Warde Siblings Sculpt Easter Bunny After Snowiest March Day on Record 45 Years Ago This Week

The snowiest March day on record in Fairfield happened 45 years ago this week, Wednesday, March 22, 1967, when 11.1" of snow fell. Two students at Andrew Warde High School took advantage of the unusual March Winter weather by making a snow bunny.

This photograph graced the second page of The Bridgeport Post, Friday, March 24, 1967. Click the photo for a larger view.

According to the caption, "The Easter bunny, usually soft and cuddly, gets a new twist here from two Andrew Warde High School students who took advantage of the abundant snow to make a sculpture which is expected to slide, not hop, down the bunny trail Sunday.

"Gail and Robert Contolini, a senior and junior at the Fairfield school, designed thr snowy mass, which is on display on the Warde grounds. The artists and their sister, Nancy, who helped in the project, live at 114 Rosedale Street, Fairfield."

Although I'm not certain, the Nancy Contolini mentioned in the article may have been my homeroom teacher in WS-11 in the 1970s.

Paul

Warde's "Basketball Playday" Promoted Girls' Athletics & Inter-School Relationships 54 Years Ago

Through the combined efforts of many energetic students and their faculty advisors, Miss Helen Carroll and Miss Mary Carley, the Andrew Warde High School Girls' Athletic Association sponsored a basketball playday in March of 1958. That's according to a story which appeared in the Bridgeport Post on this date 54 years ago.

Girls from six high schools, including Warde, Roger Ludlowe, Central, Bassick, Harding, and Bullard Havens Tech, participated in the successful event. The purpose of the program was to promote inter-school relationships by giving students an opportunity to meet one another.

The playday was completely organized by the students. The program publicity committee, largely responsible for preparing the event, was headed by Sue Smith. Others included Michele Sullivan, Ann Plunske, Marcia Tierney, Eli Kiamos, and Debbie Kinsman.

Eight sports enthusiasts from each school were greeted by the president of the Girls' Athletic League, Bonnie MacGregor. The girls were divided into eight teams --- the Eagles, Tigers, Lions, Presidents, Foxes, Owls, Zebras, and Knights. Each participant received a program, which listed the scheduled games, and identifying emblems.

The Girls' Athletic Association, which sponsored a basketball clinic the previous December, was an active group. A basketball playday was held in February of 1957, too. The GAA regulated all girls athletic points given at Warde, and the executive committee elected The Most Outstanding Girl Athlete each year.

Paul

Andrew Warde High School Alumni Take Part in GBYO 50-Year Gala Concert Celebration

The Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras (GBYO) celebrated 50 years of existence Sunday, March 11, with a Gala Concert performed by alumni, followed by a reception, all at UB’s Arnold Bernard Arts Center. In addition, the GBYO Concert Orchestra (one of 5 ensembles comprising GBYO) also performed. Thus, attendees had a chance to see and hear both former members and part of the next generation of GBYO.

Alumni covering the entire time spectrum, i.e., going back to March 1961, came from places as far away as California and Canada.

From the Andrew Warde Class of 1976, string bassists Tony Procaccini and Stephan Lang participated in the two-day marathon. A rehearsal took place in Fairfield on Saturday, March 10, followed by the Sunday main event at UB. The two had not played bass side-by-side in roughly 38 years. Lang traveled from near Toronto for this unique opportunity. The photo below was taken before the concert on-stage at Mertens Theatre.

"I couldn't wait for this weekend, as I have many fond memories and recollections of my years with GBYO," says Procaccini. "It was also a challenge to play string bass for so many hours without having practiced it for all those years." Procaccini and Lang are pictured below with Erin O'Connor Mancino.

Three people in particular deserve the line’s share of the credit for the day’s success: GBYO Executive Director Barbara Upton, Music Director Chris Hisey and GBYO Board President Mark Halstead. Their many months of tireless effort made the event possible.

In addition, two long-time previous music directors were honored. Dr. Harrison Valante, former chairman of UB’s Music Department, pictured below with Procaccini at the reception, was mobbed by his former musicians as if he was a rock star. He retains his usual pleasant manner, and spoke glowingly of his time with GBYO, UB and the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra, GBYO’s sponsor in his day.

Robert Genualdi, former headmaster of Warde High School starting in our senior year of 1976, followed Valante in the early 1980s and expanded GBYO from one to four ensembles. He conducted the Alumni Orchestra for one piece despite physical ailments which impede him presently. He, most deservedly, was given a long standing ovation for his 26 years with GBYO.

The two-day event was a great way to celebrate music and see old friends. "I would not have missed it for anything," quips Procaccini.

Crimson Eagles Dropped Heartbreaker to Stamford Catholic in CIAC Boys' Basketball Tournament 45 Years Ago Today

Andrew Warde High School's boys' basketball team dropped a 59-57 decision to Stamford Catholic in the CIAC Class L basketball tournament at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk 45 years ago today.

Mark Kluytenaar, with ice water in his veins, converted all six of his free throws in the last three minutes to give the Crusaders the spine-tingling two-point victory over the Crimson Eagles. It was the third straight win for SCHS over its fellow FCIAC rivals.

Warde trailed, 47-40, early in the fourth quarter before Jim Howard canned nine of his team's next 11 points during an 11-4 run to pull the Eagles into a 51-51 tie before Kluytenaar's heroics on Wednesday evening, March 8, 1967.

Faced with a pressure-packed one-and-one situation at the foul line, the calm Kluytenaar, who averaged only 5.8 points per game during the regular season, sank both charity tosses to give the winners a 53-51 advantage.

Dick Redmond added a subsequent basket for the Crusaders to increase the lead to 55-51. Rich Fekete answered with a hoop for Warde to cut the deficit to two points. However, Kluytenaar, the six-foot junior, canned another pair of free throws to make it 57-53 before Fekete answered with another bucket for the Eagles.

Warde's Tom DeLuca picked up his fifth foul with 42 seconds left in the game. Kluytenarr buried two more shots from the foul line to increase the SCHS lead to 59-55. Warde's final basket came on a Howard layup as the final buzzer sounded.

Coach Wes Aldrich's Crimson Eagles finished with a 14-6 overall record, while Stamford Catholic improved to 13-8.

Kluytenaar led all scorers with 25 markers. Larry Jost (14 points) was the only other Crusader to finish in double figures for Coach Lenny Rivers. Fekete (21), Howard (18), and Danny Haines (11) paced the Crimson Eagles' attack.

Paul

Former Warde Classmates to Reunite 38 Years Later at GBYO Alumni Concert This Sunday

AWHS 1976 classmates Tony Procaccini and Stephan Lang, who were Concert Band members under Michael German, will reunite as string bassists on the weekend of March 10 and 11 for the first time in roughly 38 years.

In addition to playing side by side at Warde for their freshman and sophomore years, Lang and Procaccini (pictured below from 1992) also performed with the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra (GBYO) in the early to mid-1970s, when the orchestra was only one unit. There are now five orchestras of varying levels of proficiency.

The GBYO is hosting its first-ever Alumni Concert at UB's Mertens Theater on Sunday, March 11, at 3:00 PM. Take a look at the program of the Bridgeport Symphony performance during the 1973-74 season.

"This will be a extremely unique experience, which is made even more special in no small part by Steve's traveling from Canada to do this," says Procaccini, now a New York City resident who works in both the Big Apple and in Fairfield County. "Since we graduated from high school, I studied music at UB, and then worked in finance in Manhattan. Through all the years, though, I kept in touch with many classmates, and eventually decided to go back to music and other endeavors full-time."

Procaccini served as our class's reunion committee chair in 2006, an event that drew a record number of students to our 30-year class reunion. "That night was amazing, and is still recalled by those who attended," Tony says.

Ever since 1992, when the two "found each other" again in Classmates.com, Steve and Tony have hung out often, and Stephan performed on the bass periodically at Saint Patrick Parish, Bridgeport, where Procaccini was Music Director from early 2006 to early 2012.

In addition to the visits when he offered his services, Stephan was the honoree for Guest Artist Day at the same parish in 2011. Procaccini and the entire parish were always very appreciative of his efforts to assist the choir.

The two classmates will certainly continue their collaboration as friends long after Sunday's performance.

"Know Your Principals" Featured as Front-Page Crimson Crier Article This Week in 1976

Let's take a trip back 36 years this week and see what was making front-page news from the Crimson Crier, Andrew Warde High School's student newspaper, March 5, 1976:

"This year we have two new people to run Andrew Warde. Most of us have heard of them, but how many of us have met them? Not many of us have, and for the purpose of giving them a formal introduction, the Crier hails Mr. Shine and Mr. Genualdi.

"Mr. Robert Shine was born in New Haven in 1944. He went to a private high school and, as the fifth of seven college-bound brothers and sisters, he was expected to go to college. He did so at Fairfield University. For four years he studied history and, finding school to his liking, he stayed on to get an M.A. in education. It was while he was at the university as a practice teacher that Mr. Shine got 'turned on to teaching.'"

If you'd like to read more about Mr. Shine and peruse the entire copy of the March 5, 1976, edition of the Crimson Crier, simply click the link at the beginning of the article or the cartoon above.

Paul

Controversial Literature of the Supernatural Course Taught at Andrew Warde High School 38 Years Ago Despite Protests from Parents and Area Clergy

Parents and clergy objected to a controversial course about the occult which was taught at Andrew Warde High School in the mid 1970s. That's according to a newspaper story which appeared 38 years ago today.

The purpose of The Literature of the Supernatural, according to the school curriculum, was to consider how the occult in various forms served the writer's purpose as he or she probed into the nature of human beings, the nature of the universe, and the interrelationship between the two.

The Rev. W. Roy Bulkley, former pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Bridgeport, objected to the teaching of the course in May of 1974. Rev. Bulkley, a self-proclaimed born-again Christian, backed a protest against the course brought by a Fairfield mother on the grounds that it would be a violation of the constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state.

The Fairfield school board ultimately rejected the protest, and the course, which was an elective open to juniors and seniors, was taught. The course was offered to increase understanding of how language, creatively used, helped to put one's world in order and enable him or her to make a significant decision about it.

The course included literature ranging from Greek mythology to science fiction, from Frankenstein to Lord of the Rings, and from Sleepy Hollow to Space Odyssey 2001.

The curriculum states that, "We will concern ourselves with stories of the spirits within and the spirits without. Students will organize into several groups according to common interests, map out their agenda, and work for their edification and the pleasure of all."

The late Kenneth Peterson, headmaster of Andrew Warde High School at the time, said a total of 25 students were enrolled in the first semester in early 1974. He said the same number of students were taking the course in the second semester, although many more wanted to enroll.

"We received no complaints at all about the course during its first semester," said Petersen, who added that the only opposition to the teaching of the course came from the Rev. Bulkley, who was not a resident of Fairfield, and from the mother of a Warde student. Another minister inquired about the course, but he did not oppose it after he obtained more information about it, according to Petersen.

Petersen said the course, which included traditional literature such as Shakespeare and Poe, dealt with topis of broad interest in the world, and there was no reason why the topics couldn't be discussed in class.

Rev. Bulkley, meanwhile, said he felt justified in protesting against the course because he thought that students would be influenced by it to involve themselves in occult practices. The minister issued a statement which was distributed at a school board meeting nearly a year earlier:

"If you will not heed this warning and put away those plans and this course, which will lead many into darkness, then I will pour out on this school a spirit of confusion as has not occurred in all its past," he said. "Among the student body --- disturbances and drugs. Among the faculty --- animosities. Among the hired help --- labor unrest."

Obviously, Rev. Bulkley's dire predictions never materialized. However, taken at face value, a spirit of confusion, disturbances, drugs, and animosities were part of the high school experience anyway.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Guest Book.
Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.
Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film".