FAYETTEVILLE-MANLIUS HIGH SCHOOL
1956 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
December 2003 / January 2004 Edition
Happy Holidays to every classmate from the wonderful class of 1956 and every member of their families down to, and including, the newest addition, be it a grandchild or great grandchild, and I bet, when added up, that would make for one heckuvalotapeople (what would Janet Conklin think of that sentence and last word – Merry Christmas Ms. Conklin – wherever you are!!) Seriously, we hope you have had a great year and continue to stay healthy and happy as we continue our trek to our “little get-together” in 2006. Hang in there gang!
For starters, here’s a contribution from our classmate in Berlin, Bob Stillman:
Memories of A Small Town
I spent the first eighteen years of my life in Fayetteville. I lived at 301 S. Manlius St. My old telephone number was 280. (How many of you can remember your old number?) I started Kindergarten and finished my twelfth year at the same school. Ms. Lester's art class was held in my old Kindergarten room. A couple weeks after graduation, I was in Texas for Air Force Basic Training. I never returned to Fayetteville. My parents moved to Florida later on. No reason to return.
My journey through life took me to many places in the world. I never really established any roots. I've seen most of the U.S., parts of Canada and Mexico, and several countries in Europe. During these times I had many pleasant memories of Fayetteville. Fayetteville was a quiet town with beautiful tree lined streets. I think the fall season was the nicest. That was the time when the leaves were raked into piles along the street and burned. We always had a pocket full of chestnuts to throw in the fires. The cold crisp nights had the smell of burning leaves. Fall also meant that the hunting season was around the corner. At Halloween, you could go out begging at night alone without worrying about getting mugged or having dangerous things stuck in the candy. Then came the winter season. Much time was spent ice skating on the school pond. We also spent a lot of time with our sleds on the Orchard Street hill. Of course there were the usual snow ball fights.
The holiday season meant a lot to me. Springtime was spent listening for the call of the robins. We knew the real spring was just around the corner if we heard one. We had an old apple tree in the back yard with a tree house in it. When the tree was in bloom, the different birds contrasted against the white flowers. Spring also meant getting the boat in the water at Oneida Lake. Time to start fishing. Summers were too hot for me. Not my favorite time of year. I often went to the Colonial Theater in Manlius on Saturdays. The bus from Syracuse to Manlius and back stopped in front of our house. Now I know why our parents were eager to ship us out to the movies, haha.
Precision Castings was building a new plant up by Tracey’s Lumberyard. I had a chance to ride on a lot of the heavy construction trucks and earthmovers. I also rode in the engine of the train that ran through town. When I was older, my first job was delivering the Syracuse Herald Journal. I had over 100 customers and I delivered from S. Manlius St., down the hill on Genesee St. and back. Then I worked at the Acme store until I left Fayetteville. Because of these jobs, I managed to get my pilots license and spent a lot of time at the airport at Lakeport. In 1994, my wife and I went to the "Class of 56 is Fifty-Six " reunion. That gave me a chance to see my "small town." Boy, was I ever in for a surprise. In some ways I wish that I had never seen Fayetteville again. There were trees, but they had been trimmed back so much. The traffic was bad too. Wake up. Fayetteville is no longer the quiet little town you once knew. The Acme store was no longer there. The church I went to was converted to an art gallery. The school didn't look the same without the "Old Oak Tree." I went to Lakeport see if the airport was there. It was just an overgrown field with trees growing out where there once used to be runways. I don't dwell on how Fayetteville is now. I have my memories and photos of the way life was back then. They will always stay with me. I now have my roots established and hope that things work out so I can stay here for the rest of my life. Time will tell. (Editor: Thanks Bob!)
E-Mail Request!!!!!!!
Has anyone out there changed their email address or just gotten onto the Internet recently???? If so, please let us know ASAP so we can get your information up-to-date and ensure that you are notified whenever class information is disseminated. Contact Jay Hern at jrhern@aol.com or Stew Evans at pncstew@hotmail.com to get your information updated.
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Momma they’re picking on us!!
A curious fellow died one day and found himself waiting in the long line for judgment. As he stood there he noticed that some souls were allowed to march right through the pearly gates into Heaven. Others though, were led over to Satan who threw them into the burning pit. But every so often, instead of hurling a poor soul into the fire, Satan would toss a soul off to one side into a small pile. After watching Satan do this several times, the fellow's curiosity got the best of him. So he strolled over and asked Satan what he was doing.
"Excuse me, Prince of Darkness," he said. "I'm waiting in line for judgment, but I couldn't help wondering, why are you tossing those people aside instead of flinging them into the Fires of Hell with the others?"
"Ah, those ….." Satan said with a groan. "They're all from upstate New York. - They’re still too cold and wet to burn."
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Mary Ellen (Carlson) Coffey: Big news; after 50+ years of golf, I finally got an eagle on a Par 4 hole (2 shots). Nan Hern can attest to it and she got a par on the same hole. Also, I won my second trip to Vegas to be on the Powerball show. It was a lot of fun, even though I messed up my chance to win a million! I know Tom Washo watched it on TV. Only the states that participate show it. I also had a good year, winning a trip to London, which I hope to take next summer during Wimbledon tennis. Last, but not least, I took a two-week trip out west with three friends. We hit Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the Rocky Mountains, among others. We saw lots of animals and beautiful scenery!
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Anne & Don Bligh: Don and I completed a cross-country trip of 7,770 miles this summer going from Manlius on 7/30 to Bellingham, WA and returned to Manlius on 9/8/03. The USA is beautiful and awesome and we recommend that everyone do a road trip to see this country. We traveled to Lansing, MI, south of Chicago, and up to LaCrosse, WI; into S. Dakota’s Badlands, Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse Museum; into Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park; into Montana (could not go into Glacier Park due to forest fires) and over to Spokane, WA, then to Grand Coulee Dam through the Cascade Mountain range to the coast, up I-5 to Bellingham, WA, doing most of our traveling on I-90. We had a nice visit with our daughter and family for 3 weeks.
Our return trip took us to Olympia, WA & Portland, OR, where forest fires delayed us along the Columbia River (took 4-1/2 hrs to do 60 miles due to traffic jams & detours) still beautiful. Traveled through Salt Lake City and down to Bryce Canyon, then up to Grand Junction & Denver, CO. What beauty; then came the flatlands. Spent time in Columbia, MO and Evansville, IN and then home. A great adventure, one we would do again; just select a different route to take and return. We met wonderful people and arrived in S. Dakota just at the start of the Harley-Davidson Bike Rally in Sturgis (great machines). It’s hard to describe the beautiful scenery & vistas. Frank Giocondo visited us recently and he and Don got together to remember those “days of old” and caught up on each other’s happenings. It was fun getting together with him. (Editor: What a trip, but I’m glad the gas wasn’t on my credit card!! – Thanks guys!!)
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NESTLE vs. FULTON
For those of you that no longer reside in the upstate CNY area, you may be interested in this latest loss of a big name brand manufacturer: (My chocolate milk will never seem “homey” again).
Friday May 2, 2003 marked a sad passing. After more than 102 years in Fulton, NY, the Nestle Co. shut down it's very first chocolate factory in the United States, putting over 417 men and women out of work. The majority of these employees were just within reach of their retirement. Now they must start over again. Nestle has moved the plant's Nestle Crunch bar production to Brazil, the Nesquick line to another state, and sold off the Peters brand of chocolate that had been produced at this factory for most of it's history. The Nestle Company is huge. It manufactures more than just candy bars. There are the drinks: Juicy Juice, Nestea, Nesquick, Nescafe, Coffee Mate, and Carnation Instant Breakfast. There are the pet foods: Purina, Mighty Dog, Alpo, Fancy Feast, Friskies, and Tidy Cat. There are the prepared foods: Lean Cuisine, and Stouffers, and the candy: Nestle' Crunch & Chocolate, Baby Ruth, Wonka, Sweet-tarts, Butterfinger, Goobers, Raisinets, and Bit-o-Honey to name a few. So the next time you're buying a candy bar, coffee creamer, cocoa, chocolate milk, or dog food, please take the time to think about the little town in upstate New York that has 417 newly unemployed workers, and will never again have the smell of chocolate in the air when it's about to rain; then make your choice.
Remember being this innocent?
Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of Tampax and proceeded to the check out counter. The man at the counter asked the older boy, "Son, how old are you?" "Eight," the boy replied. The man continued, "Do you know how these are used?" The boy replied, "Not exactly, but they aren't for me. They are for my brother, he's four. We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. He can't do either one. (Bless the children!!)
FM Hall of Distinction
Have you gone to the FM website? No, I don’t mean our class site, I mean the actual school website. If you haven’t done so, you really should. Here’s just a sample of the good stuff in the “Hall of Distinction” section:
When you see, buy or hear a “Bose” sound system or speaker I bet you don’t know that Bill Short (Class of ’69) and his partner Amor Bose developed the system that created the company that you now know as the Bose Radio Corporation.
How about those years when the Dallas Cowboys were doing their Super Bowl thing; did you know that 14 year Cowboy veteran Tom Rafferty was a member of FM’s class of ’72? (Me neither).
How many of you saw the movie “Ice Age” and knew that it was directed by Chris Wedge (Class of ’75)? He was also a principal animator for the groundbreaking Disney movie TRON. Furthermore, he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film “Bunny” and worked on “Alien Resurrection”, “Star Trek Insurrection”, as well as “Joe’s Apartment”.
Check out some classmates closer to our time such as John (Jack) Bligh (Class of ’54) who was a world-traveled diplomat, highly decorated, and with many achievements. To top it off, he and his family came back to Manlius to retire. That’s a real “home boy”. Then there’s Dr. John Halverson (Class of ’59) whose surgical skills saved his classmate Peter Hartman’s wife in ’97. Go to www.fmhs.cnyric.org and read up on all of the classmates that have gone before us and have graduated after us. Read of their accomplishments and be filled with pride as I was. FM has given this old world some pretty fine people and I can proudly say that, although I never attained their status, I have done my best, as I’m sure we all have.
Night after Christmas (Anonymous)
‘Twas the night after Christmas, I just couldn’t sleep
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep
The leftovers beckoned, both dark meat and white
But I fought the temptation with all of my might
Tossing and turning with anticipation
The thought of a snack became infatuation.
So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore
I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes
Pickles and carrots, beans, squash and ham
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round
‘Til all of a sudden I rose off the ground
I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie
But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees
Happy eating to all – pass the cranberries, please
May your ham be so tasty, may your turkey be plump
May your potatoes ‘n gravy have nary a lump
May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize-AND
May your Christmas dinner stay off of your thighs!!!
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Todd Coward Says: Last year I purchased a second house on Puget Sound. It's a very unique place, overlooking the South Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. I have put up a web site to advertise it for rentals (when I'm not using it, of course – www.adifferenttake.com ). It’s a wonderful retreat, and I enjoy it immensely when I can break away from Portland for a few days. I'd like to say I'm retired, but that word tends to imply "inactivity" -- which is most certainly not my case. I am heavily involved in our local classical music Public Radio station, local neighborhood issues, a model railroad club, have recently joined a Big Band playing sax, and am developing web sites for community organizations (see my website at www.oakstand.com). (Editor: Of course Todd is our own FM56.ORG website honcho as well)
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Karl Lowenberg Says: For the past 9 years the Grand Haven, MI “Y” has had a 1.75 mile Lake Michigan swim from the county park south to the north pier of the Grand River where I’m standing (see picture on the website version). I thought I’d give it a try for my 65th birthday. The winner was a 20 year old wearing a wet suit (as worn by many), who finished in 34 minutes! It took me an hour and 15 minutes but at least I wasn’t last. Actually the water was about 70 degrees and my biggest fear was cramping. I had only practiced in an 82-degree pool and I was having some cramping problems in the left calf as I attempted to increase my distance; fortunately, no cramps that day. There was about a 1- to 2-foot chop and you had to swim at an angle to the west just to keep parallel to the shore. Given that, I was 5 or 6 minutes faster than the same distance in the pool; guess the turns slow you down. I actually weigh less now than I did when we finished HS - a little over 150 now - thanks to an auto accident 6 years ago. A guy apparently thought stop signs were optional. I don't remember it; I woke up as they were cutting my clothes off, not knowing where I was or what time it was, just that for some reason I was lying in the road with an IV going. My jacket size is still 3 sizes smaller than before. I don't recommend it as a weight loss program. (Editor: I think you look pretty darn good these days, especially after all you’ve been through – thanks Karl, and more power to ya!!)
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Gina (Schneider) & Burt Schantz: We had a busy summer this year. Starting in May, Burt and I traveled to Scotland, England and Ireland, having had a wonderful time, even though it rained 29 of the 30 days we were there. We had rain, sunshine, rainbows and more rain, but never enough to stop us from doing all we had planned. Our favorite place was the highlands of Scotland. In Ireland we visited, Dublin, Waterford, County Cork and Belfast. Lots of white sheep everywhere. We climbed to the top of the Blarney Castle, where Burt kissed the Blarney Stone. We visited friends in all three countries and, of course, drank tea and had scones about every 2 hours. Some of the time we were on our own, but it all was delightful.
In July, our daughter Cathy, her husband, their 2 daughters, Burt and I flew to Las Vegas. We took their oldest daughter Christina for her 8th grade graduation. Over the years we have found that doing something special with the grandchildren for 8th grade graduation works out much better. They still like to travel with you and they don't have summer jobs, so their not off doing something else. We always have a great time together.
The following week Burt and I went on a houseboat with daughters, Jean and Cathy and their families. There were about 14 altogether (all family). Air conditioning, frig, stove and a large hot tub. We just had to bring the food and bedding. It was great.
Hope the rest of the class had as much fun as Burt and I did over the summer.
THE PREZs CORNER
It has been a good year for the Alumni Association. As of 12/21/03 we have 51 members. That number would be 55 if it were not for the fact that 4 members are “inactive” due to non-payment of dues which would make their membership “active” again. Thus, I would remind all that payment of your annual dues by 6/30 each year is very important in order to maintain benefits – more so as we get closer to R2006. Our bank balance, prior to costs for this newsletter to the entire class (print/mail), is $1,520+ to include a $1000+ CD maturing Oct. ‘04 and which will be renewed at that time. As for Nan and I, it has been a good year as well. Nan golfs and skis, whereas I golf, work the “honey-do” list and continue with defense consulting which averages about 2 days per week. Keeps me off the street! This summer we took a trip to the west coast for two weeks to spend a week with Nan's best friend, Ginger, in Seattle, and another week in northern Idaho visiting my daughter’s family in Sandpoint. We had a great time. Had been many years since last in Seattle and the first time in that part of Idaho (50 mi. from Canadian border). Both of us wish you and yours a very healthy and enjoyable 2004. Planning information as to R2006 will be forthcoming later in the year. Best to all.
Jay
Jay R. Hern, 8709 Litwalton Ct., Vienna VA 22182, 703-560-5273, jrhern@aol.com
THE VEEPs NICHE (and bringing up the rear)
Another newsletter and another notch in the calendar taking us down to two and one-half years to the reunion of 2006. Imagine that, only 2-1/2 years to our 50th reunion. I really enjoy getting this newsletter out (even though I have to pull teeth to get info out of you guys). I know you don’t mean to be “stingy” about getting stuff to me but it sure makes it tough to pull a newsletter together. I know you all have stuff to say and experiences to relate to me; c’mon now and don’t wait for me to ask next time. When it happens, share it and send it to me so I can have it on file. There’s got to be a lot of laughs out there during the six months that go by between issues. Pictures, oh yeah – please send me some!! I’m sure you have some great shots – share them with the class (a little show and tell never hurt). We can put lots of stuff on the web pages and everybody can see it, even if we can’t share pictures with those without computers. We do the best we can with the printed version but to put pictures (especially if they are in color) in the printed version would wipe out our finances. Until next time guys, send me lots of good stuff, puleezzz!!!
Stew
“Stew” Evans, 4953 Steinke Dr., Kingman, AZ 86401, 928-692-9233, pncstew@hotmail.com
