Vintage "Film" from Half-Century Ago Features AWHS Class of 1976 as 50-Year Reunion Looms

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Paul

AWHS Class of 1976 50-Year Reunion Planned for August at Vazzy's 19th Hole in Fairfield

Andrew Warde High School's Class of 1976 will hold its 50-year reunion Saturday, August 29, 2026, from 6:00 until 10:00 p.m. at Vazzy's 19th Hole at Fairchild Wheeler in Fairfield. The event includes a dinner buffet and dancing.

Click the photo below to visit the class Facebook page for more information.

Paul

Warde & Ludlowe Swimmers Held Fundraising Marathon 55 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 55 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

AWHS Three-Sport Athlete Jack McFarland Inducted Into Class of 2026 FCIAC Hall of Fame

The following article appeared on the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference website June 19, 2026:

Jack McFarland was born in Stamford, Connecticut, and grew up in Fairfield, where he attended Andrew Warde High School and was a three-sport athlete. 

After graduating, he attended Southern Connecticut State University, where he played baseball. Following college, Jack was hired by Westport Public Schools to teach at Staples High School. He and his wife, Norma—an English teacher at Trumbull High School—live in Monroe, Connecticut, and have four daughters: Kelly, Kenzie, Megan, and Abby. 

Watch the video at this link: https://vimeo.com/1202101977

In 1988, Jack began his coaching career at Fairfield High School as an assistant football coach under Gus Lindine. In 1994, he moved to Staples High School as an assistant coach under Marce Petroccio, helping the team win five FCIAC Championships and three State Championships. 

In 2005, Jack became the head baseball coach at Staples, compiling an outstanding record of 323–156, a 70% winning percentage. His teams captured four FCIAC Championships, appeared in seven FCIAC Finals, and won seven divisional championships along with four regular-season titles in 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2019. 

Among his many honors are the 2019 FCIAC Coach of the Year, 2019 Overall Coach of the Year, the 2011 Westport Coaching Award, and the 2017 Westport Sports Person of the Year from the Fairfield County Sports Commission. 

Jack is the all-time winningest baseball coach in Staples history, and his 2019 team achieved a perfect 35–0 record, the most wins in a season. Three of his players were named Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017, 2019, and 2023. Since 1997, Jack has also served as Assistant Dean at Staples High School and remains active in the sport as a member of the CIAC Baseball Committee and the FCIAC representative on the CHSCA Baseball Committee. 

He is honored for his exceptional coaching career and dedicated service to Staples High School.

Warde Nine Upset Milford in CIAC Baseball Tourney 65 Years Ago Today

Andrew Warde High School's well-balanced baseball team finished runnerup to Norwalk for the Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference baseball championship in 1961. However, the Crimson Eagles were victorious while Norwalk was eliminated in the opening round of the CIAC Class A championship tournament, Monday, June 12, 1961.

Coach Bob Jackson's Warde squad advanced to the tourney semi-finals with an impressive 2-0 victory over Milford's higher-rated Metropolitan Bridgeport Conference champions as Dick Bernard, who remained unbeaten since the baseball season opened, hurled a two-hit shutout to earn his ninth straight victory in a pitching duel with the Indians' Ricky Grich at Quigley Stadium in West Haven.

The Crimson Eagles, ranked seventh among the eight teams which qualified for the Class A title competition, backed Bernard with a nine-hit attack and tallied single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to defeat the third-ranked Milford team. It was the 17th victory in 21 games for the Fairfield squad, and just the fourth setback in 19 contests for Coach Ray Stoviak's Indians.

Outfielders Mike Siavrakas and Larry Gill connected for two hits each to lead Warde's attack against the veteran Grich, but it was rightfielder Tom Dardina and third baseman Frank Chimelewski who drove in the two runs for the Eagles with extra base hits in the June 12, 1961 contest.

It was a scoreless game until the fourth inning. Grich walked Gill with one out and when Chimelewski hit a grounder down the third base line, both runners were safe when the throw to second base for the attempted force out was too late. One out later, Dardina smacked a double down the left field line to score Gill with Warde's first run.

Tom Cody, Milford's rightfielder, made a fine catch of a long drive by Joe Magdon to open Warde's sxith inning, but Gill singled and Chimelewski bounced a triple off the fence in left-centerfield to bring home the Eagles' second run.

Both of Milford's hits off Bernard were bloop singles by third baseman Art Bungerford in the first and sixth innings. Although both hits were preceded by walks to Vic Nelson, the Indians were unable to capitalize. Warde's second baseman Hank Bahe made a poor throw following Hungarford's first single, but catcher Joe Vige threw out Nelson trying to advance to third base. In the sixth inning, both Nelson and Hungarford were picked off first base on throws by Vige and Bernard.

Paul

Memorial Service for Andrew Warde High School Coaching Legend Ted Merrill This Saturday, June 13, in Meriden

The following obituary is courtesy of the Wallingford Funeral Home:

Theodore J. Merrill, 76, of Meriden, died on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Hartford Hospital. He was the loving husband of Twanetta “Toni” (Witsman) Merrill of 47 years. Ted was born in Portland, Maine, October 15, 1949, the son of the late Marvin M. and Natalie (Thurston) Merrill. 

Raised in Wallingford, Ted attended Lyman Hall High School where he played baseball and was a part of the very first soccer team. Ted went on to study Education with a focus in Industrial Arts at Central Connecticut State University. At CCSU, he was also on the baseball team and the first ever soccer team. 

After graduating CCSU, he began a long career as an educator, having taught Drafting, Architecture, Modeling, and various other courses in Fairfield at Andrew Warde High School. A lifelong learner, he received his sixth-year master’s degree from CCSU to be the first to implement technical advances in his classrooms, pioneering new methods of instruction earning him state and national recognition. 

For the span of his career, he also coached countless students in the sports of soccer, baseball, swimming, wrestling, and basketball in Fairfield. As a coach, he brought his experience as an athlete to his students which resulted in winning multiple conference and state championships in both soccer and baseball. 

Ted was an avid sports fan for his entire life and for those who knew him well, know that the Boston Red Sox always held a special spot in his heart. Ted was an avid traveler his entire life. Perhaps one of his favorite trips early in life was a trip to Europe where he represented the USA with a group of collegiate soccer all-stars playing in several countries. Later In life, trips across the United States with friends Paul and Peggy in search of the next antique or train store took up his time. 

In addition to his wife Toni, he will be missed by his children and their spouses, Alicia (Merrill) and Anthony Matias, Kevin and Tabatha Merrill, and Katherine (Merrill) and Edward Hayes, his grandchildren, Aidan, Amalie, Ember, Adaline, Anthony, Edward, Lyla, Analise, Liam and Willa. His first married grandchild, Kendyl (Rossi) and Sebastian Vargas Vizcarra and their son, his first great grandchild, Kohen. He was predeceased by his son, Todd Joseph Merrill. 

A memorial service will be held on June 13, 2026, at 1:00 PM at First United Methodist Church, 15 Pleasant St., Meriden, CT. Interment will be private at a later date. In lieu of gifts or flowers, donations in Coach Merrill’s name can be sent to the Fairfield Warde High School Athletic Department, 155 Melville Ave., Fairfield, CT 06825. Arrangements are under the direction of The Wallingford Funeral Home. www.wallingfordfh.com