Recollections of growing up in the 1960s and 70s in Ridgewood, NJ.
"When time passes, it's the people who knew you whom you want to see; they're the ones you can talk to. When enough time passes, what's it matter what they did to you?"
John Irving (The Cider House Rules)
This is how the RHS Class of 1977 rolls. We gathered a band and were
gifted a bar in downtown Ridgewood for our 35th Reunion in 2012. Here is
our friend, Joanne Hunter Currey
,giving her all on the flute. You will recognize the tunes, "This Old
Cowboy" and "Can't You See" by Marshall Tucker. Please keep Joanne in
your prayers tonight as she made this evening special.
Tony Napier's son, Manny, expressed these words on Facebook upon the death of his father:
"I
am sad to say that my Dad, Tony Napier passed away today at the age of
78. My Dad was a physical education teacher for 35 years, coach of the
gymnastic team for 32 years. He was larger than life and anyone who had
him as a coach or teacher will tell you. He was a mentor, a teacher and
best of all the best Dad in the world."
I
was told it was a volleyball net which caused him to lose one of his fingers as a young coach. It didn't slow him down one bit and he was later inducted into the RHS Athletic Hall of Fame. All
my life I have never worn a ring, wedding or otherwise. When someone
asks me I always mention Mr. Napier. Funny way to remember a legendary
fellow like Mr. Napier but it's true. RIP.
Larry Coyle, a low-key coach who built a boys’ cross-country juggernaut
at Ridgewood High School, died Saturday at a Manhattan nursing home. He
was 74.
Larry Coyle
He had Alzheimer’s disease, his family said.
“Larry was this quiet guy who never raised his voice, never lost his
temper, but had this way of commanding kids’ respect,” said Mike Glynn,
his successor as cross-country coach.
“He would do anything for his kids, and they would go through a brick wall for him,” Glynn said.
Mr. Coyle taught English at Ridgewood and coached cross-country for all
his 29 years there. His Maroons won state Group 4 championships in 1991
and 1992, a dozen Bergen Group 4 championships and a slew of Bergen
Meet of Champions and other titles. He also coached track and field
early in his Ridgewood tenure.
Suburban Bergen County may have been the last place James Lawrence
Coyle imagined finding himself. The Bronx native went to Iona College on
a track scholarship — Glynn was a teammate — and began his teaching
career at a Catholic high school in Harlem. He was hired by Louis D.
Brandeis High School on the Upper West Side, but a citywide teachers
strike sidelined him and he wound up working at a Coca-Cola bottling
plant.
A job placement agency found Mr. Coyle a teaching position in Ridgewood, a town he never heard of. “New Jersey was completely foreign to my parents,” daughter Audrey Siciliano said. “Their world was the Five Boroughs.”
Mr. Coyle started at Ridgewood High in 1968 and immediately commenced
coaching. He commuted from New York City for a few years before settling
his family in Midland Park.
In retirement, he and his wife, Sandra, known as Patsy, moved back to Manhattan.
Mr. Coyle is survived by his wife of 48 years; his daughter, of
Winchester, Mass.; a son, Patrick, of Atlanta; and four grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Cremation Consultants in Brooklyn. The family is planning a New Jersey memorial service in September.
If you are too young to remember where you were this day 46 years ago, try asking someone older than yourself. No doubt they will have a memory of waking early, adjusting the rabbit ears (antenna) on the TV set, and watching as Neil Armstrong become the first human we know of to step foot on the moon.
I'm not sure it is possible in this day and age for this country to come together and collectively hold our breath while someone does the seemingly impossible. Yes, it was extremely difficult to go to the moon, but don't forget nobody had ever returned from the moon either, and that was their next challenge.
We are on track to launch the RHS AA website during the summer of 2015. Expect to see plenty of photos and ideas on how you might contribute to this 501(c)(3). With an estimated 25,000 graduates spread across the globe there will be a myriad of ways and opportunities to further this lofty venture along. I expect many goals and ideas to be proposed, some more locally significant than others. Here is my hope for the RHS:
My goal for the RHS AA is to create opportunities for alumni in our
connected age. To facilitate their coming together to solve collective
problems through mentoring, networking, and revealing a wide variety of
role models as to what it means to be successful and a contributing
member to our common welfare.
Isn't that's all we are looking for in this life:
"A little connection and a little laughter."
Connection can from a variety of sources. The above quote is from Bob Lefsetz. We have never met but I look forward to his email every week. He is a 21st century phenomenon, the curator. Curators assist people with sifting through the myriad of information available to us in a wide variety of formats.
In the 20th century we made appointments to watch TV programs, listen to radio DJs, go to the movies, and check out books from the library. Now entertainment and culture is all on demand when we want it and the younger generation cannot fathom how we oldsters lived without this convenience. And the older I grow I tend to agree with them. How did we stand the wait?
I do know what we did while waiting in line for the movies or for a show to come on TV. We talked and observed the world around us. We connected with one another and tried to make each other laugh.
Now we are heads down in our entertainment, while our movie theatres, book stores, and live TV shows become a thing of the past.
There is a trade off for everything in this life. I'll miss the grand old movie theatres which played one movie at a time on a huge screen. We would then all have something to talk about for a while, and maybe even consider seeing again.
Today we see an increasing number of opportunities to outsource our communications. I read on the Internet that for some people, eliminating the need for one-on-one contact is appealing, and many young people prefer online conversations instead of face-to-face exchanges. I guess you cannot miss what you have never experienced. There is also no definitive way to measure whether or not this new type of connectedness isn't producing just as many laugh, if not more, than the old style I can easily recall. It's just different, no better or worse is how I view it now. Maybe I'll change my mind as I grow even older.
My Dad gave me much good advice over the course of our time together. He always said to buy good clothing as it would wear longer, look better, and save you money. Spot on.
He also gave me a poem at one of the low points of my young life which helped me that day and many times in the future. I am glad to have these words to console me whenever life sometimes gets too hard, as it always does, for everyone.
If
-Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!
Seemingly, every year at this time I remember what the F. Scott Fitzgerald character, Daisy Buchanan, from one of my favorite novels The Great Gatsby, said about the Summer Solstice,
"In two weeks it'll be the longest day in the year....Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."
Tomorrow is the longest day of the year 2015 above the equator. Like the aforementioned Daisy, I usually miss the event and rue the fact just like she did. Though this year will be different as by blogging about it, and spending the time to give this some thought I most certainly will consciously watch it come and go. Some people view it sadly as the days inevitably grow shorter, until the Winter Solstice in December when the whole process reverses itself. I've thought about it now and it appears to me that the old chestnut about life's events is true: it's not what life hands you, it's how you react.
Here's a picture from the RHS 2015 graduation which was held this week. Nobody does High School graduation better. Just hope these newly minted alumni are ready for all the goodbyes that graduation necessitates and the heart break that ensues. Maybe they will take some solace in knowing that graduation is difficult for everyone in every place. For what it's worth, these graduates do look sharp with the guys in their white tuxedos and the gals carrying red roses while wearing their own choice of white dress. The tradition is for the guys all to go to Biltmore Tuxedo on Ridgewood Avenue and rent the first tuxedo most of them have ever worn. The thing I remember about the outfit was the shoes were made of cardboard. The shoes matched the tuxedo perfectly but probable nobody at Biltmore expected them to be returned in the same shape as when they were rented out. They knew about the after graduation parties, the customary dip in Graydon Pool at sunrise, and the trips to the Jersey Shore the next day. The shoes were the least of their worries when you think about it. Just like the days growing shorter truly is the least of anyone's worries, especially if they miss the longest day of the year.
Every once in a while it seems there is a new "scientific" study as to why people should quit using FaceBook. The reasons they site like privacy and that it can use up a lot of your time are valid.
I
also agree nobody cares what you are eating but the pictures of people which are posted are
priceless.
If FB is the social medium for a certain age group and
demographic that is a good thing in a world where very few things seem
to bring us together, like civic responsibilty.
I
agree that we all have friends in our friends lists who we might remember very
well, but who's to say this is a bad thing? I've received some great
advice from people I haven't seen in over 30 years. Does the passage of
time make their words any less authentic. I think not.
I am going to remain connected for a while longer, or until one of these aforementioned studies changes my mind.
A George Washington Junior High School Teacher we are still talking about in glowing terms long after he
has passed. There are plenty of teachers across the entire history of the Ridgewood Public School System who are worthy or our acolades.
In Mr Harmon's case, everyone who ever met him only hopes to live up to the high standards he
set personally in an era when tolerance and compassion were hard to
come by. Mr Harmon lived every day with a Shakespearean single
mindedness, "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
and by opposing end them?"
I met Mr Harmon in 1971, when my brothers Peter and Don McCubbin
took home the plants in his classroom for the summer. He referred to
each of us as "Mr McCubbin" from the moment I met him and for all the
time which I was ever within earshot. He always said this with a knowing
smile as to not intimidate, because between his perfectly tied bow tie
and his noteworhty eloquence, Mr Harmon was an imposing figure to a
junior high school students and a perfect gentleman.
There was never a moment in his presence when you did not feel
respected. I only wish that our nascient RHS Alumni Association will be
emblematic of the rightenous and saintlike patience he lived every day.
Today is Memorial Day. The unofficial start of summer and with it the BBQ season. I have always liked to BBQ on charcoal, and this is how I remember it from my youth. Today with propane we have a more even heat and it reaches whatever temperature you desire by the turn of a knob. I like the challenge of figuring out the temperature of the flame by waving my hand over the charcoal and looking to see their color. It makes for a more intense BBQ experience for the chef and what I believe is a tastier flavor for the food. Always use Kingsford.
A little Memorial Day history courtesy ofthe San Francisco Bay View, of which I was unaware:
"As we pause to remember the nation’s war dead, it’s worth remembering
that Memorial Day was first celebrated by Black Union troops and free
Black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina at the end of the Civil
War.
Memorial
Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865, in Charleston, S.C.,
to honor 257 dead Union soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in
an upscale race track converted into a Confederate prison camp. They dug
up the bodies and worked for two weeks to give them a proper burial as
gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of
10,000 people led by 3,000 Black children, where they marched, sang and
celebrated.
As historian David Blight recounts in his masterful book, “Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory”
(2001), Charleston was occupied by Union troops in the spring of 1865,
most white residents having fled the city. In this atmosphere, the free
Black population of Charleston, primarily consisting of former slaves,
engaged in a series of celebrations to proclaim the meaning of the war
as they saw it.
From 1955 through 1985 he was always introduced the same way, ''Heeeeeeres Johhny''!
When he finally left the stage for the last time there were no dry eyes in the studio, including Johnny's.
It was the end of an era where people stayed up late to at least hear his opening monologue, so they could talk about it at work the next day. It seems strange to consider this sort of appointment TV, or "linear television" as they say in the trade. We have exchanged this common meeting for a world of unlimited choices and TV on our own terms. It's hard to describe and explain to younger generations who can record and watch the late night shows the next day, or later that night and avoid all commercials.
When I consider that Johnny Carson was on TV for 30 consecutive years it always makes me stop and think how rare a phenomenon this is in any profession or occupation. I like to comment whenever someone tells me they have done something for 30 years that they have accomplished a "Johnny Carson." If they had ever tuned in for his show they would know of what I speak and usually give me a shy smile. They know how hard it is to work at something and not throw in the towel when the opportunity suggests itself. This is not to say I would want to try this feat, only that I recognize the perseverance that it takes. I saw what it took for my father to work 30 years at the same law firm, the sacrifices, the long commutes, and finally walking away from it all enjoy the fruits of his labors.
This is not to say the Ridgewood Public Schools don't teach gardening, only that they might need some help from parents and alumni.
I wonder how the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association (RHSAA) might be able to help this idea along. My earliest memories of gardening include the wild berries which used to grow along the fence at Willard, and the sunflower plants we would grow in the area now used as a playground. Not to mention all the wisdom imparted by teachers such as Gene Ricci. I still refer to the medium which plants are grown in as "soil" and not "dirt." I guess you would have had to been corrected by Mr. Ricci to fully understand. Just one of many gardening lessons I remember well to this day.
This list I retrieved from a FaceBook forum so it stands on its on merits:
Beth Roman said,
"I used to attend RHS Alumni luncheons in Sarasota Fl., with my father
back in 1998 - 2001. There were a lot of graduating classes represented
from 1933 - 1978. My father graduated in 1938. I graduated in 1974.
The longing for real Jersey food came up in conversation among these RHS Alumni's each time I attended with my father.
Top of the list for Pizza was By The Slice from Renatos. With the follow up instructions of how you ate a slice LOL
Mama Rosa's pizza would be mentioned, but mostly in connection to it being closer to Graydon Pool, Vets Field and the Library.
Diners was a toss up between the Suburban and Mathews.
Crumb Coffee Cake from the Bakery across the street from the Library.
Footlong hot dogs all the way from Johnny and Hanges in Paterson.
T&W Ice Cream
Van Dykes Ice Cream
Real Kaiser hard rolls with butter by itself
Real Kaiser hard rolls with butter and a sunny side up fried egg
Talyor Ham (Pork Roll) fried on a hard rolls with butter by itself or
with a sunny side up fried egg. Most said Al n Harrys made the best
Fried Taylor Ham Sandwiches.
Beefsteak Tomatoes with mayo as a sandwich.
Beefsteak Tomatoes sliced with sugar sprinkled on it
Beefsteak Tomatoes sliced with salt n pepper sprinkled on it
Sweet Jersey Corn boiled in a huge stock pot with melted butter on the
top so the corn was buttered as you pulled it out of the water.
Hero Sandwiches
Jersey Blueberries
Jersey Peaches with ice cream on waffles
Jersey Asparagus with butter
Jersey Strawberries with whipped cream or just rinsed with sugar
Bagels
Egg Creams
Last but not least as it was discussed over and over was Donuts and Cider from Tices Farm."
Advice to a nephew who's growing up fast: Hold tight to those things you loved as a child, or at least when you were younger than you are now. I say this because we all have a tendency to lose touch with what we loved as a child. Something about the social pressures of adolescence and professional pressures of young adulthood squeezes this passion out of us. We’re taught that the only reason to do something is if we’re somehow rewarded for it. Remember when simply playing outdoors was its own reward. You may not be able to comprehend life without air conditioning but there was a time when being outside on a hot day made you feel cooler than being inside the house, except maybe in the basement.
Best thing to do with yourself at any age is to find a problem you care about and start solving it. Obviously, you’re not going to fix the world’s problems by yourself. But you can contribute and make a difference. And that feeling of making a difference is ultimately what’s most important for your own happiness and fulfillment.
According to the news today we won't have pay phones to kick around much longer. It appears New York City is taking the lead. The Mayor's Office unveiled an ambitious plan to roll out a free city-wide municipal Wi-Fi network that officials say will be the fastest and most wide-reaching network of its kind in the world.
"At a press conference at City Hall, the city unveiled LinkNYC, which will rely on thousands of kiosks that will be deployed at locations currently occupied by pay phones. The kiosks will be installed in as many as 10,000 locations throughout the five boroughs and will offer Wi-Fi service of one gigabit per second within a radius of 150 feet. They'll also offer free domestic voice calls to all 50 states. The first of the kiosks is expected to begin service in late 2015."
The memorable Jim Croce song will no longer make sense after all the pay phones are gone. If you take it one step further, will anyone ever need to call the operator again?
"Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)"
Operator, well could you help me place this call
See, the number on the match book is old and faded
She's living in L.A
With my best old ex-friend Ray
A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated
But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
Operator, well could you help me place this call
'Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me
There's something in my eyes
You know it happens every time
I think about the love that I thought would save me
But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
No, no, no, no
That's not the way it feels
Operator, well let's forget about this call
There's no one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Ah, you've been so much more then kind
You can keep the dime
But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
On beautiful autumn afternoons like today I am reminded of the many occasions we went to Madison Square Garden for a New York Ranger hockey game with a 12:00 PM start time. If the game was on TV the players would slick back their hair back and shave so they would look good on camera. There were no masks or helmuts, except maybe for our goalie Eddie Giacomin.
The Garden Faithful, as we were charitably referred to in the newspapers and on TV, would chant our goalie's name whenever the mood struck or the action demanded it. We would call out, "Ed-die Ed-die!" till our ears started to ring.
You Tube has a channel which I just became aware of this morning. It's called Ridgewood Film and is the brainchild of two RHS students, Spencer Muhlstock and Hayes Walsh. These guys are alright with me on so many levels. Firstly, what better way to acquire a useful and highly marketable skill than to make movies on your own computer. Secondly, to focus on you high school gives you all the material you will need for a few years, and then some for later. Lastly, what they are producing is good. Take a look at the one with scenes from a helicopter or the trailers they are producing for the New Players Company.
I give them a big thank you and congratulations for showing us all what a fine education they have been receiving. Expect many more delightful short pieces in the future.
The newly elected officers of the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association. Thomas Gorman, principal of RHS and a Class of '87 graduate, said more than a dozen people attended the Sept. 30 meeting where Keith Dawkins was elected president, Jacqueline Hennessey (Class of '87) was elected vice president, Steven Correll (Class of '88) was elected treasurer, and Siobhan Winograd (Class of '91) was elected secretary.
Left to right are RHS Principal Tom Gorman, Siobhan Winograd, Jacqueline Hennessey, Steven Correll, and Keith Dawkins.
"We are excited to announce the formation of the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association!
The Alumni Association will officially begin operating effective September 30, 2014. At the 7:30 pm meeting on the third floor of the Education Center, the Alumni Board of Trustees and officers will be elected and a vision for the Alumni Association will be laid out for the upcoming year. All alumni are welcome to attend.
To celebrate this new endeavor, alumni and friends have been invited to attend a dinner on October 2, 2014 at 8:30 pm at Novo Restaurant in Ridgewood. I will be attending and addressing the group, and hope to see many of you there. Seating is limited, so please contact Siobhan Crann Winograd (’91)(swinograd@hotmail.com) or me if you are interested in attending.
The Alumni Association will run very similarly to those seen on the collegiate level – it will promote alumni relations and activities, foster connections with alumni and RHS, and fundraise. Its official mission will be “[t]o celebrate and promote the collective experiences unique to the Ridgewood High School community and strengthen A Tradition of Excellence.” Its official Strategic Priorities will be to:
• Foster A Tradition of Excellence at Ridgewood High School
• Enhance the overall experience of existing students
• Strengthen communication and promote connections between alumni and the Ridgewood High School community
• Facilitate an active and dynamic alumni network
• Encourage participation in alumni relations programs
Alumni associations are quite rare among public high schools. The formation of ours is a testament to the enthusiasm and loyalty of RHS alumni. I hope you share my excitement for what I know will be a terrific venture."
Sincerely,
Thomas A. Gorman, Ed.D.
Principal
Ridgewood High School
627 Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
201-670–2800 x20501
http://ridgewood.rhs.schoolfusion.us/
The group consists of 10 athletes, one coach, one team and another team’s championship era.
The inductees include student athletes John Cerf, Boys Gymnastics (1976); Rachel Grygiel, Girls Soccer (1993); Nancy Hogan, Multi-Sport Athlete (1974); Jean Hughes, Girls Cross Country and Track and Field (1989); Michele Marangi, Girls Tennis (1984); John Marshall, multi-sports athlete (1971); Mark Romeo, Wrestling (2002); Don Taylor, Boys Basketball (1961); Paul Tornatore, Football (1987); and Chris VanNote, Boys Soccer (1981). Jim Bruni, Head Boys Basketball Coach, 1964-1971, will also be inducted, along with the 1913 “Ridgewood Invincibles” Football Team and the “Streak of 44” consecutive wins by the Ridgewood Boys Lacrosse Team.
Dear Fellow Classmates,As many of you already know, our 35th High School Class Reunion has been set and is on Saturday October 11th, 2014 at the Sheraton Crossroads Hotel in Mahwah, NJ in the IllusionsLounge from 7:00pm-11:00pm.(www.sheratonmahwah.com) As was the case with our 30th reunion, we have organized this without the assistance of a 3rd party company and are relying on our classmates to spread the word to our others in our class about the event. The event includes a full buffet along with an open bar and is $99.00 per person.
RHS Class of 1984 - 30th Reunion - September 26 & 27
FRIDAY:
Rich and Lindsey Barclay would like to invite you to their house for a few drinks and to catch up on Friday 9/26 beginning at 7:30.
The RHS Football game starts at 7:00 if you’d like... start there, then walk to their house, just down the road from RHS at 143 Brookside Ave.
There will be Beer, Wine, other beverages and Appetizers. To cover the costs, we are asking for everyone to chip in $25.
If people can give us a heads up on attendance for Friday, that will help us in the planning. Email Lindsey at: RLBarc@aol.com
Feel free to forward this to other 84’ers.
All welcome.
SATURDAY:
We also have the Elks club booked for Saturday night 9/27 at 7:30. Beer, Wine, Dinner catered by the Best Of Everything and Music. If you pay by 9/14, its $50. its $55after that and its $60 at the door
Mail to: Kelly Kennedy Rick
340 Fairway Road
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Make check payable to: Kelly Rick
Please let Rob Davis know if you will be attending The Elks club. rfdavisii@gmail.com
In college, I had a sociology professor have us write an essay about why conceptions of friendship vary. I don't remember a word of what I wrote but have pondered his question many times since. There are thousands of quotes on the subject of friendship, a personal favorite is from the movie Stand By Me:
"Friends come in and out of your life, like busboys at a restaurant."
If I were asked today to tell about my friendships and what they mean, I would begin with what another professor of mine from college once told me on the subject: the basis of friendship is trust. Looking back on his pithy explanation almost 40 years later, it still rings true. I have lost and gained friends depending upon my belief in their reliability, goodness, and honesty. Though this doesn't answer the original question of why ideas of friendship will vary from person to person.
I know now that this question has no single answer and that my professor wanted us to use the books we had been reading as a basis for our essays. Still it would be helpful, and many hurt feelings would be prevented, if we all agreed on what friendship means and the amount of liberty we can take in the friendships that we make. This is, of course, impossible and everyone will always give themselves the benefit of the doubt, usually before they grant this gift even to a friend.
The friendships we have as children appear to us at the time as though they will last a lifetime. Though we all know this not to be the case. A small number will survive and can be renewed from time to time at reunions and by chance or scheduled meetings, letters, or email. It is these few that we cherish and long to keep and to not pass any more judgements upon.
When we get to the end of our lives we hopefully have learned to make amends, say our apologies, and enjoy the time we have left to explore our memories of times and places long gone. I can't say that this prospect is easy, but it's certainly worth the effort for everyone involved when slights are forgotten and the true meaning of what our friends mean to us is considered anew.
Found this quote while reading a memoir by Judy Johnson, Watching The Game. I think it fits the tone of this blog and intimates at what I have been trying to write about for a long time.
"Meditate upon the name. Home is an English word virtually impossible to translate into other tongues. No translation catches the associations, the mixture of memory and longing, the sense of security and autonomy and accessibility, the aroma of inclusiveness, of freedom from wariness, that cling to the word home and are absent from house or even my house. Home is a concept, not a place; it is a state of mind where self-definition starts; it is origins--the mix of time and place and smell and weather wherein one first realizes one is an original, perhaps like others, especially those one loves, but discrete, distinct, not to be copied."
--A Bartlett Giamatti, Commissioner of Major League Baseball for 154 days
Robert D. Sullivan, age 84, died in Waltham, Saturday morning, August 16, 2014, after a brief illness. Born in Medford, Robert was the son of the late Helen M. (Maxwell) & Daniel J. Sullivan.
Bob was raised in Medford and was a graduate of Medford High School, class of 1947. He attended Cardinal Newman prep for a year, 1947-1948, and then went on to graduate from Worcester State College, class of 1952, where he was class president. He earned his masters at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, in school administration in 1954. While attending UMass-Amherst, Bob began his teaching career with a teaching fellowship, 1952-1954. His years at UMass-Amherst were very special to Bob; this is where he met his future wife, Kathleen Eunice Garvin. They married in Medford, at St. Joseph Church, in 1953 and have been married for 61 years.
In September of 1954, Bob began his career in education in the Ridgewood, NJ public school system. He also continued his education in New Jersey at Peterson, Montclair and Rutgers Universities. He taught grade six elementary, he was a principal, administrative assistant to the superintendent and in July of 1970, he became the Director of Personnel for the district, retiring in October 1989.
In January 1955, Bob joined the United States Army and proudly served during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged as a Specialist 3rd class in December, 1956. Bob then went on to continue his career in education in New Jersey.
Bob was very active in civic and professional organizations in New Jersey. He was a member of NJ Education Association, National Education Association, American Association of School Administrators, Association for school, college and university staffing, of which he was a member of the Board of Directors, 1981-1984, and was president in 1982-1983 of the Middle Atlantic Association for school, college and university staffing. Bob was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for recognition of outstanding contributions to the teaching profession by the Jersey City State College in 1985.
Bob was also a football and basketball official in New Jersey and New York. A member of the NJ Football Officials Association and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, NY Chapter, for football. In Ridgewood, NJ, Bob was an official in their recreational basketball program.
Bob was a past president of the Kiwanis Club of Ridgewood, NJ in 1974- 1975, and chairman of their youth foundation from 1980-1989. He was a board member of the Valley Hospital Home & Community Health Care and chairman of the personnel committee from 1987-1989. After Bob retired, they settled in Mashpee on Cape Cod. Bob and his beloved wife K. Eunice loved to golf. They were members of the Quashnet Valley Country Club in Mashpee from 1990-2005 and the Spanish Wells Country Club, in Bonita Springs, FL, where they wintered, from 1989 to 2012.
In addition to his beloved wife K. Eunice (Garvin) Sullivan, Bob is survived by his daughters, Dr. Kathleen A. Hoye and her husband Dr. Stephen Hoye of Taunton, Patricia M. Boylan and her husband Denis Boylan of Harrison, NJ, and Susan J. Waddick and her husband Matthew of Waltham. His devoted sons, Robert M. Sullivan, his wife Evelyn-Sue of Woodbridge, NJ, and William D. Sullivan and his wife Lisa of Woburn. Bob is also survived by 10 loving grandchildren. He was the brother of the late Helen Sullivan.
Funeral from the McLaughlin-Dello Russo Funeral Home, 60 Pleasant St. WOBURN, Thursday, August 21st at 9:30 AM. Followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Brigid Church, 1979 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington at 10:30AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours Wednesday, August 20th 4 thru 8PM. Services will conclude with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford.
It has been requested that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be made in Bob's name to Worcester State University Division of University Advancement, General Scholarship Class of 1952, 486 Chandler St., Worcester, MA 01602.
"We now have a date and location for our 20th reunion!
We followed the results of the poll you answered. About 50 people voted, and the vast majority said they wanted our reunion to be in North Jersey during Columbus Day weekend.
So let's get together on Saturday, Oct 11th from 8pm until midnight, at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel's Bar/Restaurant in Mahwah (180 Rt 17 South).
More details to come (payment, hotel room discounts, etc.), but in the mean time WE NEED YOUR HELP to get the word out to our classmates. We have over 200 people on this Facebook page, which is good, but also means about 150 people aren't getting the message.
PLEASE EMAIL OUR MISSING CLASSMATES. If you want, cc me or Jon Donnelly on your note (armenmeyer@gmail.com or jondonnelly1@gmail.com), and we'll get them into an email list for future updates. Or just post the email addresses of anyone you see missing from this page as a comment here, and we'll take care of it.
More to come. Jon, Tom, Adam, and I are looking forward to all of us getting together again on October 11th."
This site demonstrates a "real-time software solution that integrates renewable energy system performance data with financial management." Extra energy which is generated and not used by a school facility can be returned to the power grid. Let the sun shine in!
Palisades Amusement Park finally closed its doors following the 1971 season, though this picture from the Vintage Bergen County photo web site seems to make it come alive.
All the amusement parks, state and county fairs from my youth are all starting to blend into one happy memory. Time will do this to each of us. I do recall a few rides home from Palisades Amusement Park in our family station wagon, which was without air-conditioning. We didn't know any better and just endured it, along with the long line of traffic to get out of the park.
By the end of a day at Palisades you were a combination of tired, hot, and full of foods like hotdogs and cotton candy. There was never much talk of doing anything else once we got home but go to sleep.
In the morning the prizes we had won the day before may have lost some of their luster though we couldn't ever shake the fact that we had expended a tremendous amount of energy in a short period of time. This was much to our parents delight no doubt.
As children we drank from water fountains and garden hoses. I can't imagine doing either today. We would line up to drink from the fountain at the playground at Willard. If the line was long there was an unspoken time limit for each person. Usually the oldest person on line would arbitrarily determine when someone younger was done. This is how many things were settled in the school yard, like who's turn it was to use the stickball court or the best patch of field for a football game. In these latter cases the older boys would simply say the game was over and that was it. Though in the case of the water fountain a tad bit of mercy was displayed and cutting in line was not highly thought of by anyone.
I saw this same outside Willard fountain vandalized more than once. The water flowed down the steps and onto the dirt playing fields. After a while when the flood became to noticeable a janitor would come and shut it off. It would remain off until the time came that someone in authority believed the kids who played at Willard had learned their lesson about vandalizing water fountains. Last time I looked the fountain was gone. I suppose it was tampered with too often.
When the fountain was out of order, or we were not near by, we would drink from any handy garden hose. It didn't taste too bad as I recall if you let the water in the hose run out and you were drinking from a fresh flow.
Today we have water bottles. You can't go anywhere without seeing them littered about or clutched in some sweaty person's hand. We had litter of all kinds as kids but nothing to compare with today's water bottles. This is my observation and nothing empirical. The water bottle I expect will be regarded by history as a bad thing, despite all efforts to recycle them by charging a deposit on each one. I say this because they have helped in the decline of a very useful social custom, that of waiting one's turn. Whether it was waiting for a chance at the fountain or a turn at the hose, these moments of delayed gratification could be viewed as character building.
This is just one man's view, and a slightly old school one at that. ;-)
Brave, brave, brave. This is all that comes to mind when I think of these volunteer soldiers. They landed on a beach in France and knew there were no boats coming to take them back. Only boats with more people like themselves.
This day always gives me pause for thought, especially now that pictures can be easily displayed on the Internet in a wide variety of formats. I truly wouldn't have it any other way if they prove to be an inspiration to, or an education for someone.
Order it from Biltmore Tuxedos, pick it up, and then bring it back after the graduation party was over. This was and remains the routine for male graduates of RHS. I'm not sure what they did before this store appeared in downtown, but they sure did make it easy for us.
The store stands where it always has for the last 40 years on Ridgewood Avenue. They must be doing something right.
I do remember the shoes being made of cardboard or something similar. They likely didn't want anybody to feel too comfortable in this ensemble, and then decide to keep it. The tuxedo certainly did make us look sharp on Graduation Day. I can't imagine what the turnout would have been like if our attire had been left up to us men. Correct that, I can imagine and it makes me laugh as it would have been awful. ;-)
I sent her a gift despite my Mom's protests about it being a phony holiday. She liked the book I sent her written by Judy Johnson. Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
The Common Core is a federally approved (but not nationally mandated) set of
standards that most states, including New York, have adopted. According to the web site http://www.corestandards.org/what-parents-should-know/:
"The standards are designed to build upon the most advanced current
thinking about preparing all students for success in college, career,
and life. This will result in moving even the best state standards to
the next level. In fact, since this work began, there has been an
explicit agreement that no state would lower its standards. The
standards were informed by the best in the country, the highest
international standards, and evidence and expertise about educational
outcomes. We need college- and career-ready standards because even in
high‐performing states, students are graduating and passing all the
required tests but still need remediation in their post-secondary work."
I don't recall ever having a teacher who would "teach to the test" or place more emphasis on standardized tests than what was taught throughout the year. I certainly recall the Iowa Tests and how these would take up entire days of our time. Though when they were over they were largely forgotten. Maybe I am just lucky to remember it that way now.
I do remember that we were all glad when the tests were over, including our teachers. Though in those days our teachers were not being judged on how well we did on the standardized tests. Even a child would have understood that it wouldn't be fair to rate a teacher on a test they had nothing to do with creating. Now I suppose the children understand they are being taught in a manner that will improve their test scores and help their teachers keep their jobs. Hopefully, they don't realize this too soon because it would be a shame to teach cynicism in our schools when it is so easily learned on the streets and in their homes.
According to Judy: "Finally,
here it is, friends and family - my modest and very personal attempt to
give something back to the game that I have loved for most of my life.
available in hardcover and paperback at amazon.com." Can't wait to read it.
From the book jacket: Watching the Game is the stunning memoir of Judy Johnson-English
teacher, mother, wife, and lover of the all-American game of baseball.
As a preacher's daughter growing up in New Jersey, Johnson was inspired
to love two things, God and the New York Mets. Equally fluent in the
language of the game and the poetry of Shakespeare, Johnson's gorgeous
stories bring to life each decade and transition of her existence:
trading baseball cards with her best childhood friend, dating while
attending an all-girls school, taking a newborn baby to the ballpark,
saying goodbye to her son as he joins the military. While time and
seasons dance to a rhythm of change, one scene remains the same-men in
cleats on a diamond, the reassuring crack of the bat, and a field aglow
in stadium lights.
It will be 50 years ago this month that the New York World's Fair opened. The fair ran for two six-month seasons, April 22 – October 18, 1964 and April 21 – October 17, 1965. I'm not sure whether visited during the first season or the second, but my guess is the second as a visit required much walking and for small legs that could be difficult no matter how interested we might have been in seeing the exhibits like Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.
Most of what comprised the fair was torn down long ago though a few
items remain and the area itself is the well kept Flushing Meadows Park, not too far from
where I now live. We have visited on more than a few occasions and the
Unisphere, a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth, remains a
captivating site. The paths and their names remain almost unchanged
from the days of the fair. It's comforting to have this park nearby
where we can look at the trees, flowers, and water.
Here is what the site looked like in 2004, with the ruins of the Observatory Towers and the New York State Pavilion in the foreground:
Casey Stengel was once asked about how he could manage a baseball team (The Mets) at such an advanced age. He said, "The trick is growing up but not growing old." I might also he not giving up because he managed awful teams which lost 120 games in their inaugural season. I believed he practiced what he preached and also lived by another quote attributed to him when asked about leadership. "The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided." There will only be one Casey Stengel and all the other colorful people who come along after will be compared to him.
It hasn't been called "The Corner Store" for a very long time. I don't know when it lost this moniker but it doesn't matter as the spot will always be The Corner Store or "The Little Store" to me.
Through the years on my infrequent visits to the Ridgewood area I've stopped into the Corner Store to see its many incarnations. I never stay long as I always want to remember it the way I did as a very young child. Back then there was an owner who ran a meat counter in the back of store and wore a straw hat when he waited on people. He was an old time meat cutter, who had saw dust on the floor, and he dressed the part of a man who knew meat.
I learned many early lessons in economics from time spent in and around the Corner Store. Firstly, it was explained to me why we never shopped at the little store for anything essential. It was strictly a convenience store as the prices could never compete with the local supermarkets or even the Superior Meat Market in the center of town.
The other lesson I learned early was about inflation. I saw the packs of hostess cupcakes go from $.10 to $.15 and then to .$20 and $.25. The same thing with cans of Coca-Cola, packs of Sweet Tarts, and boxes of Milk Duds.
The Corner Store is located on the edge of Midland Park and was surrounded by the homes of kids we went to school with and the Glen Avenue Fire House. It was a safe walk from my house near Willard and one we made countless times with no thought for our own safety. If we told our Moms we were off to the Corner Store they knew what we meant and the path we would follow. The homes in those days were filled with Moms looking out their windows as kids walked by. There were other keepers of the piece like the mailman who lived up the street from the Corner Store and who's mail route took him to all the homes in our Upper Ridgewood neighborhood. He was a kind man who didn't tolerate mischief from the kids in his neighborhood. He had no qualms about knocking on the doors and speaking to parents if he saw a child acting out.
It was quite a different time and we called things by different names than are used today. A mailman like ours would find empty homes or latchkey children today so probably wouldn't even bother with reprimanding the troublemakers. They have called the Corner Store many different names since I was a child but it will always be a place to me where got sweets and refreshments. It will also always be a place I recall learning lessons about life that have stuck with me to this day.
Doug Walker and Tara Farrell were married today at West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood. This photo captures the reason why we have reunions. They kindled a romance at our 35th and here they are less than two years later tying the knot in Ridgewood.
BOOM! was the first book I ever downloaded as I prefer something perceptible to the touch. This memoir was well worth the change of habit. It helps that I knew all the New Jersey references and had visited their childhood home accompanied by Ted's sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews. I had met their mother a couple of times and had always enjoyed seeing the sparkle in her eyes.
I spoil nothing by saying that the book is both insightful because of the truths it tells, and optimistic in its overall approach. To me, it's the sort of book a hippie writes after looking back on their life and seeing both the good and the bad. Ted is none too judgmental and tells a story that many will come to recognize as partly their own.
While there is very little I haven't seen in terms of classic television shows from the 50's, at least those which were saved, our new "Golden Age" is going to take me years to catch up on. Fortunately, it can be done without a trip to the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. Though if you have never been it is worth the trip: http://www.ny.com/museums/MTR.html
The list of television series which I haven't seen at all or caught up with is extensive. It would take weeks of binge viewing to see them all. It's not that I don't want to see them, only one has just so much time to invest in television before someone comes along and says time to go to work. In the old days it would have been, "time to go to bed."
Here's a partial list from the last twenty years of shows that I want to see at least one episode of:
1. X-Files
2. Freaks and Geeks
3. The West Wing
4. The Wire
5. Arrested Development
6. Lost
7. Breaking Bad
8. Game of Thrones
9. House of Cards
10. Walking Dead
I will compose a list of books that I want to read next.
Cynthia Myer, president and CEO of the Ridgewood Moving Services Co., is one of our 2014 Best 50 Women in Business honorees.
The women will be honored at an event March 24 at The Palace at Somerset Park. For more details, click here or please contact Melissa Sullenberger at melissas@njbiz.com or call her at 732-246-5737.
Doug Fromm, former Reverend of theCommunity Church at Upper Ridgewood, helped me clarifywhat inspires this blog. Please read an excerpt from a 2009 letter to the congregation:
"Our identity is dependent on having a story that tells who we are.We learn about one another by listening to each others story.We understand life by listening to the story that tells us what the world is like and where it is going.
A story gives a community its identity.To be a community is to have a narrative that is acquired, sustained, and told and retold.It gives a common memory.It gives a common vision.It gives us common rituals and shared symbols and actions.As we live in community our stories become part of the common story and the common story becomes part of our personal stories."
. . .we’re all in it together, no matter what. -Paul McCubbin
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