Warde's Legendary Football Coach Saved Man From Drowing at Mouth of Ash Creek 46 Years Ago This Week

Andrew Warde High School's Hall of Fame football coach came to the rescue of a man who appeared to be drowning in the strong current at the mouth of Ash Creek in Fairfield 46 years ago this week, Tuesday, July 30, 1968.

The man, who was about 30 years of age, was saved by Fern Tetreau, the coach of the Warde Eagles' gridders, who happened to be attending a cookout nearby, according to a front-page story in The Bridgeport Telegram. Tetreau, Warde's first football coach, led the team to an undefeated 9-0 campaign in 1959, just three years after the school opened.

Attracted by shouts for help off the jetty at the end of Jennings Beach and opposite St. Mary's by the Sea, Tetreau outraced three fellow physical education instructors in the Fairfield school system and swam to the aid of the man, who was being held by a woman companion. Both the man and woman were about to be swept away by the current toward Long Island Sound.

A short time later, a boat from the Ash Creek boat basin picked up the man while the woman companion swam back to St. Mary's. After being taken to the boat basin, the woman friend drove the man home.

The man told Tetreau he was wading at St. Mary's when he was swept into the water by the strong current. His woman companion managed to keep him afloat until Mr. Tetreau arrived on the scene.

Tetreau was attending a cookout at a cottage at the east end of Jennings Beach as a guest of Robert Seirup, a physical education instructor who conducted swimming classes there in the Summer.

Also present were Emil Taft, the Roger Ludlowe High School football coach, and Bob Jackson, director of physical education in the Fairfield school system.

Paul

Andrew Warde High School Community Mourns the Passing of Longtime Language Teacher & Soccer Coach Constantine Vanghele

Constantine Vanghele, a foreign language teacher for 29 years at Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield (1961 to 1989), passed away peacefully on June 27, 2014, surrounded by his loving family. He was 91 years old. Born on May 8, 1923, to Pandu and Vasila Vangheli in Korce, Albania, his mother died when he was a boy, and he was raised by his father and stepmother, Konstandina. He lived there until 1943, before relocating to Greece, Germany, Austria, and Italy, where he attended the University of Rome, graduating in 1949.

He arrived in the United States on May 4, 1949 from Italy and settled in Bridgeport. From 1950-1980, he studied various foreign languages and became fluent in eight different languages, attending the Institute of World Affairs in Salisbury, Middlebury College, the University of Connecticut, River College in New Hampshire, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Bridgeport, University of Barcelona in Spain, Fairfield University, and the University of Perugia, Italy.

In 1951, Constantine was employed by Radio Free Europe, as a translator, speaker, and script writer at the Albanian Desk in New York City. From 1954-1961, he worked for the National Committee for a Free Albania, a political organization with the aim to liberate Albania from the Communist regime.

Beginning in 1961 and for 29 years, Constantine was a teacher of foreign languages at Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield, where he was also the school's soccer coach for many seasons. He is pictured below (top right) with his Crimson Eagles' soccer team in the 1976 Flame yearbook. Constantine was a member of the St. George Albanian Orthodox Church and the St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox Church. He was a former President and retired Member of the Benevolent Society Of Farsarotul.

He is survived by five sons, four daughter-in-laws, and four grandchildren: Thomas and Janice Vanghele, of New York City, Alexander and Patty Vanghele, of Bridgeport, Dino Vanghele, of Bridgeport, Nicholas and Susan Vanghele, and their children, Logan and Olivia, of Shelton, Christopher and Kim Vanghele, and their children, Christopher, Jr. and Lauren, of Woodbury. He is also survived by his niece, Sophie Fatsi Cashavelly, and her husband, James, of Trumbull. His sister, Caterina Vangheli Fatsi and brother, Thoma predeceased him.

Courtesy Connecticut Post

Class of 1964 to Hold 50-Year Reunion This Saturday at Trumbull Marriott

Andrew Warde High School's Class of 1964 will hold its 50-year reunion this Saturday, June 15, from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Trumbull Marriott, 180 Hawley Lane, in Trumbull.

The reunion weekend kicks off Friday evening with a Meet-and-Greet cash bar at the Marriott and concludes Sunday morning with a breakfast buffet. The reunion includes a buffet, dancing, several surprises, and a cash bar. The cost of the reunion is $75. Please click the flyer below for complete information on the reunion weekend.

According to the class flyer, classmates who are traveling long distances are offered $99 discounted hotel room rates for each night. Please call 203-378-1400 for more information.

Please call Gloria Evans for reunion information at 203-255-6893 or via email at lucyethel39@yahoo.com.

Paul

Warde & Ludlowe Held Swim Marathon to Benefit Teams 43 Years Ago This Weekend

Swim team members and alumni from Andrew Warde and Roger Ludlowe high schools swam for their proverbial lives in a 30-hour marathon 43 years ago this weekend. The marathon, which raised $4,000 to help keep the swim teams at both schools afloat for the 1971-72 school year, set a national record of 100 miles.

The event, which was held at the Olympic-size Fairfield YMCA pool on Old Post Road, began at noon on Saturday, July 3, 1971, and ended Sunday evening, July 4, at 6 p.m., according to a front-page story which appeared in The Bridgeport Telegram, Monday, July 5, 1971 (see below).

More than 60 swimmers participated, completing the 100 miles in 28 hours and one minute. Encouraged by financial backing from townsfolk who pledged one dollar for every completed lap, the participants continued after setting the record to log 30 hours of uninterrupted swimming.

George Ford, a parent of one of the swim team members, announced at the conclusion of the event that $4,000 had been raised. However, he emphaszied that another $4,000 was needed to support the activities for the swim teams at both high schools.

"If the Board of Education approves a request for a $2,000 allocation for the program, the swim teams will be able to continue their activities in the new school year," Ford stated. As a result of sharp budget cuts, the Board of Education eliminated funds previously provided for the swim team programs.

Rather than let the program die, members of the swim teams at both high schools started the ball rolling for a fund-raising event. The marathon was the first endeavor, and other plans for raising the needed funds were in the works.

The marathon was supervised by Edward Quinn, the Ludlowe swim coach, his assistant, William Babcock, and George Reed of Warde. Mike Tierney and Bob Wilk, Ludlowe's co-captains, and Dan Ford and Mike Cardone of Warde helped organize the marathon.

Paul