual honors for their fine play duirng the season. Tom Skultety was awarded honorable mention from the FCIAC and was also rated second team Class AA by the Bridgeport Post. Glen Brown achieved honorable mention status in both the FCIAC and Post ratings. Steve Cameron and Steve Baxter also hearned honorable mention status in the Bridgeport Post ratings.

What are your memories of going to watch the Warde Crimson Eagles play football? I'd like to hear from you.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

Grammar School Follow-Up

Classmate Joe O'Brien wrote a follow-up to the article on our grammar school days. He has been an electrical engineer for 25 years in the Chicago area. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Lombard, Illinois, with their three children, Steve (8), Kate (6), and Patrick(2).

Hi, Paul.

I have enjoyed your AWHS blog for the last year. About once a month I log in to read it. I especially enjoyed the article with (Ed) Lominsky since I had him as a JV basketball coach and for Algebra.

A comment on your grammar school survey: I attended several Fairfield grammar schools, including Lincoln (K), Assumption (1-4), Stratfield (5,6), and St Emery's (7) prior to AWHS (9-12).

Although I consider myself a Stratfield alum, a few of our AWHS classmates went to St. Emery's School at 838 Kings Highway in Fairfield (John Danko, John Churchill, Mark Hughes, Gabriela Foyto are some of the folks that come to mind). When I was back for the reunion last year I stopped by the school and it has apparently been renamed as part a merger and is now "St. Augustine School at St. Emery's Parish." The school is up the hill behind the church and I always thought it was pretty cool that they had a large gym which Assumption did not have.

Joe O'Brien

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

Assumption School to Hold 35-Year Reunion

Andrew Warde High School's Class of 1976 30-year reunion committee president Tony Procaccini is spearheading another reunion this Fall. Procaccini was one of a large group of classmates who attended Assumption School in Fairfield.

Our Lady of the Assumption School Class of 1972 will hold its 35-year reunion on Saturday evening, October 27, 2007 at Cinzano's Restaurant, 1920 Black Rock Turnpike.

According to Tony Procaccini, a class member and chief organizer of the group’s four previous reunions and the 2007 event, "Our turnout rates have been in the 40-45 % range, and we hope that this year's edition will equal or even outdo those figures."

The class recently started its own Website, which is undoubtedly unique for a grammar school class. However, Procaccini says that "having our own class Web is really not that surprising, since the group’s members have stayed in touch continually since our first reunion in 1982. I see this as a natural follow-up to our activities over the years. The class also lends support to its members and their families in time of need, thus our connection is more than just one of friendship."

A small committee has been working hard at making the event successful in many ways. In a new touch, invitations were extended to former teachers Pat Brennan and Joe Odoardi, the school's current principal, Ms. Gerrie Desio, as well as the school's Alumni Association president Greg Matera. Advanced technology is helping, too: the Website serves as a focal point for classmates to RSVP, add their profiles, and post photos past and present, too.

Classmates (attendees and non-attendees) and all others are asked to help the class by buying raffle tickets, which can be done by following instructions on the class Website (given below). Prizes include seven books by alumnus and award-winning author/journalist Lenore Skomal, a one-time columnist for the Connecticut Post.

For more information, visit www.olas1972.myevent.com or call Tony Procaccini at 718-545-3089.

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

And the Winner Is .... McKinley School!

Where did you go to elementary school in Fairfield? If our recent online poll is any indication, it was most likely McKinley School.

Nearly a quarter of those taking the poll attended the original and storied elementary school on Thompson Street on the East side of town.

In fact, the three most popular elementary schools were McKinley, Jennings, and Stratfield schools, all of which are located within walking distance of Warde High School. Thirty-three of the 54 respondents attended one of those three schools.

North Stratfield, Holland Hill, and Osborn Hill each received five votes. This typist attended Osborn Hill, but only a handful of graduates from OHS eventually attended Andrew Warde High School. That's because many students who attended the Stillson Road School were transferred from Osborn Hill to Jennings when that school opened in 1967.

I have the honor of emceeing Osborn Hill School's 50th anniversary celebration on Friday, November 9, on the 50th day of school this year. I may even be hosting my LIVE morning weathercasts on News 12 Connecticut from my kindergarten classroom.

Not surprisingly, I didn't receive one email from anyone who may have attended Riverfield, Mill Hill, Timothy Dwight, or Roger Sherman schools. Those schools, located on the Western side of town, eventually fed into Roger Ludlowe High School.

Today, McKinley, Jennings, Stratfield, North Stratfield, and the new Burr School feed into Fairfield Woods Middle School and Fairfield Warde High School.

How well do you remember your grammar school days? Do you care to share any memories or photos? Here's a class photo of the sixth-grade graduates from Jennings School from 1970. Remember, in those days elementary school consisted of grades kindergarten through six and junior high school was for seventh- and eighth-graders.

Jennings was the town's newest elementary school by 1970, located on Palm Drive and adjacent to Fairfield Woods Junior High School and Fairfield Woods branch library. Jennings School continues its tradition of academic excellence today.

Finally, how many Warde graduates attended kindergarten at Lincoln School on Jackman Avenue? The school closed following our kindergarten year. Does anyone have photos from Lincoln School? I'd be more than happy to post your comments, stories, or photos.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.