AWHS Drafting Students Won Awards at CCSC 38 Years Ago This Week

Patrick Dizney retired from a long and illustrious career at Warde High School last year. He taught at the Melville Avenue campus for parts of five decades. Some of his drafting students at Andrew Warde High School earned awards for their work at the 1975 Teachers' Spring Convention at Central Connecticut State College in New Britain, according to a newspaper story which was published 38 years ago today. More than 1,500 entries from schools throughout Connecticut were displayed at the fair.

Students from Barlow house, under the guidance of Ted Merrill, received four first place prizes, five second place prizes, and nine third place prizes. The recipients of first place prizes were Dan Provolo (screw drives), Mike Jenkins (industrial design), Joe Macaluso (drilling and tapping), and Ken Catandella (tricycle tractor).

Second place prize awards were given to John Varholak (c-clamp), Rob Scotti (screwdrivers), Bob Diujak (vise), Phil Cerrone (vise), and Pete Talbott (pipe vise). Brad Lockwood won second place for his instant replay system for electronics 30, instructed by Paul Lewis.

Third place awards were given to Joe Hamilton (V-block), Tyler Witco (V-block), John Fraser (chain link), Jim Mamrus (c-clamp), Jerry Barrett (drag strut), Mark Waxman (rocket drafting), Lynn Bensey (vise), Kevin Conway (doctrun system), and Jody Goven (flap link).

"I do remember winning the award, vaguely at this time," recalled Waxman, a 1976 graduate of Warde. "I did have an interest in drafting and architecture, and Ted Merrill's class provided an opportunity to work on that. At one point, I was seriously considering being an architect." Waxman, whose winning project was a Saturn 5, won a number of awards for rockets he constructed and flew.

"I was really into model rocketry back in high school," Waxman admitted. "I was a member of the NAR, (the) National Association of Rocketry. In fact, the leader of the local group, a great guy named G. Harry Stine, ran the local club at the YMCA down in Greenwich, I believe. Harry Stine was the founder of the NAR, as well as a science and science fiction author."

Waxman had praise for his former teacher, too. "I remember Ted as a nice teacher," he said. "We had a lot of very talented artists and draftspeople in class. He was very supportive."

General shop students from Wolcott House, instructed by Dizney, took six second place awards and six third place awards. Second place winners included Kal Nagy, Chris O'Day, John Molner, Richard Linley (a freshman in the middle of the photo above), and Jim Anderson. Third prize winners were Mike Adams, Mike Crittenden, Russ Bertman, and Jeff Becher. Earl Kline received one second prize and two thirds.

Wiley Bowling, the coordinator of the Industrial Arts for the Fairfield Public Schools, said, "We were well represented and did very well. The competition was stiff. Schools such as Stamford always present beautiful work. However, from the results of the judging, it's obvious we have very talented students who do beautiful work, too. We're all very proud of them."

Paul

Ratner & Lashar Led Eagles to 14-4 Victory at Staples 55 Years Ago Today

Led by the heavy hitting of Howie Ratner and co-captain John Lashar, the Andrew Warde High School baseball team gave Staples a 14-4 trouncing Monday afternoon, May 26, 1958, at the Wreckers' diamond. Warde, which defeated Staples, 7-1, earlier in the season, completed the two-game sweep against its non-conference rivals.

Ed Moffitt, the winning pitcher, turned in a brilliant performance, yielding only five hits and one earned run. Coach Bob Jackson's Eagles backed Moffitt with a 13-hit attack against three Staples moundsmen. The offensive explosion included a three-run home run by Lashar, and three triples off the bats of Lashar, Ratner, and Glenn Englander.

Ratner had four hits and two walks for a perfect day at the plate, while Lashar drove in four runs with his round-tripper and three-bagger. Ratner and Lashar each crossed the plate four times as Warde romped to its eighth victory against only two losses.

The Eagles picked up single runs in each of the first two innings against Staples pitcher Bill Needham, who picked up the loss. The winners upped their lead to 4-0 in the third inning when Lashar crushed his triple to left-centerfield, following singles by Jack Flanagan and Ratner.

Southpaw Frank Bedell replaced Needham on the hill for Staples with none out in the fifth inning as Warde added four more runs on singles by co-captains Johnny Pekar, Flanagan, and Rudy Takacs, combined with four walks issued by Bedell.

Lashar hit his home run with Ratner on base after his single in the sixth inning as a Staples outfielder unsuccessfully tried to make a shoestring catch of a drive to left-centerfield. The Eagles finished their spree with four more runs in the seventh inning off Bill Whit, with three-base clouts by Ratner and Englander driving home three markers.

Paul

Dramatic Last-Inning Rally Lifts Warde Over Staples to Claim FCIAC East Crown on This Date in 1962

The Andrew Warde High School baseball team scored three runs with two outs in the last of the seventh inning to post a dramatic 5-4 victory over Staples on the Crimson Eagles' diamond 51 years ago today, Friday, May 25, 1962.

The Eagles extended their winning streak to 12 games and won the FCIAC Eastern Division championship with their victory over the Wreckers.

A walk and a single by Hank Bahe set the table for Bob Ryan, who tied the game by rocketing a triple up the right-centerfield alley to score two runs, and Bill Binkiwitz smacked a solid single to leftfield to plate Ryan with the winning run.

Stalwart southpaw Larry Mischik earned his seventh victory of the season. He struck out ten, walked three, and gave up only four hits. Bill Deegan, who relieved Joe DeMaria in the fourth inning, took the loss for the Wreckers, even though he did not allow a hit until the fateful seventh inning.

Staples jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a hit batsman, an error on a pickoff attempt, a grounder, and Mike Neary's single to rightfield. Warde took a 2-1 lead one inning later, despite getting only one hit, a single to leftfield by Ryan. A walk and two errors helped plate the two runs.

The Wreckers countered with a two-run rally of their own in the fourth inning. Larry Duberstein and Dave Smith hit consecutive singles, and Pete Lomme followed with a long triple to rightfield. Staples scored its final run in the fifth inning when a soft infield pop up was mishandled into a "triple" by the Warde infielders, and a sacrifice fly followed to make it 4-2.

It remained that way until Ryan and Binkiwitz blasted the winning shots with two outs in the seventh inning. Warde's victory was its 12th in 14 games, while Staples fell to 6-8.

Paul

Crimson Eagles Used Four Pitchers to Defeat McMahon in Slugfest & Rhubarb Fifty Years Ago Today

Andrew Warde High School's baseball team virtually locked up first place and the FCIAC Eastern Division championship for the second straight year by defeating Brien McMahon High School, 11-9, in eight innings on this date, Thursday, May 23, 1963.

First baseman Gary DuBoys assured the Warde triumph when he smashed a two-run home run with none out in the first extra inning, following a leadoff single by hard-hitting Al Englander, to break open a high-scoring battle which was played under protest by the Senators after a second-inning rhubarb at the Eagles' diamond. The Senators charged that the umpire changed his ruling from a foul to fair ball on a pop up which was turned into an inning-ending double play by Warde catcher Doug Goodfellow.

Coach Bob Jackson used four pitchers for the Eagles. The hosts blew an early 6-0 lead, but they staged a three-run comeback rally in the sixth inning to deadlock the game at 9-9 after McMahon surged ahead by scoring nine runs in the fifth and sixth frames at the expense of Bill Binkiwitz and Pat McDonough. Barry Turlish ended a four-run splurge by the Senators in the sixth, and southpaw Larry Mischik pitched two scoreless innings to gain credit for the hard-fought win.

It was the ninth conference victory in 13 contests for the Eagles, moving them two-and-a-half games ahead of Stamford Catholic (6-6) in the Eastern division standings, with only three games remaining on the regular-season schedule. The defeat dropped Brien McMahon to third place in the division with a 6-7 record.

A walk to Mischik, John Nemeth's single, a two-run triple by Englander, and Pete Jankovsky's sacrifice fly produced the three sixth-inning runs which pulled Warde into a 9-9 tie and sent the twilight game into extra innings.

Paul

"It was 1962" by AWHS Class of '62 Musician Bill Baker

Andrew Warde High School's Class of 1962 held its 50-year reunion last year. Bill Baker of the Class of 1962 wrote and performed this song for the reunion.



Baker is a very unique live performer, the likes of which many have never seen or heard before. While many musicians and vocalists today use midi-tracks, tapes, or CDs to back them up, Bill, on his keyboard, plays the bass with his left hand and the piano, sax, trombone, organ, strings, and vibes with his right hand. He plays his own drumfills with his left foot and sings four-part harmony with a Digitech Vocalizer.

Bill is an entertainer in the classic sense of the word. He's a skilled musician and vocalist playing both keyboards and guitar. He utilizes the epitome of today's "state-of-the-art" electronic keyboard sounds and plays guitar for songs from artists such as mellow James Taylor to bluesy Eric Clapton to the rhythmic Antonio Carlos Jobim.

He has performed with and accompanied such performers as Robert Goulet, Andy Williams, Roy Clark, Roger Miller, The Shirelles, The Drifters, Jay and the Americans, Chubby Checker, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and many more.

I hope you enjoy this.

Paul

Crimson Eagles' Nine Tightened Grip on First Place by Defeating McMahon 51 Years Ago Today

Andrew Warde High School's baseball team tightened its grip on first place in the FCIAC Eastern Division with a come-from-behind 7-3 decision over Brien McMahon High School on this date, Wednesday, May 16, 1962.

The win was Warde's eighth straight after two losses to open the season and gave the Eagles a two-game lead over McMahon.

Jim Lippman and Larry Mischik singled to highlight a five-run Crismon Eagle rally in the sixth inning which provided the margin of victory. Hank Bahe hurled a one-hitter for the winners, striking out nine batters and walking eight.

Paul