Lawrence Burke

       The Wayback Machine is an Internet Archive. I remembered an old web site I created for our 35th Reunion. This was built the old fashioned way with html code. I do not pretend it was as good as the sites we can build using templates today, but I am glad I found the content. There was quite a bit about our teachers which I am going to reproduce.

      I never had Mr. Burke but the comments he inspired were priceless!

Jeff Roberson:

Ah, Larry Burke. Really the only teacher I remember from RHS that mattered to me, only because I spent so much time in graphic arts or the photo areas from sophomore year to graduation. Keeper of the flame, emperor of the lost arts - who else at RHS can legitimately claim to have steered at least 5 young men into their life's work? John Humrich, John Viggiano, Dan Unger , Steve O'Connor, me - have all made a living or pursued degrees in the graphic arts.

When I sat down with my guidance counselor at the beginning of senior year to discuss college he asked me what I loved. "Math and photography", I replied. "Math", he said, "What do you do with that? Photography..." I stopped listening, mostly because my mom called him a dope (thanks mom!) and Larry eventually steered me towards RIT, along with Chubba, Dan and Vigg. Took me another year to get there, but it provided me with a framework for everything that was to come, the perfect meld of technology, craft and art.

It could have been yesterday when I first stepped into the dark rooms at RHS and he showed me how to make a print. I can still see the image coming up through the developer, shadowed in red, cast in pure magic. I can hear his huge baritone in the dark room senior year, remarking, once again, on the strange odoriferous mix of acetic acid and "that smell off you and O'Connor - burning your underwear (frying your brain cells, smoking your shorts, etc.) during free period again?"

The King of Alchemy, Long Live The King!

Francesca Cavallaro:

Mr. Burke, teacher who listened and also was generous with his cigarettes.

Tim Daly:

We had an adopted cat named Timothy. that was his name when we got him so we kept it. Anyway, my father loved this cat. He had the coloring of a siamese but he was one fat cat, like 25 lbs, or something like that. I was taking photography with Mr. Burke 1st semester of senior year. I had brought a camera home and was going to give a picture of Timothy to my father for Xmas. Well, I let it go to the last minute so on the last day of school before Christmas break there I was after school rushing to try and make this print. Some of you may recall that Mr. Burke was asst. wrestling coach that year so we both got out of practice somehow and got to work on the print. I guess it was 12x12. It was black and white. I was very likely showing signs of frustration or maybe worries about skipping wrestling practice so when we get to the final stages and we are in the dark room the print starts to appear and it is just an awesome photo. My parents hung it in the enclosed porch in our house and it was up there for 20 years at least. Anyway, as the print comes out we kind of look at each other like, "Shit yeah, good print" and he blurts out, "There ya go Timmy PAPA's GONNA HAVE A PRINT TONIGHT!" I laughed my ass off.

More Graydon Pool

As Paul noted, my Dad ran Graydon for all of my childhood. It's interesting to read Paul's perspective on Dad's management style and remember Dad's thought processes during those years. First, some thoughts about Graydon. As Paul observed, during the time Dad was in charge, there were no fences at all. There it sat, acres of natural swimming pool, in the middle of a town of 25,000, in the middle of a county of several hundred thousand. Now think about that: you can't put a 15'x25' pool in your yard without a fence, but Graydon was surrounded by nothing but sandy beaches and grassy banks, in the midst of as dense a population as one might find west of the Bronx. Well, Dad took his responsibility for the safety of Graydon swimmers very seriously. He was responsible for everybody on that piece of property, and he had very little control over who wandered onto the grounds. I remember one day a small child fell off the wall and under the water, while his mother chatted on the beach. Dad scooped him up, but came home haunted by the fact that he had seen it happen before the child's mother. That was the nature of the time, and Dad accepted the responsibility. But it also forged his adherence to rules and regulations. Ironclad rules were his mechanisms for accepting responsibility for a big swimming pool in the middle of town. Later on, when I became a lifeguard, I learned to appreciate Dad's approach to rules. It removed the arbritary nature from the job. Rules are rules, and nobody can throw sand, not even your buddy from school. I learned a lot about leadership, responsibility and consistency from Dad. I learned many years later from other former guards that he taught the same lessons to just about all that passed under his leadership at Graydon. (As an aside, one summer I also learned to decline the advances of an "older," probably mid-20s, married woman - wheee!!) At RHS, Dad merely demonstrated and administered his authority. At Graydon, he took the opportunity to teach it. I wish more people could have known the teaching side of Dad. All that said, I do have other Ridgewood stories, so I promise my contribution to this blog will not become a tribute to Dick Flechtner!

Graydon Pool

We used to go to Graydon Pool quite a lot up until the time I was in the 6th grade. It was an all day affair with various set routines. We arrived in the morning and always sat on the "shaded side" with the big trees and where my Mom would meet up with her friends for an all day chat. Us kids would then swim until lunchtime and after a sandwich the Moms would have us religiously wait one half hour before we went in the water again. Nobody wanted us to cramp up and drown was their stated reason. In the afternoon there was always a visit to the ice cream truck and the gum ball machines and then we went home. Going to Graydon was an activity which used up all our daily allotment of youthful energy. I'm sure the Moms appreciated it because there would then be less trouble getting us to go to bed. It's funny reflecting back on all of this and thinking how different things are today. Women then didn't have to explain to anyone why they were housewives. Today they would have to explain why they aren't working at some career. Times certainly have changed. One other memory of Graydon: the Head Lifeguard, Richard Flechtner. His word was law and there were few who would dispute it. If they did they were usually given a stern lecture and might even be escorted off the premises. This was in Graydon Pool's heyday. Before the cheesy looking fence was put up, before everyone had a pool of their own, and when Graydon was a place to meet one's friends. It was a considerably more difficult place to manage than it is today. For one thing you can tell by looking that fewer people use the pool and there are more people on hand to maintain order. Though when I used to go there was always one man who maintained order among the pool goers and the lifeguards and that was Mr. Flechtner, Kurt's Dad. I never crossed him then and I kept this up when I met him once again at Ridgewood High School where he was the Athletic Director. He was the sort of person I didn't want to argue with because I knew he was going to be right and I had seen so many try and fail in this fruitless endeavor. It was always better in my mind to cut him a wide track and marvel at the efficiency with which he managed the pool.

Ridgewood High School Newspaper

      I was asked to answer a few questions by a writer for the High Times, detailing differences in school life in the 1970s and now. The writer had come across this blog for the RHS class of 1977. Here are the questions and my responses. I told him I was highly opinionated but all and all very supportive of Ridgewood High School. We'll see how well he understood this when the article appears before Christmas. I'll post a link in any event. 

     Alex Pajusi School Life Features Article Q: How has school life changed from when you went to RHS? A: In the 1970s life was surely different. 1. Moms stayed at home and were around when we came home for lunch from elementary school. 2. Kids were skinnier because our mothers made us go outside to play. 3. Kids had part-time jobs like delivering newspapers, raking leaves, cutting grass, and shoveling snow. These jobs gave us a sense of what it takes to succeed in life and exposed us to all sorts of types of people in their neighborhood. These sort of jobs are also the best way to help children learn positive work ethics. 4. Kids were not over-scheduled and we had to figure out our own “play dates.” 5. Kids in elementary school were part of the Safety Patrol. I was a Captain and it taught me lessons in citizenship that I cherish to this day. I still have the Honor Squad pin they gave me in the 6th grade. We patrolled in all kinds of weather and believed it to be a normal part of life to make small sacrifices for others. The Safety Patrol has since been replaced by retirees who receive pay. Q: Are these changes for the better? A: No. Moms are overworked, children are obese, and there is less interaction among neighbors. The Safety Patrols have been disbanded. Q: What did you like most about school when you went? A: Competing in sports and hanging out with my friends were always my favorite activities. Whether it was ad-hoc games in the school yard or organized teams, these were the things I enjoyed the most. Q: What did you like the least? A: Sitting in class when there was a substitute teacher. Q: What were some of the fads and trends when you went to school? In the 60’s there was a time when all the boys parted their hair down the middle and grew it long on the sides. There was also the yo-yo. In the 70’s we dressed in terrible looking bell-bottom pants. Q: How have the buildings changed? A: All the schools have cafeterias and the kids in elementary school have to stay in school at lunchtime. I do like all the computer equipment and the high-speed networks, though I am biased as that it what I do for a living http://www.forsythe.com. Q: Are the class offerings different? A: More computers. Q: Was there ever any school spirit? (Since school spirit presently is very low) A: There was always a sense of spirit but it’s more something you recognize after you graduate than while you are attending school. Whenever we have a class reunion we always marvel at our school spirit. Don’t be concerned you will notice this too. Peace.

Remembered Spaces

We carry with us footprints of vanished places; houses we moved out of years ago, ice cream stores like T&W (Terwilliger & Wakefield) that went out of business, bars like Espositos which stopped serving, neighborhoods where only the street names remain the same. This is the long gone geography of Ridgewood.

These were places, and I'm sure you all could add many more, we knew almost by intuition until they vanished, leaving behind only the strange sense of knowing our way around a world that no longer can be found.

Thanks to Verlyn Klinkenborg for the inspiration.

Homage To Small Hometowns

Ridgewood will always be a small town to me. No matter how many restaurants it has and how few empty lots remain without a McMansion.

I saw this today on the James Lileks site:

"If you grow up in a small town, your love is inevitably unrequited. Which is why you return, the grey swain, flowers in hand. Remember me?"

If anybody could ever sum up why I have a blog and a web site devoted to the Ridgewood High School class of 1977 James Lileks could. He is a writer living in the midwest who loves New York city for the same reason I do: The Buildings! Please visit his web site. You won't regret it.

RHS Distinguished Alumni

     RHS LAUNCHES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD PROGRAM RHS principal Jack Lorenz announced that his office is now accepting nominations for the newly initiated Distinguished Alumni Award. Chosen on the basis of their achievements in their fields or contributions to society, the award winners will have plaques hung in their names in the main vestibule at the Heermance Place entrance to the building. 

     "The purpose of the wall is to recognize alumni who have distinguished themselves through their achievements in their fields or contributions to society," said Lorenz. "The recognition wall will serve as an inspiration to students attending RHS each year." In the first year, he said, the program will recognize several distinguished alumni posthumously to reflect the early history of RHS.

     The public is invited to participate in the nomination process. Please send nominations to RHS, Distinguished Alumni Selection Committee, c/o Principal's Office, 627 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood NJ 07451. Nominations should include a detailed description of the nominee explaining why the candidate should be honored as a Distinguished Alumni of RHS as well as the individual's special recognitions, honors, awards, or accomplishments. The deadline is Friday, March 23, 2007. The Distinguished Alumni Award recognition program will be held on a biannual basis, alternating with RHS Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

Ridgewood Is A Restaurant Town

     This is so painfully obvious that even someone who is visiting Ridgewood for the first time would be able to tell on a simple drive through town. What they might not notice are the people who live in Ridgewood who are overweight, especially the school children. I hypothesize that there is a direct correlation between the number of restaurants in town and the number of school children who are corpulent. This can be corroborated by the increase in families who have both parents working, thus they have less time to devote to cooking and eating at home. My hunch is that if people could make the time to eat at home and cooked their own meals then kids might not weigh so much above average. Of course, it doesn't help that children spend time passively watching TV, playing video games, and surfing the Internet. I hate to sound like an old fogey but since there weren't a lot of video games 30 years ago when I was growing up in Ridgewood, and no easily accessed Internet, we went outside, or were ordered out by our parents, and couldn't simply recline statically to play. I like to cling to this idea that we played outside a greater share of the day than kids do now. Do I consider that my childhood environment was healthier for kids than the current one? It certainly was different and seemingly centered around outside activities. Though I don't begrudge kids their video games and Internet access as we saw our fair share of TV, too. I only wish kids would spend their time behaving like kids, and less like couch potatoes because it shows all too often when you take the time to look and you notice their portliness.

The Next Class of 1977 Reunion

When we do have another reunion this is how I hopefully will look:






That's me and my dog Angus in a park in Forest Hills, NY circa 2006.

As for the next reunion, all I can say is that they take a tremendous amount of time and effort. Unfortunately, I travel too much to work on the next planning committee but would be glad to do what I can remotely. That is to say, I will maintain our web site and blog.

Please look me up in the old phone book when you hear any news.

Your classmate from years ago,

Paul

Ridgewood Farmer's Market

I had a short but sweet visit to Ridgewood today for the express purpose of visiting the Farmer's Market that sets up on Sundays in the parking lot of the train station. We stayed long enough to buy some of my favorite produce: Jersey Tomatoes and Corn. As an added bonus they had 3 guys from Bella Mozzarella in Fairlawn making fresh Mozzarella on site. Combine this cheese with the tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and I was in heaven when we returned home. I also had an ear of white corn that was so good it didn't need to be cooked.

The corn was just as good as the ears we used to buy from Mr. Lester when he had his farm next to Graydon Pool. When I think about him plowing his fields as late as the 1970s with a horse I am usually at a loss for words. Year after year I'm sure all the "sensible" people told him to sell his farm and retire. I don't know if it was stubbornness or he just liked the hard work, probably a combination of the two, but there he would be out walking behind his horse in his corn fields. This sort of man is next to impossible to explain to the current young residents of Ridgewood, and my 10 year old nephew who lives in Ridgewood now is no exception.

I should really know better and not try too hard to explain the past to young people, unless they ask. Ridgewood was an entirely different place 30-40 years ago when I was growing up. Moms stayed at home, divorce was not so rampant, and obesity was the exception and not the norm. I should just realize that when you have a Sony GameBoy, high speed Internet access, and all advantages now afforded to Ridgewood School children you usually don't spend much time thinking about the fact we all stand upon the shoulders of the giants who came before us. Mr. Lester was one such giant, and the visage of him behind the horse usually comes to my mind at this time of year whenever I bite into an ear of Jersey corn.

Do You Recognize Any Of These Retiring Teachers?

I sure do recognize my eighth grade English Teacher, Mrs Berrian.


What's more the Interim Superintendent of the Ridgewood Schools was my first Physical Education Teacher, Mr. Titus.

If you check out the staff directory I bet you will find some of your old teachers. I can only tip my hat to them all for their dedication and perseverance.