Freshman Memories

Most of the emphasis on our high school reunion, and rightly so, was centered on our senior year at Andrew Warde. After all, it was our Bicentennial class graduation which highlighted the year. Most of us were involved in sports, clubs, and activities, and our immediate thoughts turned to college.

However, this week marks the 34th anniversary of our first week as freshmen at Warde. How much do you remember of your first year in high school?

Politically, President Richard Nixon was finishing his first and only full-term in the White House, Thomas Meskill of New Britain was our governor, and John Sullivan was firmly entrenched as Fairfield's first selectman.

In professional sports, the Oakland A's were about to win the first of their three straight World Series titles, and the New York Knicks gathered to begin their quest for a second NBA title in four years. The World Hockey Association was about to start its first season of play, and the red, white, and blue ball of the American Basketball Association was still bouncing along.

Here are the top news stories for this month in 1972:

Sept. 1 - Bobby Fischer defeats Boris Spassky in a chess match at Reykjavik, Iceland, and becomes the first American chess champion.
Sept. 4 - The Price is Right debuts on CBS.
Sept. 5 and 6 - Munich Massacre: Eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich are murdered after eight members of the Arab terrorist group Black September invade the Olympic Village; five guerillas and one policeman are also killed in a failed hostage rescue.
Sept. 14 - West Germany and Poland renew diplomatic relations.
Sept. 17 - Uganda announces that there are Tanzanian troops in its territory.
Sept. 17 - M*A*S*H debuts on CBS.
Sept. 19 - A parcel bomb sent to the Israeli Embassy in London kills one diplomat.
Sept. 21 - Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation No. 108(1) placing the entire country under martial law.
Sept. 25 - Norwegian EC referendum, 1972 - The people of Norway reject membership in the European Economic Community.

Musically, here is a list of the top ten songs in the nation for the week of September 5, 1972:

1. Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan
2. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) by Looking Glass
3. Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) by The Hollies
4. You Don't Mess Around with Jim by Jim Croce
5. Back Stabbers by The O'Jays
6. Black and White by Three Dog Night
7. I'm Still in Love With You by Al Green
8. Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me by Mac Davis
9. Rock and Roll Part 2 by Gary Glitter
10. The Guitar Man by Bread

And that's a look back at what was happening during our first week of school as freshman at Andrew Warde High School.

Paul