Come Fly With the Eagles

Classmate Floyd Scholz invites all AWHS Class of 1976 alumni and friends to a celebration of the release of his new book, Golden Eagle, this coming weekend at the Connecticut Audubon Society on Congress Street in Fairfield. The show and sale, which takes place May 4, 5, and 6, will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the art of bird carving.

Floyd will be joined by 20 other bird carvers from around North America in a rare opportunity to view and perhaps purchase an assembled collection of some of the finest bird carvings and bird art to be seen anywhere.

Floyd is universally recognized as one of the preeminent woodcarvers and painters in the world. Now in his 38th year of carving, he has enjoyed tremendous success as a professional artist, author, teacher and musician. His portrayals of eagles, hawks, owls and other large birds have won him a large, enthusiastic international following.

As the author of five award-winning books on the art form, his in-depth knowledge of birds, especially raptors, and bird carving and painting techniques combined with an easy going and engaging teaching style have enabled Floyd to influence a whole generation of wildfowl carvers and artists.

The bird sanctuary has a spacious visitor's center. If you'd like more information, please call the Connecticut Audubon Society at 888-994-2473, or check the Web at www.vermontraptoracademy.com or www.ctaudubon.org.

Some classmates will convene for food and drink this Friday evening, May 4, at The Bear and Grill Restaurant, 2000 Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield from 7 to 11 p.m. All are welcome to join the get-together.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

"Gimme a W, Gimme an A ... "

Cheerleaders are an integral part of the sports landscape today, often enduring grueling practice sessions, perfecting gymnastic routines, and staying athletically fit. Cheerleading competitions are as intense any battles on the basketball court, baseball diamond, or football gridiron.

During our days at Andrew Warde High School, the cheerleaders played an active role in supporting our sports teams and encouraging our classmates to do the same. Whether it was a Crimson Eagles' victory over Ludlowe on the football field or a difficult defeat at the hands of an FCIAC foe, our cheerleaders always kept a positive outlook.

During our senior year of 1975-76, the cheerleaders had their hands full inspiring school spirit. There were some disappointing moments in Warde sports, but the girls kept enthusiasm high at all times.

For the Thanksgiving Day football game against Ludlowe, the girls led a huge motorcade across town to spur the Crimson Eagles' gridders to their second victory over their cross-town rivals. The crowd also got to see the only "coed" cheerleading performance of the year.

According to the Flame yearbook, "The cheerleaders also supported our young basketball team, which included braving the streets of Bridgeport at night to cheer the boys on to a thrilling victory over Kolbe."

Captains Theresa Mortimer and Stacey Marden provided the leadership along with returning cheerleaders Noreen Gramigna and Mary Lou Mortimer. Debbie Kressu and Diane Norman led the successful junior varsity cheerleaders in their fine support of the JV teams.

According to the yearbook, "All the girls deserve congratulations for a great year and thanks for their unending support."

Stacey offered this corner a few photos to use on the blog. I invite any cheerleaders and classmates to share their memories in the "comments" link below.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

Tennis Season Brings Back Fond Memories

This week marks the opening of the high school tennis season for the Fairfield Warde boys' and girls' teams. Obviously, James Blake is the one name which comes to mind when thinking about the great tennis players who have called our Melville Avenue high school campus home.

Blake, currently one of the top-ranked players in the world, played at Fairfield High School and was an all-FCIAC selection from 1994 through 1997. In fact, the Warde tennis courts were dedicated and named after Blake last year. His brother, Tom, was an all-FCIAC selection from 1992 through 1994.

Over a generation ago, however, classmate co-captain Andy Larsen was making a name for himself on the Fairfield County high school tennis courts. Larsen was named to the All-FCIAC squad all four years (1973 through 1976). Classmate and fellow co-captain Tom Knuth joined Larsen on the all-league team during our senior year at Andrew Warde.

Their state doubles championship was voted the most memorable athletic achievement during the 1975-76 school year in our recent online poll. Larsen and Knuth garnered 45% of the votes, well ahead of three other sports achievements. The baseball team's dramatic 4-2 come-from-behind victory over Ludlowe, the girls' basketball team's FCIAC championship, and Floyd Scholz new high jump record each received 18% of the votes. The poll was taken over a two-week period.

The boys' tennis team ended the 1976 season with an 8-5 record. Larsen and Knuth were aided a great deal by junior Larry Levine, who received the most valuable player award and finished with the most individual victories. Sophomore Paul Larsen and freshman Gary Khachian played very well throughout the year, too. The Crimson Eagles finished a very respectable third in the 1976 Connecticut Class LL tennis tournament.

Andy Larsen earned his third state tennis championship during our senior year. According to the Flame yearbook, it was "an achievement that will be hard to match for future Warde players. Andy Larsen and Tom Knuth have both finished sparkling careers as tennis players at Warde and will most likely continue playing in college. Warde should be proud of these two athletes."

Share your memories of Larsen, Knuth, and the tennis team in the "comments" section below.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

PAC Memories

By Tony Procaccini

As some of your readers may remember, I was the afternoon announcer for the PAC during our senior year, 1975-1976. I may have done some work there previously, but am not 100% sure of that. I don't know why I was not in the group photo for Flame 1976, either. Oh, well! By the way, one benefit of this volunteer work was early dismissal from my last period classes!

My opening phrase was always the same, one I've always remembered: "Good afternoon, Andrew Warde, this is 'Tony Pro' for the PAC with the afternoon announcements." Then I'd go into the various rehearsal changes, sports bulletins, cancellations, etc. I seem to remember getting brief memos in either printed or hand-written form, and then forming the phrases spontaneously. A good way to learn to speak publicly, and think quickly, too.

I had frequent opportunity to meet and get to know the personnel in the Main Office, among them our Headmaster, Mr. Robert Genualdi. He was familiar to my father before he became headmaster, since my father tuned his piano and knew of his music ability; Mr. Genualdi is an accomplished string bassist and orchestra member. His son Joseph is a concert violinist.Years later, coincidentally, I became Orchestra Manager for Genualdi in his first season (1980-1981) as Music Director of the Bridgeport Symphony Youth Orchestra.

He started turning around the organization then, and I was fortunate to be there that year. (I did that job for only one season.) He remained at the helm for 26 years, and the orchestra grew into a set of four, with "feeder" orchestras, etc. When I called Mr. Genualdi in the summer of 2006 to invite him to our reunion in August, he remembered me instantly, and remembered our collaboration from so many years ago.

All in all, my experience with the PAC was a very positive one, and put me in touch with a lot of people I may never have met. It also gave me exposure to the entire school, and helped foster the desire to remain in touch with many classmates and non-classmate friends over the years.

Last year's Warde 1976 reunion was a natural outcome of these times, a reward, you might say, for the efforts made years earlier.

Tony Procaccini
Warde 1976 30-year Reunion Committee President

Remember When: The Public Address Commission

Remember the homeroom and afternoon announcements when we were in high school? In the adjacent photo, Steven Horton promptly informed students of the goings-on at AWHS while seated in front of the microphone.

As for those announcements, we heard just about everything. They sounded something like this:

"Line four in the cafeteria will be closed today. Please disregard that bell. The car with the license plate number ... Hello, everyone, this is Tony Pro with the afternoon announcements."

The Public Address Commission (PAC) was used throughout the day for various reasons. During our senior year at Andrew Warde High School, morning announcements were eliminated and were read during homeroom from the daily bulletin. Early birds frequently heard music throughout the school before classes began.

What are some of your memories of the homeroom and afternoon announcements? Share them in the "comments" section below. Also, if you have an idea for a Remember When feature, send me an email, and I'll find try to find the photos and information for you.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.

More Recollections of "Coach"

By Stephen Schempp

Editor's Note: Classmate Stephen Schempp is stationed in Afghanistan and sent this note of his recollections of Andrew Warde High School Coach Ed Bengermino.

One thing I remember about Benji was he had a great sense of humor. As much of a taskmaster he could be at times, once in a while he'd leave you in stitches. There are two moments in particular that I remember.

As a player, I was a pretty fair pitcher. We were playing Amity High School my freshman year, and I was pitching. It was a close game, and towards the end I was scheduled to bat. Benji decided to put in a pinch hitter for me. Someone asked him, "You're not going to let Schempp hit?" Benji replied, looking at me with this evil little grin on his face, "Schempp couldn't hit a watermelon if you rolled it up to the plate in a wheelbarrow."

The other time was sophomore year against Staples. We had something like a 4-1 lead, and I came up to bat with runners in scoring position. Benji was positioned at the third base coaching box as usual. Low and behold I managed to hit a hard liner to center driving in two runs. As I rounded first, I heard Benji yell in that raspy voice, "Schempp is now one for two years! Write that down in the scorecard. One for two years!" I stood on first embarrassed as hell, while the first baseman for Staples looked at me with this huge grin on his face, trying not to laugh.

To add to Tony's story, I was "umpiring" standing behind the Notre Dame pitcher when Bob hit that shot. That kid and I turned and watched it go over the fence. When I turned back around and looked at that pitcher, he looked at me and said, "Man, that was something, wasn't it?" Even the kid that threw the pitch was impressed.

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.