This Year's Warde Mustangs Homecoming Football Game Needed the 1976 Crimson Eagles Band

Fairfield Warde High School held its annual homecoming football game last Saturday, and my son and I enjoyed the festivities at the school. Naturally, we saw many neighbors, and I had the good fortune of running into Warde alums and former athletes Mike Abraham and Tom Davis, the brother of the late football coach, Bill.

The Mustangs played well before falling to St. Joseph High School, 35-18. However, what struck me most was the absence of the band. Back in the day, the high school marching band was a staple at our weekly football games, and listening to their music was just as entertaining as watching the Crimson Eagles play football. On second thought, it was much better considering our gridders didn't do too well.

That got me reminiscing about the school band during our senior year. The Andrew Warde High School band, under the direction of Mr. Michael German, had a tough but very rewarding year in the completion of its two-year goal, a concert tour in England. It was a very exciting trip, which included a number of concerts, a variety of sightseeing tours, and a visit to the birthplace of Andrew Warde, in Colchester.

To raise money for the trip, the band held a large number of fundraising activities throughout our junior and senior years. These endeavors were successful largely as a result of the efforts of the Andrew Warde High School Band Parents Club.

Although the trip to England was the highlight of the year, the band took on a demanding schedule, which included a Christmas concert, a Spring concert, several bicentennial performances, and an exchange program with Roger Ludlowe High School.

In addition, the band represented Warde in the Santa Claus Parade and the Bicentennial Memorial Day Parade. The band gave continuous support to the school by playing at all home football games, pep rallies, during Senior Class Day, and at graduation.

The Andrew Warde chorus had a very successful year, too. The group's membership grew consistently, and, under the leadership of Mrs. Walia Triolo, its performances acquired a professional quality. The chorus performed on several occasions, including the Bicentennial Concert.

I was proud of the Warde football team's effort last Saturday. The new artificial turf and grandstands look great, and the school has never looked better. However, I missed hearing the band during the homecoming football game. It made me realize just how good the band was during our years at Andrew Warde High School. Please feel free to share your memories of the band in the "comments" link below.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."

Classmate Shares Pride & Son's Patriotism

Darlene DeSiena, a member of the Andrew Warde High School Class of 1976, shared her pride for her son, Christopher, a United States Marine and graduate of Fairfield Warde High School. The accompanying article and photos are courtesy of Darlene. Congratulations, Christopher. We are proud of you.

My son, Christopher, left for boot camp at Parris Island, SC, on May 28, 2007, Memorial Day, to become a United States Marine. It took 13 weeks of training. He went in at 146 pounds and now weighs 134 pounds with zero body fat. He is thin but muscular. He got a 100 on his test there.

At times it felt like 120 degrees with the heat index as it was when we were down there. Because of the heat, the graduation took place in the same center where Family Day Ceremony was held. I would have liked to see them march as did Christopher. On August 23, 2007, we got to see him for the first time. The graduating ceremony was held August 24.

He is a Machine Gunner. While he was in boot camp, one of the drill instructors could not pronounce his last name. They saw that he has a tattoo of the American Flag on his left upper arm so they nicknamed him Stars & Stripes.

On September 4, 2007, he left for Camp Geiger, NC, for the School of Infantry. He has been home since October 4 and returns November 2.

To become a U.S. Marine was his dream for the past six years to keep our country safe from the terrorists. He did finish the 12th grade at Fairfield Warde High School at the end of January, 2007. Back in October, 2007, he told us that he was joining the Marines.

He trained for six months and got into shape, thanks to his recruiter who told him what he needed to do. Those six months of training at home got him through the toughest boot camp ever. He never complained. We are all so proud of him!

If you'd like to share your good news, provide an update on what you and your family have been doing, or send us your personal story, send me an email at pppiorek@news12.com.

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."

Teammates After All These Years (Part II)

This is the second of a two-part series which chronicles the illustrious careers of three former Andrew Warde High School basketball players and their coach from the successful Crimson Eagles squad in the early 1970s.

The following article is reprinted from the the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper. Former Andrew Warde High School Crimson Eagles' basketball players Mike Abraham (#32), Dave Schulz (with the basketball), and Glenn Mackno (#14), played together in the 70s, coached with and against each other in the 80s, and now work together in the Fairfield public school system.

With the start of a second public high school sports program in Fairfield, the rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe high schools has been renewed. Three former players on Andrew Warde High School's 1973 FCIAC division championship basketball team feel the rivalry will be somewhat different this time around.

"Our games were very intense," Glenn Mackno said. "I do look forward to the rivalry. I hope (it's) a different type of rivalry. I don't think I want it to go back to the days where they were fierce."

"It was pretty hot and heated," added Dave Schulz, the athletic director at Fairfield Ludlowe High School.

The youth feeder programs of today bring athletes from both sides of town together, something that did not exist in their playing days. Today's high school athletes likely will have been teammates in the past, which should create a friendly rivalry, they expect. Because players on opposite sides of town did not grow up playing in youth leagues together in the 70s, those on Ludlowe's basketball team were as unfamiliar as those from an out-of-town team to Warde's players, Mackno recalled.

"We went on the court not knowing each other. They were just an opponent," said Mackno, now the principal at Roger Ludlowe Middle School.

In the 1973 Warde yearbook, the basketball team listed its goals for the season, and the first was to "beat Ludlowe twice." For the record, Warde won both meetings en route to a 15-5 season in 1972-73.

"I believe the rivalry will be equal to what it was in my heyday coaching in the 70s and 80s," said Coach Ed Bengermino, acknowledging that the youth programs of today might make things a little different.

"I think that will soften it a little bit because they know each other, but when they throw that ball up, they're not going to be friendly," Bengermino said. "They're going to want to beat each other."

No matter who wins the next matchup between Warde and Ludlowe, you can bet there will be some good memories in the stands in the old gymnasium.

Do you think today's rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe will be as intense as it was back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s? Please take part in our latest online poll below. Just click on the drop-down menu to vote.

Will today's rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe be as intense as when we attended high school?

Yes, it will be intense.No, we had the most heated rivalry.I'm not sure.It doesn't matter.

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Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."

Teammates After All These Years (Part I)

This is the first of a two-part series which chronicles the illustrious careers of three former Andrew Warde High School basketball players and their coach from the successful Crimson Eagles squad in the early 1970s.

The following article is reprinted from the the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper. Former Andrew Warde High School Crimson Eagles' basketball players Dave Schulz (left) and Glenn Mackno, shown holding the 1973 FCIAC division championship trophy, are now educators on the other side of town. Mackno is the principal at Roger Ludlowe Middle School, while Schulz is the athletic director at Fairfield Ludlowe High School.

A lot can change in a school system over the course of three decades. Then again, a lot can end up being the same. Just ask four members of the early 1970s Andrew Warde High School boys' basketball teams --- players Glenn Mackno, Dave Schulz, and Mike Abraham, and coach Ed Bengermino. All four of these men, who once worked together on the same court at Warde, became teammates of a different variety --- educators in the same school system.

Mackno is the principal of Roger Ludlowe Middle School, Schulz is the athletic director of Fairfield Ludlowe High School, Abraham is the adaptive physical education coordinator for Fairfield's special education department, and Bengermino, although officially retired, coached the freshman boys' basketball team at Warde last year.

Dave Schulz, Glenn Mackno, Ed Bengermino, and Mike Abraham (left-to-right) are four names synonymous with the glory days of basketball at Andrew Warde High School. They led the Crimson Eagles to the 1973 FCIAC division championship.

"The common thread between (each of) us is we have a desire to work with children and give back to the school system we went to," Abraham said. "Ironically, we are all working together in the same school system."

And that same school system has come full circle, much like the lives of the former athletes. Fifteen years after Mackno, Schulz, and Abraham graduated from Warde in 1973, their high school and cross-town rival Roger Ludlowe High School combined to form Fairfield High School at the Warde site. Three years ago, though, both schools were reopened, igniting the rivalry once again.

The former teammates say the friendships they formed in high school set a foundation for their interaction today. They still get together for a round of golf from time-to-time, Mackno said.

"We were friends first and teammates second, and that is something that has carried on throughout our lives," said Mackno. "Dave and I went on to be roommates in college." After the two graduated from Southern Connecticut State College, they returned to their roots on the Fairfield basketball courts, although under much different circumstances. The former teammates found themslelves coaching against each other this time.

Schulz coached basketball at Ludlowe beginning in 1978, and Mackno and Abraham coached basketball together at their alma mater, Warde. Abraham was an assistant under Mackno during the final five years of the first two-high school scenario before Warde and Ludlowe combined to form Fairfield High in 1987. At that point, Schulz continued as the head coach.

In the 1980s, Mackno also worked as a volleyball assistant under Bengermino at Warde. Bengermino coached basketball for eight years, baseball for 20, and volleyball for 22 years at Warde/Fairfield High. He says the competitiveness Mackno, Schulz, and Abraham brought to the basketball courts led to their careers as coaches.

"Those three guys exemplified leadership, right from the beginning," said Bengermino, who became Warde's basketball coach in 1970. It was the camaraderie these players had that Schulz said helped the team earn a division crown before their playing days were over.

The next installment will feature the roles all four have today in the new rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe high schools.

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.

Prestigious Award Commissioned for Member of Andrew Warde High School Class of 1976

Andrew Warde High School Class of 1976 graduate Michael Fetcho recently earned a prestigious award. He received Kentucky's highest civilian honor for his work with non-profit agencies for over a decade. The following letter from Mr. Fetcho details his outstanding achievement:

I am presently employed by the Boston Rescue Mission as the Director of Community Outreach, overseeing fundraising and public relations efforts. This social service organization has been helping the poor, homeless and addicted of the greater Boston area since 1899. I have been working in similar capacities with non-profit agencies since 1995.

On August 2, 2007, I was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Ernie Fletcher. As defined by Wikipedia, 'A Kentucky Colonel is an honorary title bestowed upon individuals by approval of the governor of Kentucky. The award is presented to those who make exceptional efforts to enrich the lives of Kentuckians and the world at large.'

It is that Commonwealth's highest civilian honor. Naturally, I was very proud to receive it and be recognized nationally for my efforts on behalf of those in need.

Famous Kentucky Colonels include Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Sir Winston Churchill, John Glenn, Muhammad Ali, Bob Hope, Carl Sandberg, Johnny Depp and Walt Disney.

Kentucky State Representative Tom Riner was in Boston in early August for the National Conference of State Legislators and presented me with the award on behalf of the Governor.

Congratulations, Michael, on a well-deserved and outstanding honor.

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."

The New Rivalry Between Warde and Ludlowe Stirs Emotions of a Generation Ago

For over a generation, public high school students in Fairfield were identified as either Crimson Eagles or Flying Tigers. However, when the Board of Education decided to consolidate Andrew Warde and Roger Ludlowe high schools into Fairfield High School at the Warde site in the mid 80s, the rivalry was dead --- for the time being.

Two decades later, Warde and Ludlowe are at it again. This time, it's the Mustangs and the Falcons battling each other for bragging rights. Will today's rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe be as heated as it was during our days at Andrew Warde High School? That's the question in our latest online poll. Please cast your vote in the poll below with the drop-down menu feature. It is also located in the index along the right-hand margin of the page.

Will today's rivalry between Warde and Ludlowe be as intense as when we attended high school?

Yes, it will be intense.No, we had the most heated rivalry.I'm not sure.It doesn't matter.

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Back in the day, a favorite chant of Warde students and graduates was "Eagles Eat Tiger Meat." Today, the slogan is more along the lines of "Splat Goes the Falcon." The following article appeared in the Fairfield Warde High School Focus magazine in September of 2005 prior to the first-ever athletic meeting between the two schools since the mid 1980s. Here is the text of the article:

The town of Fairfield has recently joined the list of towns in southwestern Connecticut with two or more public high schools. After 18 years with one high school, Fairfield has taken a blast to the past by re-opening a second high school. Fairfield Warde High School and Fairfield Ludlowe High School, names quite reminiscent of the previous two high schools (Andrew Warde High School and Roger Ludlowe High School) that were here before the combined Fairfield High School opened in 1987, officially became two separate schools in the fall of 2004.

Last year, the two teams were not able to compete against each other. This year they can. Let the rivalry begin. On Friday, September 30th at five o’clock in the afternoon, the first athletic event between two high schools in Fairfield in a little under two decades kicked off between the two male varsity soccer teams. This would be the first of seven match-ups between the Fairfield schools for the fall season, not including potential post-season match-ups in conference and state tournaments.

A sea of blue and white filled one side of the bleachers, while red, black, and white inundated the other side. While the former cheered for the Falcons, the latter voiced their support for the Mustangs. Despite a few negative chants, the rivalry appeared quite friendly. At two different times, boys from each high school ran across the bleachers in front of the opposing school’s crowd, waving their shirts and cheering on their own school, but all was harmless fun.

Old classmates from each school hugged and laughed together, but ultimately Warde fans were disappointed as our boys’ soccer team was shut out by the home team by a score of 4-0. At the end of the game, Warde fans chanted “Wait ‘till Wednesday!” in hopes of avenging this loss at another Warde and Ludlowe sporting event.

Five days later, the Warde and Ludlowe girls’ varsity soccer teams faced off. This time the game was played at Warde under the lights. Warde lost again, but by a smaller deficit than that of the boys’ game. The score was 2-1. Warde’s lone goal was off the foot of freshman Sabrina Siciliano.

The next week, both the girls’ and boys’ cross country teams defeated Ludlowe’s cross country teams. Warde’s field hockey team defeated Ludlowe by a score of 1-0, while the swimming and diving team lost to Ludlowe. Although the newspapers and administration are certainly not keeping score of this Warde and Ludlowe series, the students are definitely tallying the wins and losses. Right now, the series is tied at 3-3.

Between the two soccer games, during the weekend, a few juveniles from Ludlowe High School came to Warde and vandalized some of Warde’s athletic property with blue spray paint. The athletic shed that proudly displays “Home of the Mustangs” was crossed out and replaced by “Home of the Falcons.” The pavement was filled with “Warde Sucks” and the fields reiterated the score of the boys’ soccer game that Warde had lost.

Although nothing worse than vandalism has occurred, the rivalry appears to be intense and growing by the minute. Healthy rivalry? Only time will tell.

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.

Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film."