Welcome to the Maynard High School

class of 1959 official webpage

 

Updated March 6, 2010
I've been so bad about posting anything, but then again, there hasn't been much to talk about.

I'm leavinmg a lot of this stuff that's behind us now for other classes to see what we did. I'm getting comments about our website from several of them behind us, so if it looks like the info is in the past, that's why.

 



This is the original MHS when it was completed in 1922.  And aren’t these words ever familiar.  

TO THE GLORY OF OUR SCHOOL, WE RAISE OUR VOICES TO THE SKY. WE PLEDGE OUR FAITH AND HOMAGE EVER, WHERE E-ER OUR DUTY EVER LIES. AND IN THE TUNEFUL CHORUS BLENDING, HER FAME AND HONOR NEVER DIE, TO THEE OUR DEAR OLD ALMA MATER, OUR DEAR OLD MAYNARD HIGH

(Created by Mr. Charles Manty) 

 

 

 

 

1959 MHS classmates: We missed our 45th but that isn’t going to happen again. Get ready and start planning now for our biggest ever (50th) class reunion.

 

 

We’re currently in the planning stages but it looks like October 3rd, 2009 (yes that's the official date) and held at the Marlboro Country Club in Marlboro of course. That particular Saturday is “Maynardfest” day which in it’s 5th year, is a huge event. The downtown streets get blocked off and it’s wall to wall people. Be sure to stay tuned right here for the latest info.

 

 

Barbara Harrington Holt made an excellent suggestion that I brief you on what happens on Maynardfest day. Nason St is completely blocked off early in the morning and almost till 5pm you can hardly get down the street. All the store people and others, sell their wares along both sides and it's laterally wall to wall people all day long. All along Main St is pretty much the same way and back up Summer St to Nason again. Neither Main nor Summer are quite as busy but well worth the trip around the horn to see it all. Whatever you want is there including plenty of food. At night (but you won't be there) a slightly different venue takes place in the Digital Parking lot across the old Avalon. It's party time with bands, libation, and fireworks at 9ish. You'll miss that part though because you'll be at the reunion and you may even miss the afternoon part because I'm sure you'll be back at the room taking a nap in preparation for the BIG night out. I'm sure many of us will be downtown in the morning but good luck finding each other after 50 years. I'd wear my white sport coat with the pink carnation but #1. I can't find it and #2. couldn't get into it if I did. That wouldn't be a pretty site. You're going to be shocked at the new buildings that have replaced all the old ones you used to know. Matty's Spa, Mannings and Johnson drug stores, the Colonial theater, Paul's Bakery, New Idea store, Woolworths, the Five and Dime store, the Pizza House, Army and Navy, Sandersons, Jay's Store store and both Diners to name just a few, are all gone. And the rest you can see for yourself.

Sept 17,,,,,another great one from Barbara (didn't we used to call her Babs,,or am i dreaming that one). We need a central location to meet which might be dam near impossible because of the crowds (assuming it's a good day) and we could share cell phone numbers to make the connections. Personally I like the hide and seek idea. Let's see how many people recognize us. But with that one, we just might be standing beside each other all morning and not know who that stranger beside us is and why they're looking at us so funny like. We'll talk about this one next week when we meet and see what might be a good place for us to congregate.

 

 

 

It's official and here's what's happening:

 

Marlboro Country Club,,,200 Concord Rd,,,off Rt 20,,,508 485-1616

6:00-7:30 ,,,,,,,,Cocktails and hors'dourves

7:30-9:00,,,,,,,,,Dinner,,,bouffet style,,meat/fish and much more

9:00-9:30,,,,,,,,,Program

9:30-11:00,,,,,,,Music, Dancing if you wish, a raffle, and good ole conversation

 

Should you need lodging, there are two hotels right at the junction of rts 495 and 20 in Marlboro

and another one close by in Sudbury. There are actually two more right at that 495/20 junction

but these two are mentioned on the country club website.

 

Holiday Inn and Suites,,265 Lakeside Ave,,Rt 20,,Marlboro,,,,,508 481-3000

Courtyard Boston Marlboro,,,75 Felton St Marlboro,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,508 480-0015

Clarion Inn 738 Boston Post Road/Rt 20 in Sudbury,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,978 443-2223




Lost and found section:

We’ve lost contact with several of our classmates and hope you can help us with it:

                                                            Last known location

Lois (Nelson) Anderson                   Armstrong, Iowa

David Holt ,,,,,,,,His letter came back,,,can't find him,,,he's been spotted in Falmouth though and my money says he's checking this website just to see what's going on,,,,,,Dave,,,please contact us

Leena Saastamoinen                         NY,,,but the letter we sent to Madison WI did not come back. Leena, if that's you out there, please get in touch with us.

We found Betsy,,,We found Betsy,,We found Betsy,,or actually, she found us through this website

 

If you know how we can get it touch with these people, please let us know. 

 

Found but not in contact with yet Section

These are the people that we thought were lost and now found, but we have not heard from them yet

Barbara (Byrne) Hennigan               Marlboro

Heather (Jenkins) Cziria                  Townsend

Dottie (Hatfield) Walsh                    South Gardner

*Barbara, Dotti and Heather we believe are recieving the mail but no response yet. Boy, we sure would like for them to get in touch with us

 

 

UPDATE SECTION

I'm going to flip this thing around so the the lastest update is at the top,,,,,,give me some time to shift it all the other way. It's a pain in the you know what to do it,,,,but I'll eventually have it all corrected.

 

 

 

March 6, 2010,,,,,,Opened the emails this morning and heard from some classmates about the weather. Nice to see people are conversing with other classmates, but first: The class of 1960 is bugging me for ideas on what we did for our reunion and you know me, I love to help. They were going to the Marlboro Country Club but I guess they now charge $500 for the room which is a killer. Guess they'll be looking elsewhere. Names like Duggan, Piantedosi, Micciche, T. Maria, Mary Mitzkavich and I forget who else are working out the details. Our best to them in their search,,,it wasn't easy to get the right place.

And now on to our own news. Ralph Nelson started his chemo and to be followed by radiation for a bout with colon cancer. The good news is that they claim to have gotten it all and he's movin on. We are in his company quite a bit and his spirits and outlook are about the best you can get going thru what he's going thru. Our every best to him. That said: our plans for a winter vacation with the Nelsons got put on the back burner. But, in it's place while Sheila stayed home and worked, I flew down to Florida to get out of the Massachusetts cold so I could be in the Florida cold. 38 degrees most mornings in Florida is cold. A few days I left the jacket on all day, but there were others that it warmed up enough for shorts. Me in shorts you ask? Although that ain't a pretty sight, it works for me as long as I don't look in a mirror. I hit the Zephyrhills auto flea market and auto auction and that made the trip all worth it, cold ot not. I was very close to teddy but just didn't have the time to look him up. Johnny Mariano either.

Now, here's a few comments I picked up on our email. Someone sent Sally a funny email (I get em all from Lenny and Brenda-keep em coming too) and this was her response from Florida. That was a good one ! Dick and I have been in Fla. for 3 weeks almost and boy it is just like New England weather without the snow. One week left so I hope it warms up otherwise we will have to go to a tanning salon. later, Sally,,,and from Dave Spratt,, Sally, is right. It’s really cold down here. I had to play golf in a sweater today. In March that is unheard of. But I did not have to shovel or turn on my heat. I guess I can live with that. And from Judy Manning in sunny California,,, here in sunny Ca its ALWAYS great weather EXCEPT it is freezing cold now (in 50s in am, only in 60s during the day..and it seems like its been raining for weeks... The hardest rain I ever saw but no snow...kids here don't even know what 'snow days' are. The ground is so full of clay that rain water just sits on top and takes days to dry out. Definitely a strange season everywhere, but I love not having to struggle in the snow. Hope you have a few better days before you head north again. Judy
And Judy, while I have you. I walk the dog past your old house on Brooks St and the sump pump is going like crazy. I think about you all the time when I walk by there….jack.

And here’s what got them all to write back to Lenny about. Lenny sent everyone this joke. During a visit to my doctor, I asked him, "How do you determine whether or not an older person should be put in an old age home?" "Well," he said, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the person to empty the bathtub." "Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup." "No" he said. "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"
Lenny talked with Audrey thru 3 states. Indianna, Ohio and into Wisconsin. And Judy and her sister Janet never got back to me from Florida or I would have looked her up for a morning of bridge. I also missed Denise by one phone call. Oh well, better luck next time. I haven't proof read this, so I hope it's all ok.

Now if you want to keep the info coming, I'll be more than happy to put it up here. Let's keep it going. And there are a few of you that owe me a bio. Sandra from Clinton and her partner Mary C, Dennis from California and I forget who else. Oh, and Jess is a grandmother, or is that old news. I don't know. Congratulations anyway grammy.

January 30, 2010,,,,,I,keep getting emails from people and I actually encourage that. It certainly keeps me in touch and from time to time, now that things have slowed down a bit for me, I'll post stuff as I see fit. This one's from Brenda and I did get quite a chuckle out of it. A group of 40 year old classmates discuss where they should meet for dinner. Finally it is agreed they should meet at the Gausthof zum Lowen restaurant because the waitress's there have low cut blouses and nice breasts. 10 years later, at 50 years of age, the group again discusses where they should meet. Finally it is agreed they should meet at the Gausthof zum Lowen because the food there is very good and they have a fine wine selection. 10 years later at 60 years of age, the group again discusses where they should meet. Finally it is agreed they should meet at the Gausthof zum Lowen because they can eat there in peace and quiet and the restaurant is smoke free. 10 years later, at 70 years of age, the group again discusses where they should meet. Finally it is agreed they should meet at the Gausthof zum Lowen because the restaurant is wheel chair accessible and they even have an elevator. 10 years later, at 80 years of age, the group again discusses where they should meet. Finally it is agreed they should meet at the Gausthof zum Lowen because they have never been there before.

Sally wrote me and is on here way to Florida and will probably go visit Dotty who stay at South Beach. The upper end though. She's not into that taking the bikini top off thing that they do at the lower end. Judy is down there with her sister and Andy of course and Lenny is back and forth. Of course our regulars that live there are there..Denise, Teddy, and Dave. I think that's all I know for sure. I'd love to hear from more of you and post what you tell me.

We still haven't met as a group yet. I'm going to send an email out right now and take care of that end of class of 1959 business.

 

 

December 11,,,This is about as close I can get to sending Christmas Cards out this year with Lynne going to be bed ridden for the next two months.Merry Christmas to All and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year,,,,Lenny & Lynne Melanson,,,,,, Thank you, Len. My Christmas greetings to you too, and to the rest of my classmates...Betsy (aka for the last 40 years as (real name) Elizabeth PS Asher and Sterling are our British Blue cats; I did their "portraits" in a combination of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

 

 

December 4, 2009,,,,,Hi Y’all, From Lenny…..I talked with Clark Smith last night to see how he was doing after his hip surgery and he told me he is doing fantastic. He can go up and down stairs without any pain and is now getting around without his cane. I guess this is a tribute to his good health to start with. I know Clarkie (as we all knew him) will be faithful with his exercises his therapist is giving him as he was always pretty good with the weights and everything else he did through his life. The “without pain” is the best part as the muscles that weakened for the years he was limping will eventually get stronger and he will be running the 4-minute mile in no time. I also called Audrey (Malcolm) Langile yesterday to wish her a Happy Birthday and we had a chance to talk a little. Her physical problems are still there and I told her to keep her hopes up as my wife, Lynne, has similar problems which we hope are over now. She was in a very good mood as she just received something from Denise. It seems that we all find out too late in life that the friends we had many years ago make us feel a lot better when we talk to them now. I know meeting with Denise and Billy last year in FL made me feel great all over again and the reunion was just something else. Staying in touch with OLD FRIENDS has become very important to me and will continue to do it from now on. My wife, Lynne, is still recovering from her major surgery last month and is home. I still have the difficult task of unpacking, cleaning and changing bandages twice a day which is something I never thought my stomach could ever stand. I guess we do what we have to do when the need arises. My oldest daughter, Michelle, will have to do this task next week as I will be flying to Brazil on Sunday and returning on the 12th. I will be home for a few days and then go to FL to pickup my Father for Christmas and hopefully have dinner one of the nights with Denise while I am there. Time always seems to be an issue as I won’t be able to stay as long as I normally do when I pick him up because of Lynne’s condition. Just thought I would give everyone an update and hope we don’t have to wait another 5 or 10 years to see one another again. Lenny

 

And from Jack,,,,,Ed Mullin spearheaded the (new) Maynard MHS Hall of Fame banquet. Ed and crew which is about a dozen strong have taken on the task of inducting past MHS athletes into this great organization. It happens every two years primarily because it takes a full year of planning just to pull it all off. Picture this: 250 or so people gathered at the Elk's hall for this banquet and ceremony and along with our own Bruce Koskinen who went in for his many years of support and coaching of MHS kids, my own father's (and Audrey's father too) 1932 football team was also inducted. Words can't describe what a tremendous honor this was for all the candidates and their families and my hat goes off to certainly the whole committee that made this all happen, but to our own classmate Ed Mullin who we all know worked tirelessly to recognize in this way, those that both played and supported our MHS athletes. Congratulations for an outstanding job Ed.


 

 

October 26, 2009,,,,,,Sad news,,,Elaine (Swajain) Garabedian passed away this past weekend at the age of 75 and after a bout with cancer. We all remember that pretty youg teacher that everyone loved and, do the math. She was only 7 years older than we were. We also remember following the romance of our dear friend and teacher Mr. G. We were young and wet behind the ears about all this romance stuff that actually lead to marriage. Mrs G. of Boxborough, formerly of Acton & Waltham, Oct. 23, 2009. Beloved wife of 35 yrs. of the late Charles Garabedian. Mother of Charles A. Garabedian, M.D., of Boston, and Julie Schoenfeld and husband John of Boxborough. Grandmother of Catherine and Robert Schoenfeld. Sister of Robert Swajian and wife Jo-Ann of Ipswich, and Armand Swajian and wife Joan of Maynard. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Calling hours are Tuesday 4-6, 7-9 at the Acton Funeral home with a funeral service on Wednesday. If our memories are correct, Mrs. G would have been the last teacher standing at our 50th class reunion. If there are any others, we can't figure out who it might be. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr & Mrs G's familiy.

 

 

October 16th, 2009,,,,Bill Shaw checked with Karen and she said Clarkies hip surgery went fine. He's actually up and walking a little already. With that fixed he'll be tripping the light fantastic in no time at all, so watch out girls,,,he's back in shape again. Please feel free to let me know what's going on and I'll throw it right up here. And for those that didn't make it to the reunion,,if you have a picture you'd like me to throw up here, I'll gladly do it. Check back Saturday for all the reunion pictures and a couple of those that did not attend but sent their love.

 

 

October 12th, 2009,,,,I'm back from Hershey and as always, it was better than ever and unless you ever been there, it's indescribable. You have to see it to believe it. I'll get more photos up when I get a chance,,be patient. We're getting cards, letter and emails about the great reunion we had and I for one can attest to that. What a great gathering of old friends and we are just that. Classmates first that have evolved 50 years later into old friends. My old friend Bill Copeland, did the DJ honors but no one danced. They were too interested in just chatting for four hours, making up for lost time. Some of the class met in Maynard at the Fest and in spite of the rain. We talked, laughed and had a great ole time. Some then went to lunch and then on to our old high school which is an art center now. Although many of the rooms have been cut up, there were a few just like we left them and for those people, that was a high point of the day. Just to see it again, brought them all back in time. A half a century back in tiem. Doesn't that seem like an awful thing to say? Truth hurts though and the hard part is that it doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Donna wrote me to apologize for not attending. They had clothes all laid out to go but she took sick last minute. She's now off the hook yet though. I'm call her and the four of us are going to dinner. Then and only then will she be exonerated. Thank you all for your words of kindness. Our committee will meet when we all can put our calendars together and maybe bang out some options for more gatherings in the future,,,and stay tuned right here to catch it all. I'm keeping this live for a long time yet to come. P.S. I'm afraid we've set the bar for future classes to follow. They're watching what we've done and more than likely will follow our lead,,,which is a compliment by the way,,and if any of you are reading this, please call me and I'll help you wherever I can.....jack

 

 

October 5th,,,,I've just fielded several emails from classmates that attended our reunion and here in the simplest terms are their comments. Awesome, Wonderful, Greatest Ever Reunion, We had such a great time, Thank you all for a great Reunion. I'm not trying to skip out on my duties here but I have no clue when I'm going to get it all up on this site. When I came out of the country club at 11:30 Saturday night, I looked up, saw the clouds breaking up and had high hopes at pulling the auto show off the following morning at 5am. And pull it off we did, but it took all day and I'm still not over trying to catch up on things. I have 2 days to get it all together here and then off to Hershey Pa for another 4 day auto event,,,take a look (click here) http://www.aaca.org/ I'm going down with Tom French and a Maynard townie wannabe Dick Dolan. He loves Maynard so much, he wants to be just like us. And we did Maynard up in a pretty big way Saturday night. I wish we could do it again in another week and keep doing it until we couldn't any more, and I think everyone there felt the same way. All barriers that may have existed 50 years ago are long gone and it's the present and future we're looking at now. We did however bring up some of the past but it was laughing material that was shared by all, although it was tough trying to get to all the laughter that was taking place. I'll certainly capture some more of what happened but it's going to take a while,,,and yes, it'll be complete with pictures. If I get a chance tonight I'll throw up the best one of the group photo. Thank you all for your kind words to the committee who did try and from you comments, did succeed in making this one, "The Best Ever" reunion.

P.S.....a couple of you asked that your email address be placed up on the website and I will in fact do that. I mentioned that everyone that has asked me to do that has expressed a desire to hear from all of you. Now that's a two way street, so if you see a classmate's email address up on this website, give them a hollar,,,and have at it my freinds. If your name and email address is not up there and you'd like it to be, just let me know and I'll take care of it for you. Stay healthy my friends,,,,,,,,,jack

 

 

October 3rd,,,3pm,,,Maynardfest got rained on but that didn't keep some 1959 diehards away from Rickles at noon. Lenny, Pat, Babs, Jesse, Denise, Dave Spratt, Eddie and yours truly (Jackie) all braved the elements and had a good ole time swapping stories about the good ole days of the long ago past and the aches and pains of the recent past, like yesterday and this morning. We laughed our butts off for the simple reason that some people have never changed while others got even braver and wilder, if you know what I mean. Just a few of us, but that's all it took to bring some good ole smiles on our faces. Two more hours when we'll start setting up and then 6 o'clock will be here and all hell will take place.

 

 

 

October 1,,,,,,Maynardfest might be rained out but we're still on in two days. I've been hearing from classmates all over the country that can't be there with us. Bunnie and Dennis contacted me today, Betsy a few days ago, Audrey two days ago, Elaine a week ago, Judy Manning not too long ago, Walter Mason too, and they all want to be remembered to all that attend the reunion. Betsy is working on her bio as well as Dennis. 75% of our remaining classmates will attend this reunion, which is the largest attendance we've ever had. Ralph and Roy will be at a family wedding on Cape Cod and I haven't spoken to Roy, but Ralph isn't a happy camper that he's missing this one. Maybe the next one, if we have one because who knows what another five years will bring. Oh well, see you all on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

***********************************************************************************************

 

 

November 26, 2008 update. We found David Kuleisus and Vera Niskonen but lost Barbara (Harrington) Holt. How the heck did we do that? She was at the last reunion and now we can’t locate her. Both Wayne Chandler and Betsy (Fouratt) Adler’s postcards also came back.

 

December 4, 2008 update. We found Judy Manning out in California. Got a great email from her and of course she called me Jacky, but then again, everyone I've spoken with from 1959, has as well. Judy is going to give me a bio but right now her mind is on some shoulder surgery. Once that's over, she assured me she'd be as good as new (well, maybe that was me that did the assuring) and give me the bio. Our very best to you Judy.

 

Feb 17, 2009Judy Manning update,,,Judy had her operation and everything came out just fine. She's a good as new and writing her bio as we speak.

 

February 20, 2009 update,,,,We do know,,,thank you, where Gary Armour is and he is receiving our mail. Just not responding back, that's all. We also found Barbara Harrington Holt. She moved and din't tell anyone. Barbara, please don't do that to us again. It keeps Pat up till all hours of the night trying to locate you, but in this case, Jess did the work. We're getting there slow but sure. We had a slight lead on Leena but it dead ended and we think Betsy is getting the mail but we're not 100% sure of that. Anyone want to see if they can call her for us? Thank you all for your input.

 

Feb 21, 2009 ,,,I just bumped into Paul Barilone and he said Mary Connerney is coming to the reunion. Remember, she promised ten years ago and didn't make it, but this time she says she'll be there for sure. Wouldn't miss it, but just in case, Paul said he'd pick her up and drive her over.,,He's also going to try and get us a bio from Bobby Fleck

 

Feb. 24, 2009,,,Nancy (Sheridan) Gerlach,,,where are you? Nancy works for the state, so I don't know what the big hangup is on writing her bio. I mean, what else has she got to do?

 

March 1, 2009,,,,,,I ran into Jack Primiano for the first time in almost 50 years. It was not a happy occasion and we had little or no time to talk but he did say he had our save the date postcard and I think he said he'd been on the website. I also mentioned I needed a bio and he told me Paul Barilone had already told him that. Now Jack, (I know you're reading this) it's real simple. Either you do it or I'll get Cyril, Bo, Whitey, Ed, Bruce and who ever else wants to chime in, and we'll write it. Now life is nothing but a series of choices and you my friend have the opportunity to make one right here. Just send us one and it'll be all we'll ask of you,,,other than coming to the reunion of course.

 

March 8, 2009,,,,It is with great sadness, I report to you that Joan (Nyholm) Bourne has passed away. I just looked her up in the Screech Owl and want to share with you her quote from 1959. "Some think the world is made for fun and frolic, and so do I." I can't say that I stayed in touch with Joan, I had my own life to sort out, but I do hope some of her fun and frolic wishes came true. God be with you Joan, our class of 1959 friend.

 

March 8, 2009,,,,I had some great talks with Vinny Buscemi and Paul Chyzus (I keep looking Paul's name up to get the correct spelling,,,that and David K in Greece) and what a great trip down memory lane it was. Did some old stuff and some new stuff and had a ball speaking with both of them. And they'll both be at the reuinion, by the way. They're also going to get me a bio and Vin is going to have cousin Ray do the same. This thing is going to grow and grow, so keep checking back.

 

March 10, 2009,,,,,I just bought tickets to see Johnny Mathis at Mohegan Sun in Ct. on April 24th. Sheila and I are going down with Marilyn and Ralph Nelson. They do have tickets left but they're way up high. You can also get them from the other internet guys but it may cost you. Tickets are about $40 mid sections and more than double that from those bad guys. The last time I saw Johnny was 50 years ago in Natick at ????? It's where Pat D'Errico works now. They tore it down and it's an office complex. When I think of it, I'll come back and change this. Dammmm-it, I just can't remember. Don't get old. ,,,jack

 

March 14, 2009,,,I spoke with Judy C, Marianne D, Dotty M today and they are all going to view the site again and then send us a bio. Boy, we're moving right along. And Jessie is hot on the trail of Leena. Claims she's spotted her name in Wisconsin. I threw it back in her court to follow the leads.

 

March 16, 2009,,,We (Ed, Pat, Ralph and yours truly) had a planning meeting and decided that it's time to post what's happening and also to get a letter out to you. That'll happen while I'm in Myrtle Beach. My lovely wife Sheila, Ralph and Marilyn Nelson love to read on the beach while I play on the computer and I'll write the first draft then. Clarkie Smith couldn't make the meeting. I guess he and Karen travel a lot and Bill and Joan Shaw were planning to go to Florida for a week so Bill couldn't make the meeting either. This retirement stuff is getting in the way of progress here. More later.

 

March 18, 2009,,,I just got off the phone with Mary Connerney and she's coming to the reunion. Mary has been in the catering business for many a year but says she likes it when someone else cooks and serves it. She's going to check the website and then come up with a bio for us. Thank you Mary. "Cuzzin" Audrey called me today to point out two corrections I needed to make here, and I did them as we were talking. If you see anything that doesn't look quite right, please let me know. Thanks "Cuz"

 

April 5th, 2009,,,,Ralph Nelson and our wives of course, just got back from Charleston SC and then Myrtle Beach for a week so not a lot has been happening here in MHS land, except that Whitey gave us an update on his travels which I've posted. So many people still have yet to send me their bios. Once I clear my head and get caught up, we'll put together a letter to all of you letting you know the official wheres and whens of the reunion, looking for you attendance and money of course, and last but not least, a bio from all those that haven't sent one in yet. Keep checking the mail.

 

April 6, 2009,,,,I asked Jess a question via email as to where she was going and got this back today. I'm not a world traveler and was stumped on this one....Patagonia is in South America and in Argentina and Chili. Some of the largest mountains in the world and fantastic scenery. Just got back. Jess.

 

April 21, 2009,,,,It's been a while. Been on vacation in South Carolina and haven't had any bios in a couple of weeks. Letters were sent to all classmates this past weekend spelling out the reunion details and asking who's coming and of course a blank page for those that haven't done so already, to write us a bio. Still looking for a few that promised me and just yesterday I got a "It's coming" from Sandra Koski Porter. Our goal is to get one from every one of you and post it right here. More later,,,,and here I am again in the same day. I just got off the phone with Denise and this winter, she and Lenny drove over from Ft Myers to see Bill who was with his wife Joan at Disney in Orlando. I didn't get the details of the conversation but surely the past 50 years was brought up somewhere. And if that isn't enough, Sally spent some time with Dotty in Miami and then Eddie went down to Florida to golf with Bruce,,,and I'm not so sure how much of that they did seeing Bruce's wrist was in a cast. Nice to see and hear that classmates are getting together in far away places. and again, More later,,,

 

April 25, 2009,,,,So last night Ralph Nelson, Marilyn, Sheila and I went to Mohegan Sun to see Johnny Mathis who by the way, has NOT lost his touch. An hour and a half without a break, he mesmerized the entire audience. How old you ask? He was born in 1935 and at 19 had to make a decision to become a participant in the Olympics or follow a singing career. Ed Sullivan gave him a chance to sing and the rest is history as they say. A night to remember is an understatement and although my kids wouldn't be caught dead listening to his music, my comment to that is like yours: they have no clue what they're missing. I last saw him perform at the Carousel in Framingham 50 years ago. Go see him if you get the chance,,,you will not be sorry.

 

 

May 7, 2009,,,,,,Maynard – Mary C. Zaniewski, 85, of Concord Street Circle, Maynard, died Monday, May 04, 2009 at Concord Healthcare in Concord. She was born in Maynard, daughter of the late John and Mildred Zaniewski. A lifelong Maynard resident, she was a well-known Teacher in Maynard having taught many subjects on many levels to generations of Maynard students. She taught for 35 years before she retired in 1981 and then continued to substitute teach until the late 1990’s. Many of you will remember her at the Roosevelt school teaching the 4th grade and others will know her from the Fowler teaching French. What a great lady with a dedication to teaching, all to it's own.

 

May 8, 2009,,,We found Betsy, or should I say that she found us. Wow! That is so good news. As soon as I sort out the four emails she gave me, I'll post something. In the meantime, I'll let you read what Whitey sent me. And by the way, Betsy is asking for classmates emails and as promised, I wouldn't post any unless you gave me permission. lease consider allowing me to do that. The call is yours though. And here's Johnny,,,I mean Whitey,,,Dear Jack, At meetings of our '59 reunion committee, has it been mentioned that a gift to the HS would be appropriate. I ask this because we just filed our taxes for '08 and were shocked how little we give to charity. Maybe a donation to MHS is not tax-deductible, but even so, a little bit wouldn't hurt. So what do you think ? Maybe you got this covered with the raffle that is planned in October. Hope all is well, and have a nice Spring/Summer. Eileen and I am back in Carver and the grass is green (except where the dog visits). Bye bye, J P Whitey. Great suggestion and my answer is yes we will more than likely make a donation which will probably come out of the raffle that we'll have.

 

May 25, 2009,,,,Did I mention that Cyril and Whitey were going to invite me to the boys lunchean they have with Bo every once in a while. They got there and both said, "did you call him? No, I thought you were supposed to. No, I thought you were going to do that. No, you said you'd do it." Poor Bo was sitting there thinking he was going to have break it up. Cyril emailed me that afternoon and admitted they screwed up. Next time I'm going though, I hope.

 

May 26, 2009,,,,I just added two more names and emails to our list. What this means is that everyone that has asked to publish their info, wants to hear from other classmates, so please have at it. Let's get talking. It's my pleasure to have conversed with all of them/you and it's like reliving the past all over again.

 

Guess who went to lunch yesterday? Answer,,,Me, Whitey, Bo and Cyril. I was supposed to be at the last one but they couldn't figure out exactly who was supposed to ask me. I'm just glad I made this one. I can't go into it all here but let me give it you as Whitey sent it to me. He had to do that because all three of us forgot what it was from the restaurant to the street. BRUCE KOSKINEN,,are you listening? I remember hanging around Mattie's Spa one afternoon. There were at least a half dozen of us and at the time I was an aficionado of hats of any shape, size or design. On this occasion I had on a straw skimmer that was a throw back to an earlier time, maybe the '20 s. Bruce Koskinen was impressed I am sure because his Dad ran a clothing store. However, Bruce also had the mistaken belief that it was edible and he proceeded to take a bite out of the brim. Too bad I lost the old lid, I could have present it at the reunion as evidence that Bruce is truly a vegetarian...... J P Whitey

 

June 4, 2009,,,,,,Question? Guess who went to lunch yesterday? Answer,,,Me, Bo, Whitey and Cyril. I was thrilled they asked me but they were supposed to last time, only the three of them couldn't figure out who had the assignment to call me up. Won't go into all the details of lunch which were great but here's one for BRUCE KOSKINEN from Whitey. "I remember hanging around Mattie's Spa one afternoon. There were at least a half dozen of us and at the time I was an aficionado of hats of any shape, size or design. On this occasion I had on a straw skimmer that was a throw back to an earlier time, maybe the '20 s. Bruce Koskinen was impressed I am sure, because his Dad ran a clothing store. However, Bruce also had the mistaken belief that it was edible and he proceeded to take a bite out of the brim. Too bad I lost the old lid, I could have presented it at our reunion as evidence that Bruce is truly a vegetarian...... J P Whitey"

 


 

June 15, 2009,,,,Just got a bio from Jack Bubnowicz and he's coming to the reunion. How many of you can say you still live in the house you grew up in? Not many, but Jack B can. He's also supposed to see Larry C and get a bio from him. I guess they attend the same sportsman's club. So that said,,,we need as much help as we can to get these bios. We're actually doing great but a few more wouldn't hurt anything. Grab those you're still in contact with that have not sent one in and encourage them to do so.

 

 

June 19, 2009,,,,It's with great sadness I report that Pat D'Errico's husband Gerry, passed away quite suddenly. Funeral arrangements are through Acton Funeral home with calling hours Monday 4-8pm and funeral on Tuesday 9am at St Bridget's church in Maynard. Our hearts go out to Pat and her family. I gave her a hug today and thought what a great person she is. She's been our MHS 1959 hold it all together person for 50 years. Some have come and gone, but she's still there in an incredible capacity and god knows what the class would have done without her services for all these years. She's been so excited about all the reunions, making connections with everyone, seeing you all at the reunions, and of course keeping the records including the checkbook for all that time. Right in the middle of our biggest ever reunion that she's so involved in, comes this tragedy of losing the person she's been married to and loved for the past 47+ years. Pat, our hat goes off to you for the incredible job you've done for our class and our hearts go out to you in this time of sadness. May God bless you and watch over you in this, your time of need.

 

 

June 22, 2009,,,,,We were sad to learn that Karen (Keto) Nichols's dad passed away at at the ripe old age of 100. Calling hours will be Friday 4-7 at Fowler Kennedy Funeral home here in Maynard with a service at St John's Lutheran church, 1pm on Saturday.

 

 

July 1st, 2009,,,,,Got an email from Pat today,,,she's back at work. Kept herself busy last week and really thanks you all for the cards, emails, and thankful wishes during her time of need.

 

July 5th, 2009,,,,,,Strangest thing happened. I got this email from a 1960 MHS graduate who's been checking our website (and loves it) and she knew Dennis Lombard moved to California. She gave me his phone numbers and I left a message for him to call me back. Without a shadow of a doubt, it's Dennis.

,,,,,,,,,,,,And if I might add, the clock is ticking with less than 3 months and counting quickly. For those people that have not sent us a bio,,,please, I beg of you to do so. So many people love to read what's been going on.

 

August 9th, 2009,,,,, And here are the promised pictures from Betsy. First we have the class at Matty's Spa, and then to the right we have the Lake Boone Boys. Underneath we have a real gem, the Washington DC Trip in 1958.


 




 

August 21st, 2009,,,Been a while since I've had stuff to write. Just heard from Nancy and she hasn't changed one bit. Maybe gotten even funnier through the years. Here's what she wrote after I asked her to do me a favor,,,,"Yup i will. Can't wait. I ordered "my leather" outfit! already". haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Nanc,,,don't ever change. Life's too short to take it seriously. Tom French is preparing a bio for us and should have it in a week or so. I'm all set up for it. Check the bio section. And Larry, take the block off your email. You gave it to me but it won't let me in without you telling it that I'm not a bad guy or spam as they call it. Brenda has offerred again to make us some beautiful centerpieces for our tables and then we'll raffle them off. She hasn't changed either. Still as funny as she ever was. Ralph Nelson went into Emerson hospital for surgery and will be there six days or so. We visited him last night and although groggy, he's getting better. They had him up and walking which is good to hear. He was fixing cars right up to when he went in and in no time at all he'll be back at it again. Over 50+ years of fixing cars and between he and Roy, they are still the best in the business. The kids today could learn a thing or two hanging around those two Nelson guys.

 

 

August 27, 2009,,,,About a month and counting till the big night. We're going to have a meeting Tuesday night to make all the final preparations but we'll have to do it without Raplh Nelson. He just got out of the hospital with part of his colon removed. The good news is he's back to his old bitching and moaning self so after 5-6 weeks laid up, he'll be as good as new. Is he still fixing cars you ask? Yup he is. He'll never quit that but he's laying low at the moment till he gets better. Send him a card to 13 George Rd Maynard 01754 and tell him you saw it on the MHS website. He's not a computer person and will get a kick out of that one. Judy (Crotty) Peterson gave us her money today and just got off the phone with teddy Kauppi and he's coming up for the reunion. This thing is getting bigger than a breadbox and as exciting as hell.

September 1st, 2009,,,,,We had a meeting tonight and are going to send out letters and packages for the last time. The letters are a simple reminder and the packages are copies of the website for those people that either we haven't heard from or know for sure they don't have internet access. We also made badges which because of time, are simple name only badges, so our ask is that if you have a picture badge from a prior reunion, bring it and use that. Looks like we're going to have the biggest and best crowd ever at this reunion. A month and counting and we can't wait. Thank you all so much for your bios. Lotta positive comments about them and for those that haven't sent them in,,,please do. FYI,,,We're hoping to get the responses and checks sent back to us by Sept. 20 so we can give the country club the final headcount. We're thrilled Brenda's family changed their family reunion plans and now she's coming. Ed called Denise and Karen who are both coming. I forget what he said about Leigh but I think that was good news too. Stay tuned for more updates.

 

September 4, 2009,,,,,,Sad news,,,,,Jean (Lorentson) Mattson passed away last night. Funeral arrangements will be finalized this weekend and can be viewed at the Fowler Kennedy funeral home website, right here in Maynard,,,,,,,,Jean Lorentson Mattson,,,,,During high school, Jean went to work at Johnson Pharmacy and then on to Paul’s Bakery. When she vacated Johnson’s, a young girl named Dotty Murphy took her place and she’s forever indebted to Jean for that opportunity. Something about that job introducing her to the Attorney’s upstairs where Dotty ended up working for the next 38 years. Jean then went to work at this new company called Digital in the day when they hadn’t issued badges yet. She stayed there until her kids were born when she took upon the roll of stay at home mom. She did eventually go back to work with a company in Concord & Billerica until her poor health declined to the point that she was forced to stay home. I see her husband Wally at church on Sundays pretty regular and he kept giving me an update on how she was doing that week, and then inside we’d go to say a prayer for her. In spite of her declining condition, she still wanted to get out and out she went. Wally took her everywhere including camping on occasion which she loved to do. I bumped into Jean at the grocery store about a month ago and it was so nice to see her. She talked openly about how she was doing and she seemed to be as upbeat as a person could be with her health issues. Did a lot of us really know Jean since high school? Nope. Will we miss her? Yup. Our class is our class and when you think about it, we’re not the same people we were then because life has taught us some lessons that even if we studied hard in the 1950’s, we still couldn’t be prepared for what it threw at us over the last 50 years. Not having the ability to change where we’ve been only leaves us with making the best of the past. That said, 81 kids graduated back in MHS 1959 days and that 81 (plus a few more that came and went) will forever be embedded in the memory banks of our now (I better not say exactly how old) minds. Jean will not be able to partake in our 50th class reunion but she did enjoy hearing about, reading the print and remembering with us, “The Good Ole Days” when life seemed to be a lot simpler than it is today. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And remember,,,,,, Life is short...so break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.

Jean (Lorentson) Mattson,,,,you will forever be in the memory of out hearts

 

Check our Ken Mattson's blog and it'll tell you much more about Jean and her family than I could ever do. It's at http://www.jeanmattson.blogspot.com/ ,,,you'll have to copy and paste that link. And one quote from Matt's blog,,Please DO NOT send flowers. Mom would rather not have flowers, as they are impermanent, but would really like any donations to be made in her name to Buddy Dog Humane Society in Sudbury, Massachusetts. You can find their website at http://www.buddydoghs.com/.

 

September 5th, 2009,,,,,Not a good day at all. Pat's mother who was 92 and in a nursing home, passed away yesterday and classmate Bobby Fleck also passed away. Both these funerals will be held at Fowler Kennedy Funeral Home and their website is http://www.fowler-kennedy.com/

 

September 11, 2009,,,,Got a nice card from Elaine wishing us all well at the reunion. She will not be attending but loves reading the package of the web we send out from time to time. So many people like to stay in touch that way and I have a suspicion that a couple we haven't heard from are reading this as well. If that's you, please send us an email. We'd love to hear from you. We love cards and letters, so don't hesitate to send them to us. Another update,,,,I just attended Jean's calling hours at the funeral home and who did I bump into but Donna, Jackie B, Dotty and Joan. It's sad in a way but this is where we see our friends these days. And,,,Dotty, Jack B and yours truly talked both Donna and Joan into coming to the reunion. I'm so thrilled I could, well, never mind. This reunion is going to be bigger and better than we ever imagined. Stay tuned right here for more info. You gotta check this website every day to keep up with MHS class of 1959 happenings.

 

September 23rd 2009,,,,Jack, I'm so happy that Donna is going and Joan too. We'll have a great time and can't wait to see everyone. Haven't got my outfit yet....someone told me to go to Fredericks' of Hollywood, that have a store at Greendale mall/Worcester. ha.......I hope Willi's suit fits him. I might go early to Marlboro, golf 18 holes 1st........sure!~. xoxo Nancy. Also,,Brenda is making the center pieces for the tables. Thank you so much Brenda.
The badges are made, the program is in order, Pat's finalizing the headcount, Ed's dealing with the country club for our needs there, we've made plans to meet the day of at "Maynardfest" and beyond that, it's REUNION TIME. Can't wait. I just went down and saw my buddy Eddie Quinn and got a space for Bill to park downtown. Spaces will be at a premium during Maynardfest so good luck finding one. See you at noon at Rickles.

 

 

Maynard as you remembered it, or maybe you don’t

 

 

 

I’ll give you a clue. It’s Main Street somewhere. Feb 20,,,Give up? It's the corner of Main and Florida Road. You may not remember it this way but you should remember when the police station and town hall were there. That's when Onzie was chief and Mike Zapareski was a patrolman. And remember when Bonzie Nyholm was the truant officer? I don't think we have one now. In todays age, if you don't go to school, no one cares.



Here are two schools that many of you attended. On the left, you won't remember this, but this is the Coolidge School before they added the second floor. That school today is used for school administrative offices and I believe the food pantry has the bottom level. The hill behind the school still has some of the best sledding and sliding in town. Remember when they closed off Lewis St and we had that for sledding? And on the right, we have the Main St School that burned down in what year? Although we called it the Main St School, what was it's official name? Ok, Lenny emailed it first. It was December of 1954 but I won't tell you who we all think lit the fire. That's gossip and can't be proven,,,but it makes interesting conversation.

Little known facts. The original Coolidge School was built in 1904 by one of our classmates grandfather. Unfortunately the flat roof leaked from day one and to correct it, our town fathers decided to put on a 2nd floor with a pitched roof. That was completed in 1909 and the rest is history as they say. Now, who was that classmate?

It was Eddie Mullin's grandfather




Our Jr High School on the left,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and the Roosevelt School, which is now the Maynard Public Libray. If you come into town for the reunion, you really need to see this incredible library before you leave.

 


Looking up Nason St, Library on your right,, Looking up Main St, Matty's Spa and Woolworths

 


This is an August 8th, 1948 Movie Post Card that was sent to homes in sevaral towns surrounding Maynard letting people know what was playing at the movies. 9cents for the Colonial and 16cents for the Peoples. In 1949 the Fine Arts theater opened and the cards said Peoples and Fine Arts,,,,,,,,,,,, Remember the United Co-op where you could do one stop shopping and banking. Presently Maynard does not have one single grocery store in the downtown area. How many did we have back then?

 

Who dared to cross the tressel behind Grubers?? I did it once and was scared out of my mind. And if my parents knew I did it, there would have been hell to pay.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And how about Grubers before it was Grubers. It was the Alfred T Haynes furniture store and during the depression, the Rialto theater was upstairs. Yup, Maynard had four theaters.

 


The Power House for the trains on the left became St Casimir's Church and the train building became

Lovell Bus Lines. It's now an office building. The Catholic church closed St. Casimirs church and sold it to an Indian group that has re-opend it as their church.

All of the pictures you see are from actual Maynard post cards.
Please show your kids what Maynard used to look like.

 

1959 facts:
New House $12,400. New Car $2,250
Avg Income $5,016/yr. Avg rent $97/mo
Postage stamp 4 cents
Gasoline was 25 cents/gallon
And Tuition to Harvard was $1,250 per year
 

And for you Western movie lovers, this (which is from Eddy Mullin) will take you back a spell.

Once you're finished with this, use the back arrow to come on back to us

http://www.oldfortyfives.com/thoseoldwesterns.htm


 

Paul Anka Then.......Paul Anka Now

 

 

 

How about some remember when stuff: When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up. Nobody owned a purebred dog. When a quarter was a decent allowance and you'd reach in a muddy puddle for a penny. Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces. You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped without asking, all for free, every time. And you didn't pay for air, and, you got trading stamps to boot! Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box. It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents and yet some of us didn't even have the money to do that. They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed. . . and they did it! When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady. No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked. Lying on your back in the grass with your friends and saying things like, 'That cloud looks like a... ' Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited us at home. Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.....Summers were filled with bike rides, baseball games, Hula Hoops, bowling and visits to the pool, and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar. Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, 'Yeah, I remember that'? I am sharing this with you today because it ended with a Double Dog Dare to pass it on. To remember what a Double Dog Dare is, read on. And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care. Share this with someone who can still remember Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Laurel and Hardy, Howdy Doody, The Peanut Gallery, the Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows, Nellie Bell , Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk. That someone just might be a class of 1959 classmate. Give them a call or a shout on email.

Here's another nice one, compliments of Lenny Melanson. It's well worth the trip down memory lane and it's called Burma Shave with the Statler Brothers http://oldfortyfives.com/DYRT.htm

 

Now, here's a trip down memory lane for you. Does the name Arnie Woo Woo Ginsburg ring a bell? It should if you listened to the radio in the late 50's and into the 60's. His show was called the "Night Train" and he was the most sought after DJ in the Boston area. He is by the way, a member of the DJ hall of fame ranking right up there with Dick Clark and Wolfman Jack (who is deceased). Arnie made his name famous with advertising Adventure Car Hop in Saugus. They even made a burger after his name called the "Ginsburger" and if you mentioned his name, they gave you two of them. Well as luck would have it, yours truly and Arnie connected at the Palace Theatre in Manchester NH early March and wouldn't you know, we had our picture taken. It's appropriately called Arnie & Jack. Arnie is 82 now, living in Ogunquit Maine, he's very involved in town politics up there, still going strong, and getting out working whenever he feels like it, which isn't a lot. He joked about how bad the food was at Adventure car hop and said that he wasn't quite sure what you did with the 2nd burger because the first one would make you sick.

Arnie and Jack


 Best Movies of the 50’s,,,,,counting from # 40 up to the #1 Movie,,,,,and #40 was “The King and I” (1956) with Yul Brynner/Deborah Kerr, “The Wild One” (1953) with Marlon Brando, “Guys and Dolls” (1956) with Frank Sinatra/Vivian Blaine, “Marty” (1955) with Ernest Borgnine/Betsy Blair, “An Affair to Remember” (1957) starring Deborah Kerr/Cary Grant, # 35 “Ben-Hur” (1959 what a great year that was) with Charlton Heston, “The Diary Of Anne Frank” (1959 again) starring Mille Perkins, “The Seventh Seal” (1958) with Max Von Sydow, “East of Eden” (1955) with James Dean (in his debut film) Raymond Massey & Jo Van Fleet, “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957) Tony Curtis & Burt Lancaster, “Sabrina” (1954) starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden/Humphrey Bogart, 'Porgy and Bess' (1959) with Sammy Davis Jr, “The Caine Mutiny” (1954) Humphrey Bogart/Van Johnson, 'Gigi' (1958) Leslie Caron, “Lust for Life” (1956) Kirk Douglas/Anthony Quinn, “A Place in the Sun” (1951) Montgomery Clift/Elizabeth Taylor, “High Noon” (1952) Gary Cooper/Grace Kelly, “Rashamon” (1951), “'From Here to Eternity” (1953) Montgomery Clift/Donna Reed, “To Catch a Thief” (1955) Cary Grant and a regal princess Grace Kelly, #20 20. “The African Queen” (1951) Humphrey Bogart/Katharine Hepburn, “An American in Paris” (1951) with dancing king Gene Kelly, “All About Eve” (1950) Anne Baxter/Bette Davis, “Giant” (1956) Rock Hudson/Elizabeth Taylor/James Dean, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, #15 (1951) Michael Rennie, 'Vertigo' (1958) Jimmy Stewart/Kim Novak, “Roman Holiday” (1953) in her Oscar winning screen debut Audrey Hepburn & Gregory Peck/Eddie Albert. “'Sunset Blvd” (1950) William Holden diva Norma Desmond & Buster Keaton, “12 Angry Men” (1957) Henry Fonda/Martin Balsam/Jack Klugman/Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, E.G. Marshall, Ed Begley, “'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) Elizabeth Taylor/Paul Newman/ Burl Ives, #10 'North by Northwest' (1959) Cary Grant/Eva Marie Saint, 'Paths of Glory' (1957) Kirk Douglas, 'Cinderella' (1950), 'The Searchers' (1956) John Wayne, 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' (1957) Alec Guinness/William Holden, #5. 'Rear Window' (1954) Jimmy Stewart/Grace Kelly, #4. 'Some Like It Hot' (1959) Marilyn Monroe/Tony Curtis/Cary Grant/Jack Lemmon, #3 'Singin' in the Rain' (1952) Jean Hagen/Gene Kelly Donald O'Connor/Cyd Charisse. #2 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1951) Marlon Brando/Vivian Leigh /Elia Kazan, and #1 film 'On the Waterfront' (1954) Marlon Brando/Lee J. Cobb/Eva Marie Saint. Does all that bring back memories or what?

Comments made in the year 1955! That's only 54 years ago! 'I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00. 'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a used one. 'If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. 25 cents a pack is ridiculous.. 'Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging 10 cents just to mail a letter. 'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store. 'When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage. 'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it. 'Did you see 'I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas .. where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President. 'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now. 'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet. 'It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work. 'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business. 'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to government. 'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on. 'There is no sense going on short trips anymore for a weekend, it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel. 'No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $35.00 a day in the hospital, it's too rich for my blood.' 'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.'

And there's more,,,How about 45 rpm spindles, roller skate keys, Green stamps, Metal ice cube trays with levers, Cork pop guns, Marlin Perkins, Howdy Doody, Drive in movies-also known as passion pits, and drive-in restaurants, Car hops, Studebakers, wringer washtubs, the Fuller brushman, Sky King, Reel to Reel tape recorders, Tinkertoys, Rin tin Tin, Erector sets, 5cent baseball card packs, Penny candy, Chatty Cathy dolls, Pop-Pop fiz-fiz oh what a relief it is Speedy Alka-Seltzer, Burma shave signs, brownie cameras and flash bulbs, (your kids won't believe this one,,tv test patterns,) Old Yeller, Chef Boy-AR Dee, Timmy and Lassie, Hopalong Cassidy and Gene Autry, Ding Dong Avon calling, Brylcreem, and Aluminum Christmas trees.your kids,,,how about no tv at all. It was real treat for us to go to Judy Rutkowski's house to watch it as a kid and if my memory serves me, her father built that one. You know I could keep going on and on, but that's enough for now.

The what’s been happening section:

 

We want to hear from you like, if you’re coming of course and how you’ve been and what you’ve been up to. Give us the info and along with handing out all your comments at the reunion for all to read, we’re going to post them here. All you have to do to get the info to us, is click on this link (which is also our MHS email address) and write till your hearts content
Maynard1959@aol.com

 

 

Jackie Malcolm,,,, Married to Sheila for 33 plus years and living at 17 Randall Rd. (Worsley and Doris Fardy’s old property but with a new home on it.) Here's the whole story. Sheila and I moved from Cape Cod in 1979 to 13 Randall Rd., right across from Karen Gandell's old house at 16 Randall. Years later after Karen's parents passed away, I purchased their house and moved my mother and stepfather (Conrad) to that location where they lived for 7 years. Then, Mrs. Fardy leaned over the fence one day and wanted to know if I'd buy her house and we did. We actually sold 13 Randall to my daughter, built a new one on the Fardy lot and then when Conrad passed away and mom went into a nursing home, my son and his wife bought the Grandell home. The UPS man said they've decided to change the name of the street to Malcolm Way. ,,,,, I worked for Xerox Corp. for 33 years and then for myself, doing video productions for the last 15 years (which I still do, by the way). I’ve also run the Maynard Area Auto Club for the last 20 years and that's why our MHS webpage is housed on their website. I have three kids, four grandchildren and one more on the way in November. Correction: It's a 7 lb. boy, so now the count is up one. My daughter Tracy is recently engaged and it’s wedding bells next August. One more big bill and I'm free at last. Where the heck did 50 years go? Who the heck knows. I do know one thing though. I wouldn’t miss the last (Judy (Byrne) Spratt doesn't like me calling it the last) hurrah for all the love nor money and I hope you all feel the same way. Hoping to see all of you at the 50th.


Denise (Murphy) Vannelli: Greetings to my MHS Class of '59 Classmates. I live in Ft. Myers, Florida full time now. You may know that my husband Dick died suddenly in September 2005. Since then I have attempted to cope with my loss by creating a "new normal" for myself. I live in an active community and play lots of tennis and golf, and travel in the summer. I'm looking forward to being with you in celebrating our 50th Class Reunion next October. Be well, Denise


Patricia (Manuel) D’Errico,,, Married 47 years, Two children, John and Marianne, Three grandchildren, Johnny, Erica and Benjamin. Johnny is in the Navy and is stationed on the aircraft carrier U.S. Roosevelt. He was deployed in September and has visited Cape Town Africa and is now in Dubai. He will be someplace in the Middle East. My mother celebrated her 91st. birthday in November. I'm still working full time for TJX, for how long is unknown. With my pension going south along with the stock market, only time will tell. Gerry and I hope everyone will be able to attend the 50th reunion. Please keep in touch. "See you October 3, 2009"

 

John White (Whitey),,,,Dear Classmates, Hello to all classpersons @ MHS 1959. Thanks to Jack Malcolm for allowing us to gloom on to the auto web site. I never drove a car while in HS because I couldn't shift into 2nd gear without hitting reverse (ask Jim Brooks or Cyril S.). For the past few years I have gotten together w/ Cyril & Bo Wattu for an occasional lunch & talk about life "back in the day". We accomplish little, tell the same embellished tales of yore (and mine), and mostly update our journey. It is Thanksgiving week and I write this as Eileen and I are camped in our RV on our way to VA to visit our daughter, husband & 3 grandchildren. After a few days there, we hope to quickly move to a more southern climate and follow the sun toward the Southwest, perhaps AZ and So. CAL. Please keep in contact via this site y'all and I will see you in the fall of '09. Love, J P Whitey P. S: Oh, our new traveling companion, Sophie, is a 9 week old Golden Retriever who has no bones about financial crises: just "Feed me Seymour, feed me !" Feb 12, 2009 Whitey winter update,,,In spite of what Cyril told me (jack), Whitey did not stay at his kid's place in Virginia and mooch off them for the winter. Read it for yourself as to what he's been up to,,,and Whitey, please tell your wife not to ignore me again......,We are at Picacho State Park in AZ for the last 3 days. A nice desert park with cacti galore. Previously we were in an AZ state park at Roper Lake. All State parks have large sites so our puppy, Sophie, doesn't bother neighbors when she awakes at un-godly hours. Today I am honing in on some neighbor's portable WI-FI and only occasionally am able to find RV parks w/ such service. Like last week your IM attempt was not answered because Eileen was reading politics at the time and she felt the mess in Washington trumped the Class of '59....Previously, we were bouncing around RV parks (public and private) in Texas. There is a whole lot of land between towns in TX but most of it is fenced and private. We are here for the weather and for the most part it has cooperated. Tomorrow will bring us in the direction of Yuma,AZ and onto CA from there. The fiscal situation of the State of CA has adversely effected the Parks department from what I hear and may mean a lot of searching around for stop-overs. Lets hope the stimulus is indeed stimulating---Bye for now, Yours truly, J P Whitey,,,, March 10th,,,,Heard form (well sorts) Whitey again very briefly. You see Whitey is AOL with AIM which means we both can see each other, so when he goes on, I (jack) get to send him little love notes. This was his reply,, "Jack, I'm in Carpinteria CA trying to book a campsite via the library WIFI." That's funny because Cyril and I have been swapping emails and he's at the Maynard Library. What are the odds that both guys are at the library, one in Maynard and one as far away in the continental U.S. as he could be, at the same time. Boy how things have changed in 50+ years. In grammar school, neither one of them would be caught dead in a library. March 12,,,I am back at the Carpinteria Library today. I got dumped from the WIFI so many times I ended up using the cell phone to get a reservation at a county park down in San Bernadino for the week-end. We have been pretty much keeping a slow, low profile here in SOCAL. A few days in San Mateo State Park, which is in a pretty ostentatious town call Cardiff-By-the-Sea (think of Manchester-By-Sea, MA). Then up to San Clemente, LA and a trip to the down-trodden Montclair to visit the RV factory where I got my Lazy Daze. So this week-end we head East along the Rte 10 route to make it back in a warm environment. Got to get back to MA by mid-April for routine appointments etc. It is sad to hear about Joannie's death and it can be said that a little of all of us is diminished when a contemporary is gone. What can be more contemporary then a Classmate of 50 years ? I have read the latest on the web and was happy to see that Cyril followed up on Bo's bio. So, keep up the good work and we'll be in touch. J P Whitey,,,March 21st,,,,Wow, I just got into an RV park in Van Horn, TX making way east. It is right off of I-10 and we met some nice people mostly because they like our dog. I couldn't hone in our Direct TV tonight but maybe it just electrical or electronic phenomenon . Yesterday we were in Columbus, NM which has a state park called Pancho Villa named after the same revolutionary that attacked that town in Mar 1916 during the Mexican Revolution. There is a lot of history entwined with Mexico, the Confederacy, and of course, the Republic of Texas that one encounters in trips to the Southwest. Temps are moderate and the sun is shining most of the time. We have gone thru two time zones in the last couple of days and it is hard to determine when happy hour should start. However, it is always 5 O'clock somewhere (J. Buffett). Nice to keep in touch. J P Whitey ('59) April 5th,,,Dear Jack, So I don't know when I last checked in but it was somewhere in West Texas and since then we have slowly moved east thru the TX Hill Country (Kerrville) and on a Corp of Engineers park near Waco where the wild flowers were just starting to bloom (particularly the blue bonnets). Then on to Louisiana and Miss. and Northeast to Gadsden, AL where there is a nice park at Nocallula Falls where tradition has it a Cherokee Indian lass threw herself off the falls over a long lost love of some unknown brave. Who knows, maybe it is true ? Eileen and I have since stopped at Hungry Mother state park in Virginia where the water level at the lake is so low that the fish are stacked up waiting for the upstream locks to be released. We will shortly check in at Cumberland State Park which is close to my daughter's home and settle in for a week. Tomorrow is April Fool's Day and I thought it appropriate to check in now before some humongous virus kills this computer of mine..... Lots of love, J P Whitey April 26,,,,Occupation: Retired Telco Splice Technician #Children: 1 #Grandchildren 3 #Great grandchildren 0,,I have contributed some rambling comments on the MHS '59 website regarding our recent travels. I did not mention one aspect of a bio and that is, I spent a bit over 30 years with a well-known local phone company, that eventually became know as Verizon. In 2001 the company gave me an offer I couldn't refuse and I left its employ. I informed the boss I had a digital mind trapped in an analog body. He laughed, and I left. I haven't performed in any productive manner since-which possibly explains the economic downturn that all of us experience.

 

 

Elaine (Joyal) Barnard,,,I met Elaine while she was here in Maynard helping her mother move out of the old house to her sister's place in Palmer. Her mother is almost 90 and doing just fine as near as I could tell. Of course I went unannounced (just banged on the door) and it was just like it was 49 years ago. She lives Albuquerque, has two kids and I forget how many grand children. She spoils them from time to time, but grammies can do that you know. She's walks and runs constantly (which is something that scares the heck out of me) and her latest trip planned is to hike down the Grand Canyon and back of course. Wow, I just looked down there and it made me dizzy. We talked for an hour and I hated to leave. Wow, what a nice trip we both took down memory lane. She said she'd look at the site when she got home and send us a bio. Elaine, I do hope you do, but just in case, I thought I'd let everyone know just a little bit about what's going on in your life. Jack Malcolm,,,,,May 1, Update from Elaine,,,,Greetings from "The Land Of Enchantment" to all my classmates. The past months I've spent my time in Maynard and Palmer helping my mom with her big move. It was great to see Pat D'Errico, Jack Malcolm and Paul Barilone. Times have been difficult with the loss of Ray, we almost made our 40th wedding anniversary, but it wasn't to be. I keep busy these days with family and friends. Jared is 8 and Tori is 5 so they keep my daughter Sandra and I very busy with all sorts of fun stuff. We have 16 members in our Red Hat Society and we're active around the city and state. We do lots of fun things. Our Oasis Group travels to Colorado, Arizona, Las Vegas and California. Recently we had a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Words can't describe the beauty of the canyon. One day I hope to take the ten mile hike down into the canyon floor. I'm still running up at the academy where I can enjoy the beautiful, rugged Sandia Mountains. I miss Perkin's Cove in Maine and get back often to swim, go boating and eat lots of fresh fish. My thoughts will be with you on October 3rd as you celebrate 50 YEARS!!!! Elaine,,do, Arizona, Las Vegas and California. Recently we had a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Audrey (Malcolm) Langille,,,Married 44 years to Mal (Acton) and living on the North Shore in Ipswich Ma. We have two sons, Dana, who married Andrea in June of 2008 and then Glenn, who built a house in NH. My passion is gardening/landscaping and building stone walls. Also enjoy browsing antique shops and flea markets for that great find to add to my collection of yellow-ware, kitchen utensils, crocks and tin-ware. God willing, if my health permits, I'll join all of you at our 50th.

 

Connie (Lowell) Saarinen,,,Hi everyone. I am so looking forward to seeing all of you at our 50th! I have been married to Newt for 44 years. Daughter Becky is a paralegal and daughter Jen is library director at Wachusett Regional High School. Grandchildren have expanded to four (five yrs. to twenty) and they all live near by so it is fun. Still enjoy our little place at Cape Cod, gardening and artistic pursuits. Updating the house a bit after 30 years and for fun, enjoy swing dancing. See you in October!

 

Lenny Melanson Jr.,,, My wife, Lynne (Downey) Melanson and I now live in Huber Heights, OH which is 7 miles north of Dayton in southwestern Ohio. We have (3) children – Keith and his wife Heather live in Chanhassen, MN; Michelle lives in Fairfield, OH and Kristin lives in Centerville, OH. Lynne is retired and I am semi-retired but still being a Manufacturer’s Representative for two (2) companies from Australia and one company from Albion, NE, of which I am part owner. I have travelled to more than 90 countries over the past 30 years and have been into China more than 80 times. Lynne and I love gardening/landscaping, enjoying our children/grandchildren and travel. I also love playing golf, but still not good at it. We are both looking forward to attending our 50th and hope everyone will also be there.

 

Bill Shaw,,,,Married to Joan for 45 years with two daughters and we have 4 grandchildren. The grandchildren live close to us so we see them all on a regular basis. The ages of the grandchildren are 4, 7, 8, and 12, three girls and one boy. Ryan is now 8 and we are fortunate to have him. He has a heart defect called Hypo-plastic left heart and has had three open heart surgeries. We now live in an in-law apartment with my oldest daughter in Pepperell. We sold our house in Groton and with the money we were able to completely pay for our apartment (no mortgage as Ernie Boch used to say). With my nerve problem I needed to not have a house to take care of as it was physically impossible. We recently drove to Grand Rapids, MI and I purchased braces for both legs. Long drive but we did meet Karen and Clark Smith for a couple of days as they were in Michigan at the same time. We have, over the years, gone on a couple of cruises with the Smith’s as well. Looking forward to the reunion and seeing everyone. Holy mackerel 50 years!!

 

Cyril Spratt,,, that devil,,,,he's writing a book on growing up in Maynard and not mentioning names but he's got one young kid mentioned with the first name of Malcolm. That's kinda close if you ask me but I still can't wait to read it. It's all done (300 pages) and now on to the publisher. He wrote it at the Maynard Public Library which is now in the old Roosevelt School. Isn't that ironic? And Whitey, the next time you guys go to lunch with Bo, I'm going along. Cyril said so. ,,,,,,,and now onto his and Judy's bio

 

Cyril and Judy (Byrne) Spratt,,,, Greetings fellow classmates! Remember when we, the members of the Class of ‘59, actually turned 59? The very thought of us being so ancient was unimaginable when we were in high school! God, even Mr. Mattioli wasn’t that old back then. Now I can only wish I was 59 again. I haven’t a clue how we all zoomed past that age and became Medicare recipients so quickly; but I for one, have found this senior citizen thing vastly overrated. Many of our classmates seem to be aging quite gracefully however; take Judy, my dear wife of 47 years, for example. She’s still as healthy and as energetic as ever; playing tennis, hopping down the stairs in the morning like a teenager, and keeping a schedule that runs me ragged. On the other hand, my creaky bones tend to creep ever so gingerly, and one step one at a time, while I grip onto the railing for dear life when I come downstairs in the morning to put on a pot of coffee……or, was it to go pick out my prom tux? ,,,,,It was seven years ago that I retired from IBM; absolutely thrilling Judy with my sudden omnipresence. (Ahem.) I wasn’t too surprised then, when she enthusiastically supported my daily regimen of lap swimming in the morning, coupled with afternoons in the library with a good book, or banging away somewhere on my laptop. She even encouraged me to get out and have a few brewskis with the boys from time to time; that is whenever Whitey wasn’t touring the country in his RV with his wife Eileen. As my young (I’m ten days older) friend “Malcolm”, the unofficial Mayor of Maynard, noted, I recently completed a 300 page manuscript based on my growing up in our beloved mill town. It is a non-fictional, largely humorous, story based on my experiences, friends, and family; covering preschool days, through age 21. And while finding a publisher would truly be fantastic, I’m not holding my breath. In any event, I love to write and really enjoyed retracing my youth, and I’m fairly sure our children, and those who follow, will get a real boot out of it. I’ve also written a dozen or so very short stories, and I’m currently fleshing out an outline for a thriller novel. ,,,,,And Whitey is right. Whenever he returns from one of his epic trips, we go fetch Bo, find a good place for a long lunch, and rehash the same old stories over and over. But what he neglected to say is, that none of us really remember what we actually said the previous time we met. Combine this with our propensity for embellishing every fact with each retelling, and we have a perpetual library of fresh stories to make each other laugh. And who wouldn't enjoy Bo’s hearty and infectious laugh? ,,,,,Judy and I still live in the same house in Sudbury we bought forty years ago, but even though we are empty nesters, the house seems to have shrunk (except when it needs painting). We’re big time movie aficionados, and do our very best to keep the area restaurants thriving. We are delighted several of them are right here in good old Maynard.,,,,, We are lucky to have our daughter Susan living close by in Auburn. But she is an empty nester now too, since our grandson Saben is a deployed in northern Afghanistan as a cavalry scout in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Our granddaughter Sage is a freshman at Mass College of Art. Our oldest son, Mark, still lives way too far away in Wellington, NZ. Our younger son Chris, currently living in North Carolina, married his long time beau Whitney in a beautiful ceremony this past Sept. on Walker’s Island, Florida. And now we can keep our fingers crossed again for more grandchildren. ,,,,,Geezo, now that I’ve said all this, I’ll have nothing else to say when we get together in October. Oh well, I’ll take a clue from what Whitey, Bo and I always do, embellish the stories. Be well, and hope to see you then.

 

Donna (Leate) Colleton,,,, Glad to hear from you about our reunion. I have been happily married for 29 years to Paul Colleton. We have a combined family of 4 children ages 40 to 47 and 8 grandchildren ages 15 to 23. We also have one adorable great-granddaughter 3 yrs. old. Paul and I are both retired, living in Ayer and trying to just enjoy our "old age".

Donna failed to mention that she and Paul will be at the reunion and if she says maybe, I'm going to have either Nancy Sheridan, or Paul Barilone take charge of that one. Donna and her husband Paul, (I've got too many Pauls here) were at the last reunion and I'm sure they'll be at the 50th. Thank you for the bio Donna,,,jack

 

Dave Spratt,,,Really looking forward to our 50th class reunion in October. It's been too long since I have seen many of you, but still retain many great memories of our times spent in Maynard. Jackie and I have been married for 46 years and still going strong. We both retired from Digital over ten years ago and decided to move to a warmer climate. We built a home on the golf course in Naples, Florida, where we live year round. Each summer, for a month, we have been able to travel to New England and Canada for some cool mountain air. Our daughter and family has also moved south to Tampa, Florida, which has been great because we do get to see the grandchildren, Charlie, age 8 and Mikayla, age 10. Not too far from us, but close enough for a quick visit. On another note, our son, the free spirit moves around and has been seen in Las Vegas, Ashville, NC, and most recently, (don't ask me why), Sioux Falls, SD. He has been making noises about his next move, which we hope will be closer to us. I'm still playing golf about 3-4 times a week and maintaining a surprisingly low handicap, especially for someone who is about to experience his 50th year class reunion. Jackie is also playing golf 2-3 times a week. It's December 20th and it's a little cool today at 79 degrees. Guess I'll have to wear a sweater. Hope to see you in October. Please put our e-mail address up on the website, would love to hear from one and all. Jackie and I are blessed to live in paradise, if anyone comes to this beautiful place please get in touch with us.

 

Jesselyn (Jesse Piecewicz) Tobin,,, Hello out there classmates of '59. It is hard to believe we are going to celebrate our 50th. I am still in the Maynard area living in Carlisle with my partner Didi Stoddard, our dog Winnie and two new kittens. We are in Carlisle more than half the time and the rest of the time in Truro on the cape. My daughter Heather and her husband Clayton are nearby in Westford. She is a social worker in Lawrence and he is the Athletic trainer at Concord/Carlisle HS. I retired officially in '94. I taught Phys Ed, did accounting for the old Avalon Club, was a real estate broker, was Digital's first female technician and was the Program Director and a tennis pro at the Thoreau Club in Concord for 14 years. Didi and I travel extensively averaging at least two trips a year. These trips have been hiking and biking trips so are fairly active. Our next trip is to Patagonia in March and then a reprieve to see what the economy does. I have also continued to play competitive tennis, hike, bike, golf, X-country ski, and I started downhill skiing again three years ago. The guy who rented me skis at Wachusett asked me when I skied last and I told him about 35 years ago. He was all of 26 and quite taken aback. I also sing in a chorale on the cape and have been in one chorus or another for 12 years or so. All in all, I am quite healthy and happy and still waiting for a grandchild to round things out. I hope to see you at the reunion. Jesse

 

Sally (Chapman) Kangas,,,- Dick and I will be married 48 years in April (High School sweethearts) Our retirement plans were to move to the Cape which we did before we retired and just love it here. I do miss Maynard though. My parents used to say you have everything here and they were right compared to the Cape. Dick and I spend time on our boat and love to fish . We spend a month in Florida each winter to get away from the cold. We have 3 children and 6 granddaughters, Deborah our oldest daughter lives in Ct. and Shauna her oldest has graduated from Temple Univ., lives in Philadelphia and is a ballet dancer. Holly attends Bryant Univ. and Hanna is a Jr. in High School. Robert lives on the Cape and a daughter Kayla who is in first grade. Terri & family live in Merrimack, NH, her oldest daughter Samantha is a sophomore at Notre Dame Academy and her youngest daughter Sydney is in Middle School at Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro, Ma.. How come all these class mates live on the Cape and we never run into them? I did miss one class reunion so I am looking forward to the 50th. See you all then. Love Ya all, Sally

 

Nancy (Sheridan) Gerlach,,, just tried to tell me she was the youngest one in the class which I didn't believe. I called Ralph Nelson and he said he and Roy were born in March, but he also thought Wayne Chandler was younger than the two of them. Here's a quote from Nancy,,,"oh, I will be 67 this January 28th. My mother used to say, the Japs bombed Pearl harbor and you were born. ...hmmmmm, what did she mean by that......."

Nancy Jean Sheridan Gerlach Bio,,, Born in Concord, January 28th, 1942, and my mother, as I was growing up, would say to me, You know Nancy, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and you were born soon after......hmmm. what did she mean? Since graduating from our dear old Maynard High in 1959, Married in 1966 to Willi (not quite a citizen) Gerlach (he did become a citizen), it was easier to travel and leave U.S.A. to go back and visit Germany, so he did!. 3 Children, Karin, (RN) at Worcester UMASS Memorial Hospital, married, 2 lovely children, Kyle and Brenna, Karin, Brian and children live in nearby Rutland. Bill, married, lives in LA and for the time being, is employed at NY Mellon Bank, soon to be terminated with an 18 month contract, they have to pay, (hey, he didn’t give out any of those phony mortgage's) Bill and Holly have lived in LA for 8 years, Holly is an RN also. Heidi, married with 3 children, Dylan, Luke and Kendall, with husband Tim, live in Sterling, MA. Heidi was an East Coast sales rep for one of those .com software companies that due to this economy is practically down the tubes...so she is now nurturing the lives of her young family, until something else comes along. One door opens, as one closes.......Now let me see, Willi and I have traveled to Europe several times, and my favorite was Italy, I think it was growing up on Hillside Street, with the Fava's, Lalli's, Waldron's, and eating at their houses all the time. I found out that the pitcher of ice water on the table, meant that the #10 can of pepper was in use.... (ok) Jack, you wanted a bio.....Oh, let's step back, Willi and I live in Clinton, have for 43 years, and I serve as an appointed Voter Registrar for the Town of Clinton. Appointed in 1989. Ok for now.....I have more....I'll make you sweat it out. See you tomorrow,,,,Nancy. The tomorrow Nancy peaks of is the funeral of our dear friend, Joan (Nyholm) Bourne and I know the MHS class of 1959 will be well represented,,,jack

 

Clark Smith,,,Via Bill Shaw,,,Retired from GM since October 1999. Of course he left out that he started in Framingham and when GM closed there, he went with them to Tarrytown NY until his retirement and that was quite a few years that he traveled back and forth. He and his lovely wife Karen are busier than ever now than when he was working. They travel a lot thoughout the year with trips to Florida, Michigan and Summers both at Brent Rock on the south shore and Harrison Maine. Memorial weekend is big at the Smith house where they have hosted a huge pig roast with tons of guest for over 25 years. They are into antique collecting and seasonally decorate their home in line with the time of year. If you haven't seen it, just take a ride by their home on Red Acre Road in Stow during a decorating time of year and you'll see what we're talking about here. He's looking forward to this reunion seeing it's been ten years since that last one.

 

And here’s one of the twins reporting in


Ralph Nelson,,,,just like the tv program 60 minutes, Ralph claims he’s an hour older than Roy and we’ll let him have that one until we hear what Roy has to say. They both worked as Ford mechanics both at Anderson Ford and Lunenburg Ford for 42 years. (I’m adding here now),,,,back in the real early days, they chopped many a beautiful 1930s car into a race car which they ran at Norwood Arena and when they weren’t doing that, they were working at Boeske’s Nash dealership which was literally in their back yard. Note: At age 14 they were driving Nash cars from Boston to Maynard for Howie. Betcha didn’t know that little fact. They (and here’s where we split) retired from that mechanic business in 2004 and now Ralph drives a NAPA truck for Herbie Torppa’s old place, delivering parts three days a week. “It’s great to have some free time,” so he says, but I know for a fact that isn’t what he’s doing. He’s still working on cars on his off days and one of them just happened to be my 1955 Nash Rambler when I first got it. He’s married to his lovely wife Marylin for 41 years and still living in their honeymoon home here on George Road in Maynard. They have three children, Michelle, Robyn and Brian and four grandchildren, Olivia, Jack (not named after me) Madisyn and Lauryn only two months old as we speak. He’s enjoying his retirement (if you can call it that) and can’t wait to see everyone at this 50th reunion. P.S. If you didn't know it, after Nancy's father Gene Carpentier (who's 90 years old and still living in Southern California) our class of 1959 twins are still the best mechanics that ever held a wrench....(jack)

 

Roy Nelson,,,,,,ditto for Ralph's first half.

 

And now for Eddy Mullin: Well, we'll have to wait on that one. Ed can only do one thing at a time these days and that happens to be sunning himself in the Dominican Republic. He's promised me that when he gets back, we'll get his bio. It's either that or I'm going to get his youger brother Bill to write it. This one's almost like reciting the alphabet. Eddie, Lee, Johnny, Joe, Walter, Peter, Mary, Bill. Only In Maynard can we do that. Feb. 8, 2009 update. read down aways because I got it. I had to fight a little because microsoft 2007 doesn't like 2003 etc, but a simple patch solved that problem. It was worth the wait though,,,thanks Ed.

 

Brenda (Mariani) Maurais,,,What a joy it is to walk down memory lane as I read about the class of 59. Where has the time gone since graduation and 2009? I have lived in Methuen since 1965 and retired from nursing in June of last year but still work a couple days a week so that I can continue my gambling and traveling ways. I am involved in many clubs and groups and find time to go to the gym 5 days a week My husband of 35 years died suddenly in 1996. I am now engaged (no plans to marry) to a wonderful Irish fella named Joe. As they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. We have done a lot of traveling here and throughout Europe but once a year we must hit Vegas to admire all the casinos we have helped build with our losses throughout the years. My daughter Laura and her husband live in N. Andover. I have 2 granddaughters Alicia 20, a nursing student at St.Anselms College and Katie 16 a junior at N. Andover High. My son John is in the Army and up until June 2008 was stationed in Hawaii. Not to shabby an assignment. Sure beats Iraq. He and his wife Mary are now stationed in St. Louis. I spent Christmas and New Years with them . Looking forward to our reunion and seeing everyone. Brenda

I'm putting in a short note from David because he says it better than just me. People are asking for their names, emails and phone numbers to be put up here so that others might contact them and go over new and old times. Being the focal point, I do get messages from many classmates and I love it. Give it a try,,,see a phone number/email address,,,give them a shout. Here's the note from David and then his bio will follow.

 

Hi Jack,,,,With holidays behind and the New Year off and running, I finally put a few words on paper per your request. Below you will find a mini-bio which I think touches on the core and flavor of the last fifty years. You may include my telephone number and web address on the class list. Most certainly I would enjoy hearing from our classmates. Telephone: 011 30 211 010 1754 Email: thymari@aol.com


David Kuleisus,,,,We found David right where our list (Vouliagmeni Greece) said he was. We got a beautiful email from him promising a forthcoming bio which we’ll insert right here when we get it. And I haven’t officially asked the rest of you yet, but as you see fit, please let us have yours as well

 

David Kuleisus,,,Back in 1959 it would have seemed impossible that I would be writing to you from Athens, Greece. But here I am, retired to Greece, living with Angelique, my wife of 40 years, 10 minutes away from our daughter, Maria, and our granddaughter, Marouso. How did this happen? I would like to believe we have some sort of control over things, but chance and circumstance seem to call the shots. After graduation from Maynard High I entered the religious life and several years later exited. I then found myself studying at Harvard where I completed two graduate degrees including an MBA. Most importantly, I met Angelique at Harvard. Marriage ensued and shortly thereafter I began an international business management career. Somewhere along the way I lost track of most of you but through Vinny Buscemi kept a tenuous link to our class. As one might expect, living overseas I became completely oblivious to the fortunes of the Red Sox and the Celtics. We lived and worked in London for several years where my daughter learned how to be English as well as American and Greek. While there, Angelique completed still another degree at the London School of Economics and worked in corporate consulting. I managed the european activities of an Occidental Petroleum subsidiary. We lived and worked in several countries and, like Leonard Melanson, I traveled to nearly all the others. One most interesting assignment took me for several years to the Sultanate of Oman, an oil rich Arabian Gulf country, where I oversaw the businesses owned by His Excellency, the Minister of Commerce (yes, they still use these titles). If you read the Screech Owl for ’59 you will find that in ‘79 I should have been found selling newspapers in Paris. It didn’t quite happen that way, but the prophecy was not far off! After several decades in executive management, I retired to Greece where my family is gathered and entered into the domestic twilight zone that Cyril Spratt alludes to in his recent communication. What is it like to live in Greece? On the surface not very different from any place else these days. Satellite communication, global marketing and Chinese production have seen to that. But the culture, history, social organization and moral climate are different; most times inspiring and sometimes frustrating. What Greece has not (yet) lost is a strong family structure wherein the generations stick together like glue. This I like very much. It is doubtful that I will be able to attend the great 50th anniversary fest. But who knows? Od ysseus found his way back to Ithaca in the end. I wish you all great joy, good health and much happiness. David

 

Paul Barilone,,,,Some things never change, I've lived in this town in the same house for 68 years. Virginia and I have been married for 44 years and our son Brian is now 27. Thank God we are healthy, happy, and enjoying life. Some of our best times are spent at our cottage in New Hampshire (Newfound Lake). Since retiring five years ago my garage/barn has become the local hangout for some of Maynard's finest senior citizens. We have the stories, many of which I can’t share here :) Looking forward to seeing you at our "50th" reunion! Note from Jack: Paul is a man of few words on paper but many face to face. I see him almost every morning at Roasted Peppers (the old 5 & 10cent store with the Colonial theater upstairs-remember?) restaurant with a whole host of Maynard’s finest and there’s no loss of word’s there, trust me. I do know that every year he can’t wait for a real winter to set in so he can go ice fishing with Dick Syluski. Why he wants to freeze out there is beyond me, but they both love it. Paul volunteers a lot of his time at the Maynard Lodge of Elks working with the flowers in the spring and selling Christmas trees in the winter. It’s people like the Pauls of the world that make that organization. successful. And yes, you read it correctly,,,flowers. Paul has never missed a class reunion and when he says he’d like to see you there, he means it.

 

I heard from Bunnie and was blown away at what's she, her husband and friends have been up to. I'm going to print it as she gave it to me and will let you click on the link so see for yourselves. I guess she's been really busy out there in Cedar Rapids. Hi Jack - yes, still Bunnie - just different spelling, but no big deal. I have not forgotten the bio - got busy with holidays, computer problems -got a new one with VISTA (YUK), had a bad hard drive that took 5 mos to die, got flu, got computer fixed, now am trying to learn the dratted new system. I should have had my old XP Professional rebuilt while I still could - but got distracted by the flood that wiped out downtown Cedar Rapids. Has been quite a year. I will get to work on the bio and get it to you by the end of Feb - hope that will work ok - because that's what fits the schedule! I am wrapping up fundraising for the astronomy center - you can see what we built if you check out the web site - http://www.cedar-astronomers.org Thank for your work and enthusiasm. Bunnie/Bunny/Alexandra/Alex/Alexis! Seems that every new job gave me a new name!

 

 

Eddie Mullin,,,,Hello Fellow Classmates, Jackie Malcolm has been hounding me to put a bio on our web site for the past month or two. I have been fairly reluctant to do so, for I really did not want to minimize the past fifty years in a couple of lines or so. In some ways, a few sentences here stated would not convey all that has happened in a journey that has had many twists and turns and ups and downs. That being said, I’m sure all of you can identify with similar types of journeys. In writing this, I can think of three famous phrases that apply to my family and me: (1) Regrets, I have a few, but oh, too few to mention. Frank Sinatra. (2) Life is tough and tougher when you do something stupid. John Wayne. Yet, (3) Don’t look back. Somebody will be gaining on you. Satchell Paige. Since you know all that happened in the first eighteen years, in a nutshell this is what has happened in the past fifty!! Upon graduating from Northeastern University, I went in the army—a six monther—NOT FUN!! After that, I began my teaching and coaching career in Lebanon, New Hampshire in 1964. It was there that I met my wife, Linda, a fellow teacher. It was the best thing that happened to me, and we will celebrate forty-four years together in July. Linda and I, while moving here, there, and everywhere, eventually settled in Maynard in 1969. During that period, we had our family—a boy, Michael, and three girls, Melissa, Marsha and Michelle. We have been very fond of Maynard, and at this time we plan to stay here for the duration. In 1968, I took a job in Belmont and taught there until I retired in 2002. Along the way, I coached several sports as well as moving over to Maynard to coach football. I will say my fondest memories were of coaching the kids in Maynard and especially working with our classmate, Bruce Koskinen. Incidentally, I just came back from visiting Bruce down to his place in Florida. We attended the Collegiate National Champion Game in Miami and played a little golf. It was great. I digress! Linda, in the meantime, took a job at Maynard and taught there for about twenty years. And now our kids have produced twelve grandchildren—all of whom give us so much pleasure. We love them all!!! Mike and Jeannie, his wife, have three boys and a girl and reside in Ringwood, NJ. Melissa and Ted, her husband, live in Stow and have two sons Marsha and Brian, her husband, live in Maynard and have three girls and a boy. Michelle and Fred, her husband, live in Tyngsboro and have a girl and a boy. On the civic side, I have tried to give back to the community along the way feeling we did alright by it when we were the young people in town. I did serve as a Selectman for six years, and as you can well imagine that had its pluses and minuses. I also helped found the Maynard High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. We are planning on having our third induction in November of this year. The Community has supported this overwhelmingly, and for that I m very pleased. On a side note for those who do not know, my sister, Mary, passed away in 2003—a victim of breast cancer. My father, Leo, died in 1993 at the age of eighty-one, and my mother, Alice, died in 2005 at the ripe old age of ninety-three. They had a good and eventful life. My brothers are all doing well and are scattered around the country. So, this is a bit long—but, oh well!!! I hope this note finds you all healthy and hope to see you at the time of our 50th Reunion. It should be a great time to look back at the “good ole days!!!!” God Bless, ,,, Eddie

 

 

Barbara Littig,,,,I guess I'd best get at this bio. Have been procrastinating. I have been at Stonecroft for 40 years (a Christian evangelical outreach through luncheon/dinner meetings and Bible Studies). Worked 37.5 years in the national office and retired Feb. 2006 (hard to believe it's been 3 years). Stonecroft has office and apartments on 44 acres and I am still able to live here after retirement. We are in Kansas City, Missouri. I am trying to get my exercise at Curves, enjoy several church activities. Am an avid Red Sox fan and have been getting the Major League baseball channels for the last 3 years so am able to watch almost all the games. Makes such a difference being able to watch. Have 3 rescued Cockatiels since August (took 3 to replace my first Cockatiel, Morgan, who died in July after 9 years together - from his babyhood). These boys are older birds and not tame but are still a joy to have around. Had done some volunteer work with a couple of animal shelters and am hoping to get back into that again. Get home to Maynard every summer to visit my Mom who is now 96 years old and still living in her apartment at Summer Hill Glen. I'm not sure if I can change to October but am trying to work things out. Will let you know for sure later. Barbara

 

 

Hi from Karen (Keto) Nichols! After high school I went to Nursing school, worked in San Francisco, then went back to college in the Midwest. I returned to Boston where I met and married my husband Larry. Larry is retired and into T'ai Chi. We have lived in Arlington for many years.We have two sons, Mark who works in hard-drive research in Silicon Valley, and Fritz, who is married to Lesli, works in banking, and has a son. He lives in Burlington, Vermont so we get to visit quite often. My father will have his 100th birthday this May. He is in a nursing home having recently suffered a fractured hip, but is pretty good mentally (a bit forgetful). I retired from my nursing career, then entered into my next job: I worked for the next few years as the coordinator of the Belmont Senior Center. This was a challenging and fun job and if any of you don't know what your local Council on Aging has to offer look into it right away. I am retired again but volunteer, chaperone the Boston Symphony COA trips, edit the newsletter, serve on the Friends Board, and take Yoga there. I do lots of other volunteer things---keeps me busy and involved. I have also pursued my joy of singing, did a bit of opera, sang in the church choir, and now sing with a wonderful women's chorale. We spend most of our summers at our cottage on the Cape. Last year we took a wonderful trip. We went for two weeks to Greece with another couple (yes David, we did spend a few days in Athens). Then we joined a private tour in Turkey with many old friends from our church led by Helmut Koester, a biblical archaeologist who has taken his Harvard students to sites on the west coast of Turkey for years. We also had a Turkish guide who was knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and Greek mythology. We climbed in the hot sun to many ancient sites (they're all on tops of big hills), stayed in luxurious old hotels and feasted royally. I'm really looking forward to this reunion.

Feb 18,,,, Thank you Karen and to all of you for taking the time to write these bios. If you noticed, Karen mentioned David and Athens and that's just one simple clue that classmates are reading what you've written and doesn't that put a smile on some faces when that happens. It does mine. I've already been approached by another class asking how they might get this going for their group. Who wooda thunk back in the late 1950's that we'd be at this level of communication and probably talking with and sharing more now than we did back then. I have to say that Audrey is not the only one who does not have a computer and she managed to mail me hers. Her son Dana makes copies right from here, gives them to his mom and she gets a kick out of reading them. So if she can do it, computer or not, you can as well. We still have many more of these to go before the reunion and if you're reading this and haven't sent yours in, please get it in gear and send us one. ,,,,Jack

 

 

Bruce Koskinen,,,,Married to wife Linda for the past 44 years. We have two children son Erick and daughter Julie. They have given us four grandchildren ages 4-15, Bryn and Lucas Koskinen, Elizabeth and Nicholas Gatto. I retired in 2001 after 36 years in education 33 of those at M.H.S. as a teacher, coach and athletic director. In retirement I spend in Florida, Maynard, and the summer place in Ashby Ma. The grandchildren love it there. In the fall season I have traveled through the southeast and mid west to major college football games with former players and friends. I also have Patriot season tickets, so I guess you could say football is in my blood. I also enjoy fishing and golf. The fishing trips to Maine are a great time. To the big 50th------- talk about memories.,,,,Let me (jack) just say that Bruce (or Mr Koskinen as the kids call him) has made quite an impact at our Alma Mater, Maynard High School. I know many of you went into the teaching field and I applaud all of you, but Bruce did it right here in good ole Maynard and will be remembered by every Maynard kid he ever touched. And he touched the hearts of many of them in his 33 years here. Thank you Bruce for your service to our wonderful community.,,,,

 

 

Barbara (Harrington) Holt,,,,,I'm so glad Jesse found me. I was lost but now I'm found. John and I moved about 3 years ago and are now living in Lewes, De. It is a small town much like Maynard except it has a beach and the ocean. We love it here so much that we own 2 houses here 1 mile apart. One is right on the water and the other is our winter home(it's ok our neighbors think we're crazy, too). We kept our Condo that we've had for 12 years when we decided to down size. We now have room for all the kids when they come and visit. We have 3 daughters, all of whom are married, and 7 wonderful grandchildren. They range in age from 13 to 5. We are both very involved in the community and still play tennis. This is a very historic town and we are very fortunate to have a large group of retirees stepping in with much knowledge and a willingness to get the job done. John is active with the lightship Overfalls as a member of the dirty hands gang. They have restored this ship and the organization has raised over 1 million dollars for the restoration. We have a very active Historical Society that helps this area become a destination for those who are interested in the history that surrounds the entire region. I would love to have any of you visit and learn about our town. I had a great time at the 40th. Looking forward to the 50th. My e-mail is mombarbh@aol.com. My phone number is 302-644-4865. I would love to hear from anyone. Barbara,,,

 

 

Karen (Grandell) Crowther,,,,Jackie, I'm finally sending you a brief bio via snail mail. Yes, I'm one of those dinosaurs who is not on line - at least not yet. I still live in Florence Mass. where Walt and I moved to in 1964. As most of you may already know, Walt died in June of 2005. Denise, I understand living the "new normal." I am fortunate to have my daughter Lisa, my son Steven, their spouses and four grandchildren living near me. I enjoy spending time with family as well as volunteering, bowling, taking fun classes and vacationing at Plum Island. Fifty years,,,hard to believe it's been that long. Looking forward to seeing you all in October,,,,

 

 

David (Bo) Wattu,,,,Hi everyone. I have really enjoyed reading about all my "old" classmates in our 50th Reunion website. Having finally succumbed to Jackie's intense pressure, I am submitting these few sentences to describe what I've been up to over the last half century. Ha! Shortly after graduation, I joined the Navy, where I spent time stationed in Kodiak Alaska, Guam, and Midway Island. After completing my four year commitment to Uncle Sam, Janet and I got married and bought a house in Marlboro, where we raised our family and still live there today. During this time I spent my entire career of roughly forty years, working in electrical construction in the greater Worcester area, as an electrician, until I retired in 2002. Retirement soon greeted me with an unwelcome surprise though, when I had to have bypass surgery the following year. But other than that one setback, from which I have fully recovered, and dealing with the ever-popular, knee-clicking malady, my overall health has been good and I can't complain. Okay, just one more complaint: Whenever I get up after sitting too long, my back is stiff. To combat these issues, Janet and I, who will have been married 45 years in April, have become very avid walkers, including mall walking. ,,,,,,We have two daughters; Laura lives in Upton with her husband Jeremy, and Debbie lives with her husband Gil and our two granddaughters in Winston Salem, NC. Laura works as a controller for Waters Corp. In Milford, and Debbie is now a full-time mom, after working as a second grade teacher until the kids came along. Jessica is now seven, and Erin is five. We were delighted to have them spend a week with us in January, and we plan to visit them again in April. Janet and I, along with our daughters, their husbands, and our two grandchildren, combined our attendance at my nephew's wedding in Jacksonville, with five very enjoyable days at Disney World this past July. I bump into Jimmy Duggan from time to time, who always brings me up to date on all the Maynard news. We're looking forward to seeing everyone in the fall. Best wishes, Bo,,,

 

Joan (Nyholm) Bourne,,,,,I hate to be the bearer of not so good news, but today we buried our dear friend and classmate Joannie. A great March day with the weather cooperating and a ton of people attending to bring well wishes and to say good bye. Ten of those in attendance were Joannie's classmates and I'm going to name them here if I may. Dottie Murphy, Nancy Sheridan, Eddie Mullin, The Koskinen family, Sally Chapman, Marianne Donaghue, Paul Barilone, Pat Manuel, Judy Crotty, and yours truly. (Don't shoot me for using maiden names) Joannie's daughter Liz, looks and acts just like her, so it was like we were taken back 50 years. After the service, pretty much everyone gathered at the Bean House, which is downtown in the Masonic building, where we shared some good food and great conversation. Sally (Chapman) Kangas who was one of Joannie's closest friends, is going to put together a small bio of Joan's life and I'll post that here as soon as I get it.

 

Robert (Bobby) Fleck,,,I bumped into Bobby at CVS while he was waiting to see the pharmacist (my daughter Tracy) and together we put some stuff about his life on paper. Bobby has always been a life long resident of Maynard, most often being seen riding his bicycle, which he claims he does pretty much 365 days a year and for as many times as I’ve seen him, I believe that to be the case. Like so many of us, he’s retired now, partially for health reasons, but he’s doing a day by day thing with a fantastic outlook and we certainly wish him the best. He was married to his lovely wife Bonnie, for 32 years when she passed away at the age of 50, just a year or so ago. They have three daughters, Andrea, Le-Anne and Danielle, two of which are spread out and live both in Tennessee and Florida. The third daughter lives near by right here in Maynard. He’s very proud of his three grandchildren, Angel, Zanda and Jason. Flecky (as he’s also called), worked at Nuclear Metals for 20 years and Essco (where Jr McCallister worked) for another seven, before retiring. During the years he was quite the bowler and did a lot of bass fishing. Lately he’s got the bug and spends his time on the computer with Leo Hayes playing Texas Hold Em Poker. A better man than me. I’d lose the ranch doing something like that. Bob, thank you so much for sharing your history with your 1959 MHS classmates. jack,,,,,,,Sept 10, 2009,,,As you may have read, Bobby passed away and buriel took place today. Forever in our hearts Bobby.

 

Judy Kane Kulju,,,,Greetings from Jouko and Judy (Kane) Kulju. We retired 4 years ago. He developed land and built custom houses. I was his go-fer and bookkeeper. We had 6 children in 8 years which kept me busy. When the youngest went to school I went back to college and then worked at Burbank hospital in the clinical chemistry department for many years. We sold our big house in Ashby when we retired, built a smaller one in Westminster and bought a house in an active adult community in Sarasota, Florida. I love the Florida lifestyle, sun, warmth, games, swimming and no snow. Jouko still loves New England and most of our family is here so we come back often. Our oldest Lisa lives in Lunenburg with her husband Alex, 16 yr old son Taylor and 14 year old Rebecca. She is an environmental chemist. Patty lives with her husband Tom in Glastonbury, Ct, is a children’s librarian, has a 16 year old son Max and a 14 year old girl Anna. Laura lives in Southboro with her husband Sauli (she met him in Finland when her dad took her back to the old country) and manages the direct marketing database for Staples. Karen is a teacher/researcher at Rutgers Medical and lives with her husband Kevin and son Kyler in Red Bank, NJ. Susan ( Karen’s twin) lives and teaches elementary music and piano in New Bedford, Ma. Bill is a construction manager and lives with his wife Pam and their 11 year old twins Nick and Alexis in Lincroft, NJ. We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary next summer with all of our family on a cruise. Doesn’t time fly! Our Florida community has all sorts of activities. I am busy all the time. My sister Janet lives in the same community. We have lots of fun playing games together (6 AM canasta on the lanai). We plan to come to the reunion but don’t want to make a firm commitment until closer to the date. Judy

 

Elizabeth (Betsy Fouratt) Adler,,,,Dear Jack, I was wondering about our 50th, and managed, after much Googling, to find you. It inspired me to dig out the scrapbooks, and found I have a HUGE amount of memorabelia, from photos starting in 6th grade through graduation, invitations, top 40 lists, collection of "Hoot Owl," etc. (always was a pack rat). I have attached a photo (cropped out of a bigger picture) from 1955. And I have one of us in a dance class (of about 30 kids) which is mega ugly of me but cute of you - maybe 1953. My husand of 40 years (Richard Adler) and I are "debating" whether we go to his 45th reunion at Harvard or my 50th in – Marlboro. I think - they are three weeks apart in Massachusetts, and we live in California (near San Francisco). I am in the process of scanning a bunch of the photos and things from the scrapbook and Photoshopping them into better shape (an advantage of having been a graphic designer for 30 years). Betsy. P.S.,,(I have been going by my original and "real" name, Elizabeth, for a long time now, but I still respond to Betsy) (Elizabeth) And if I could add my two cents, I never knew she had another name other than Betsy. Betsy, you'll always be Betsy to us. Jack,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,October 12th,,,,Dear Classmates,,,,This is it – our fiftieth – 50! Probably the last communiqué many of us will have with each other, so it’s important. You are still so vivid to me. More on that later. Most of us were born in 1941, so I spent some time today collecting images of that year. They are attached. I’ve been Elizabeth for over 30 years now (my real name), but most of you knew me as Betsy. Here’s a summary of my last 50 years: After MHS I went to Western College for Women (aka Western Female Seminary for Young Virgins). Then to Mass Art in Boston, got a BA, then to Amherst where I married my first husband. Then to Berkeley, where we split up. He wanted to live on a commune; I didn’t want to share my new dishes. It was there I met my husband, of 41 years now, Richard Adler. In 1972 I finished a Master of Fine Arts degree, and we moved to Oberlin, Ohio, where he was an English professor. No offence to those who love Ohio, but after Berkeley in the ‘60s, Ohio in the ‘70’s was, um, not so good, and we had to get out of there. We landed in Palo Alto, California, where Richard got a job, and we spent the next 30 years of our lives there. Now we live in Cupertino (home of Apple), 45 minutes south of San Francisco, up against an open space preserve. We can hear coyotes howl at night. Cupertino has a large Asian population – 50% I think. Family,,,,We have one daughter, Hilary Elizabeth. She went to Smith and then to UCLA law school (she’s now a corporate attorney). She married Ed (an EPA lawyer) in our back yard two weeks after 9/11. His parents are from Ecuador (handsome guy). The wedding was planned for the weekend directly after, but as East Coast relatives couldn’t get here (planes not flying) we had to postpone the wedding. Anyone who has “given a wedding” knows what a picnic that would be. Hilary and Ed have two children, our grandchildren, Catalina Elizabeth, 5, called Cali (my mother was Harriet Elizabeth, so she’s the 4th “Elizabeth” in a row), and Spencer Alexander, 2 (my grandfather’s name and my father’s and brother’s middle name). These children walk on water. Some may also remember my father, “Matty,” who owned the Spa. In the ‘50’s Joan Ferguson and I worked for 80 cents an hour to “save for college.” He and my mother came West in the ‘70’s, because both my brother and I had moved here. My brother Matthew, whom some of you knew as “Cricket”, is now a city planner in California.And some may remember my high school boyfriend, Mike. He’s now an astrophysicist. Last month, knowing of my interest in astronomy, he told me that there was water on the moon, a week before it was announced! (When I used to set my hair in rollers my father would say, “Are you getting any messages yet?”) Work,,,I have spent the years since graduate school working as a freelance writer and graphic designer, mostly for Stanford, but also for other institutions (mainly in D.C.). My specialty is health communications. In the ‘90’s I wrote a book that got reviewed in The New York Times. Since then I have written two other books (not yet published), and am working on a third. California,,,,I love California and miss New England only on Christmas Eve, when I wish it would snow. We do have seasons here though, and the sycamore trees, like the ones along Memorial Drive in Cambridge, are just beginning to turn. But I often think of my ancestors buried near where most of you are – in Stow and Sudbury and Maynard. My mother’s family came from England in the 1600’s, and my father’s mother came alone at 15 from Krakow. I’ve wondered what experiences others of you had who grew up in an ethnically diverse family. We have spent time in Japan, where we feel at home. I have learned some Japanese, but it’s a complex language, with two alphabets of 46 characters each and over 100 Kanji (those Chinese-looking letters). Well, actually, I can say “hello,” but I keep forgetting which version you say when. Now,,,In two weeks we will be going to a “’50’s” party at friend's here, and I will be bringing a tuna casserole. Hope they will play the oldies but goodies (I still have some “Top 50s” sheets). Wish I had a cinch belt. We plan to go to Oxford next summer, where I will (hopefully) study medieval history. That, along with archaeology, astronomy, medicine, and French and English history (600 to 1600) are my favorite subjects, and if any of you have the same interests, let me know! I fell, broke my upper arm, and had surgery on it in June. It’s still painful and stiff or I might have made the trip to see you. Next weekend, while many of you are at the reunion, our family will go to Lake Tahoe. We’ll drive past redwoods and golden Aspen trees. We’ll stay in a friend’s vacation house, and put the bear boards around when we leave so the bears don’t ransack the place. I have lots of MHS memorabilia now in a raggedy scrapbook. I can scan some pages if any of you are interested. Memories of our teachers and friends follow. Thanks My special thanks to Jack for reconnecting us all. And to Brenda, Dottie, Pat, Bunnie and Judy for being my friends. Also David, Tommy, and Paul. I wish you all the best. Betsy Elizabeth Adler ewadler@comcast.net

 

 

Dorothy (Murphy) McDonough - I have put off writing a bio, although we are very busy it doesn't seem like there is much to say. First, it has been fun reading about old friends and classmates and sad thinking about the many of our fun loving classmates who have died. My husband, John and I moved to our house small vacation house at Sagamore Beach when he retired in 2002 and enjoy it here very much. I discovered you can never downsize as we now have four grandchildren under four and everyone has a dog - so this year we finished adding a large addition to the house so there is now room for all. I go to Boxboro one or two days a week to visit our daughter Tricia and her three children and like to walk around downtown Maynard for old times sake. Our younger daughter Katie lives in Bethesda, MD with her husband, one year old son and dog "Murphy". Her husband is being deployed to Iraq next week so we head to GA to bring her home with us until he returns. It seems there is always something to do. I volunteer at our church with a program they have for the homeless, enjoy working in the yard, antiquing and most of all family and friends. I wanted to tell Bunny that I had a tour of her parent's summer house (since it is just around the corner) and it brought back memories of our very, very wet girl scout weekend and the fun we had. Looking forward to reading updates from all and seeing you in October.,,,,Dorothy McDonough,,,Dotty neglected to mention that she goes to Miami (South Beach) every year in the winter and one of these days I'm going to drop in on her. She keeps asking and keep saying I will but never have. I know Sally (Chapman) Kangas has been to see her and I guess I should one of these days. Dotty,,thank you so much for the bio and I hope all the other classmates that haven't yet, will follow suit. Jack

 

 

Sandra (Koski) Porter,,,,Fifty years is a lot to summarize but I’ll reduce it to just a few lines. After MHS graduation, went to U Mass Amherst and majored in Sociology and English Lit. Following graduation, spent the summer at the U of Miami, basically biding my time, partying and trying to decide what I wanted to do when I grew up. Returned back home and went to work in social services for the state, first with the then named Division of Child Guardianship and later with the then named Office for Children. (State agencies usually remain the same but get new names.) With breaks in between, raised a family of three, most of the time by myself, and now have seven wonderful grandchildren. I retired 10 years ago and then volunteered at Emerson Hospital. The past few years I’ve been busy with caring for my mom (now age 93). I live in Sudbury with my cat, Charley,,,,Sandra

 

 

Paul Chyzus,,,,,,Greetings to my fellow classmates of Maynard High Class of 1959, I'm looking forward to our (do you believe it!) 50th class reunion. After speaking to Jack Malcolm a while ago, I went to our class website and was delighted to catch up with the lives of some of our classmates and was saddened to read about those who are no longer with us. My life has been pretty steady. My wife, Carolyn, and I have been married for 42 years and our son Drew is finishing grad school at the University of Florida. I am still practicing oral surgery after 36 years and am transitioning to our retirement dream home in the Sarasota, Florida area. Carolyn and I travel between Maryland and Florida every month, and we are easing into retirement. While I can not keep up with Lenny Melanson or David Kuliesus, Carolyn and I have traveled extensively to Europe, the South Pacific, and the Middle East during our marriage. I am looking forward to returning to my roots and seeing you all at the reunion in October. Regards, Paul....Paul, if you play your cards right, I (jack) may be able to get you an invite to Judy and Janet's 6am canasta on the lanai at their home in Sarrasota. They gave me a standing invite, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I brought a guest. Not so sure about Carolyn, but I'll work on that one. Paul, thank you so much for that bio,,,,jack

 

 

Judy Manning,,,,Hi Everyone!! I’ve been really enjoying all the exciting adventures and life you’ve guys have been having and am impressed by how many long marriages the class of ’59 has!!. My life isn’t very exciting but sure is comfortable and I’m happy. After graduating from the School of Business at UMASS I tried to get a job at Digital.. but they told me that they didn’t hire woman in managerial positions because women ‘just got married and left’. So I went to work at the MITRE Corporation in Bedford (they do contracts for the government, mostly the AirForce). I spent the next 8 years there mostly going to school to be a computer programmer.. ah the stories that today’s young whippersnappers couldn’t even imagine. Got married in 1966 (divorced in 1982 or thereabouts). We adopted a one month old baby, the love of my life, who has now turned into a 34 year old man. Kyle introduced me to sports, he was pretty good at baseball and basketball especially. My Mom and I hardly missed any of his MHS baseball and basketball games – he was a member of the 1993 MHS class and their basketball team went to the state finals. It was a very exciting time. We did lots of fun things while he was growing up – fishing trips (yuck I squirm just thinking about it), lots of trips to Fenway – always on opening day but then pretty regularly the rest of the summers. We got to be regular park rats. Once he went away to college I pretty much cried for a year (laughing at myself on the inside but the tears just came anyway). My Mom lived with me and she and I would drive down to New York City to watch his weekend ball games and then travel all over New York and New Jersey too. Kyle actually set an NCAA record for the most consecutive stolen bases in a season (42) and still has the plaque to prove it. He coaches his kids’ teams now .. I have 2 grandkids in Valley Stream, NY (kyle’s a stock broker) – Anniyah age 7 and Brady (age 5).. oh, kyle changed his last name to Manning after he left Maynard so my grandson (Brady Manning) is destined to follow in his dad’s sports footsteps. In 2004 my mom died, my sister, Laurie, and I each sold our homes (I lived on Brooks street for 54 years). Laurie lived in Scituate all her married life and was tired of having her home swamped during storms and even washed away into the ocean during the 1978 storm). We bought a nice home up in Old Orchard Beach Maine and had a great few years there, spent a lot of time laughing and doing fun things. Then Laurie (MHS class of ’65) had 2 major strokes one morning and it was mostly a sad year during her struggles. After she died I sadly sold the house – Kyle wanted me to move down to NY with them but Laurie’s daughter (whom I always considered MINE too) wanted me to move out to California with her and her brand new adopted boys from Russia. They were about 2 at the time, they are the same age as Brady. Reid and Oliver (twins) are definitely my grandchildren too.. Laurie never got to really enjoy them but I know she’s watching over them. I live in Carlsbad, CA which is right on the ocean (can see it from my bedroom). Its lovely out here, the sun is so soothing, I don’t miss the ice storms that always seemed to hit Maine. Beth is trying to finish college, and works at the local YMCA in youth sports, among a myriad of other things. The boys are incredibly active and they sure keep us hopping – they swim like fish, skateboard, surf, just living the California dream . Quilting has been my hobby for several years – although truthfully I never seem to finish anything except good books,. Oh, I almost forgot. In 1974 I got a job at Digital as a programmer and stayed there until retirement in about 2002. When I adopted Kyle the state said that I had to be a stay at home mom, which was financially impossible, so Digital worked out a deal where I could work at home and just check-in every once in awhile—I guess I sort of paved the way for the modern telecommuters, except the speed of computers was MUCH different in 1974. I remained a telecommuter pretty much until retirement. There was other stuff in my life too – in 1980 we went to Europe and used the Eurailpass to travel all over. We did a lot of camping and especially winter camping in New Hampshire on weekends to get away from my work phone. Actually after I retired it took about a year to get used to sleeping without a phone on my bed, because the computer systems I wrote and supported at Digital were used throughout the world and often they had problems (no no no, I wasn’t a horrible programmer, things just happened – and it was the price I paid for being able to work at home!!) And that’s it One woman’s life in a big nutshell. Hoping to get out to the reunion, and am enjoying the memories you all are sharing with us. Cyril, is your book ready to be read yet?? I should rewrite and make this much smaller but then it might never get sent so here goes nothing… Jackie you can stop hounding now (but thanks for doing it)!!!!! And please feel free to chop out stuff to make room for other classmates stories! Love,Judy,,,,,,,Judy, I would not chop once single word. Are you kidding me? It was a great bio and I'm going to miss hounding you. I have to move on now hounding Bunny, Vinny/Ray and Judy Rit. I'd hound Betsy but she said her's is coming. Thank you so much Judy and you enjoy the hell out that great place you have overlooking the Pacific,,,,Jack,,or Jackie as they all say.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

Jack Bubnowicz,,,,,Hi to all!,,,,I have been following the bio's - great to hear what has been happening in my classmate's lives. For me - I have a daughter - Karin -44 who lives in Connecticut with her husband Wayne. A son - Andrew - who lives in Westminster, Mass. with wife Kim - 2 daughters - Kaitlyn 9 and Sarah 6. Also I have 4 stepchildren with 4 grandchildren. My wife, Gladys, and I have be married 21+ years and live where I grew up on Glendale Street in Maynard. I worked for 28 years repairing cars and 11 years at Concord/Carlisle High School in Building Services - retiring in 2006. Through the years I have had several trips to Alaska - also been to Italy and Peru. Looking forward to seeing all at the reunion! -- Jack. And now from the other Jack,,,I bump into Jack at the bank and see him more now than I ever did in 50 odd years. He and I worked at TIC in Acton right after high school and sad to say, that's where I took up smoking. We worked on an assembly line and the only time we could get up from our chairs other then when the whistle blew, was to have a smoke. There was a circle where they went to smoke and only three were allowed up there at a time. I forget about Jack B smoking, but I bought a pack and then made the run to the circle (and there was a run-trust me) and learned to smoke my brains out for the next 25 years. God I wish I could have that decision back. Jack B,,,thank you so much for adding to some great memories of our class of 1959 classmates....from the other Jack.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Joe Corriveau,,,,Here’s one for the books. Married to his high school sweetheart but only after they went together for ten years. That’s gotta be some kind of a record. Longevity must be in his blood because he’s been working at Raytheon for 39 years and does not plan to retire any time soon. Seems like he’s the only one who can do his job, so he has to stay. And it doesn’t end there. They’ve been in their house living right beside Ralph and Marilyn Nelson forever as well. He and his wife Dee Dee, have two sons, one of which has two girls and the other two boys. Both live within striking distance so they see they can see the grandkids at the drop of a hat. They’ve done their fare share of trips to the Caribbean having been to Aruba and St Martin at least 15 times. Joe hasn’t changed since high school. He was the quiet one then and is the same today 50 years later. He gave me none of this info by the way, but I managed to dig it all out of Dee Dee. Thank you so much and they're looking forward to seeing everyone at the Marlboro Country Club in October. ,,jack

 

 

Dennis Lombard,,,,After I left a message for Dennis, he called me back and we had a great talk. He's living in Carlsbad California which is the same place Judy Manning is living. He's going to send his own bio and I'll let him do that talking but I gotta tell you that he's bought a new Mustang and with the top down, he's fit right into that California beach going life style. Atta go Den. More when he gets back to me, but Den, if you need Judy, she's about a mile or so south of you. Take rt 5 down to Carlsbad State Beach, bang a left off the exit onto Pointsettia St and Ivy is down on the right. More later,,,,,,,,

 

 

Jean (Lorentson) Mattson,,,Dotty (Murphy) McDonough is in contact with Jean and I'll pass her email along to you as I received it. Dear Jack: Jean called me the other day and we had a nice long chat. As you know, she has not been well and is now confined to a wheelchair and oxygen and is really not able to get out and about very much. She has had a lung disease for many years and now suffers from congestive heart failure. She did say that she and Wally still camp and this allows her the opportunity to rest when needed and she also gets to visit the light of her life, her grandson. She keeps in touch with Joan Ferguson and did see Joan on her birthday recently. She will not be attending the class reunion but Jean sends her regards to all. She does enjoy checking your web site for updates on everyone and appreciates all of your efforts in keeping us informed.....Jean, I'm so glad you check the website,,,kinda makes it all worth it when people silently keep abreast of what's going and I have a sneaking suspicion that more people are doing that and not letting on. We are hoping that this 50th reunion will bring out more people than we ever had and so far the numbers are looking very good at that happening. Even though you will not be there, don't think for a minute that you won't be missed. You take care of Jean the best you can. You're in our prayers my friend,,,jack,,,,,,Sept 11, 2009. As many of you know Jean passed away this past week and will be buried tomorrow at Glenwood Cemetery here in Maynard. You are forever in our hearts Jean.

 

 

Jimmy Brooks,,,,,Hello Jack and Fellow classmates. Boy, doesn't time fly by. Its been fifty years since High School. Just seems like yesterday. I am living in Hudson, have three children and three stepchildren and 8 grandchildren. My daughter lives in California with my granddaughter. One of my sons lives in Oregon with one grandson and one granddaughter. The rest of my kids live here in Hudson. I am married to a wonderful woman, Kathy. We bought a house down at Cape Cod for retirement, never thinking retirement wasn't for us. I tried it for a year or so but found myself back working full time again. Between our hobby, dog breeding, the Cape and work, we don't have much time for travel, although we did travel to England and Ireland. Jim and Kathy Brooks,,,,

 

 

Maryanne (Donaghue) Santucci,,,Hello to all my classmates. Can't believe 50 yrs. have gone by so fast, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. After graduation I went to work at Raytheon as a secretary and some time later met my future husband there. Rick and I have been married for 47 yrs. now and have 3 grown children, Stephanie, Jill and Rick, Jr. All three of them are wonderful children and we are proud of them in the accomplishments they've made and the people they have become. We have lived in Northborough for 45 years now and I have been retired now for almost 10 years and Rick has been retired from Raytheon for 15 years. Its just wonderful not to be in the "rat race" anymore. I love to poke around in the yard, I also do silk flower arrangements, some I've sold; I love to read historical novels, etc. I keep busy. I'm more busy now than I have ever been. Anyways, I guess that’s enough about myself. I will definitely be at the reunion on Oct. 3rd and really looking forward to seeing all of you. Marianne,,,

 

 

Larry Colleton,,,Hello classmates. Paula and I have been enjoying retirement since June 2005. We keep busy with family (5 children and 9 grandchildren), friends and hobbies. Paula enjoys quilting and flower gardening, and I enjoy hunting, fishing, and target shooting. We both enjoy going to Patriots football games and we are looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion. Just to add for a minute, Jack Bubnowicz keeps bumping into Larry at the Nashoba Sportsman's Club, in Acton Ma. where Larry has been an officer there since 1970, so we had an indirect contact with him for many weeks. Thank you Larry for the bio and for attending this 50th class reunion. Larry just emailed me to let me know the correct club. I had it as another one. Boy, I hate it when that happens but that's what happens when I shoot from the hip,,,,sorry Larry,,,,jack

 

 

Tom French,,,,,We just emailed back and forth about Tom's bio. He promised me his would be coming in a week or so. I'm just setting this up now so it'll remind him to do it. Just to let you know, he lives in his dream house which he built out on Lake Boone. Kinda died and went to heaven and isn't it funny he should reside there when 50+ years ago there's a picture of him and others called the Lake Boone boys. Betsy sent it to me and it's posted as you enter this site,,,way up. Tom and I have had a number of business dealings through the years both with real estate transactions, wills and other things younger folks don't like to talk about. Tom, I can't wait to get your bio,,,jack

 

 

Judy (Crotty) Peterson,,,,So I've been calling Judy, leaving her massages and playing our Blue Moon song over the phone to her. She got a real kick out of that one. She even played it for Maryanne when she came over to visit,,,and by the way Maryanne, where's your check? Anyway, Judy finally called me today and said, "I'm coming right over with the check and bio", which she did and here it is. Hi everyone. I retired from working as the Maynard Town Clerk two years ago. (and of course Judy forgot to let us know how many years she was town clerk, but we'll find out and let you know that later) I loved the job but retirement is great. After retiring I had a chance to travel with friends, do some gardening (my tomatoes are doing great), reading (not the nonfiction kind anymore), time for a James Patterson mystery, and just having fun doing whatever. I was married to Ray Peterson, MHS Class of '55 for 34 years. As most of you are aware, Ray died suddenly in 1996. We have four wonderful children: Robin, Sandra, Wendy and Brian and we have eleven marvelous grandchildren. They all live in Mass. so they keep me real active. I'm looking forward to seeing you all at our 50th class reunion. See you soon,,,Judy,,,ok I got the numbers. Judy gave this town of Maynard 33 wonderful years of service and 20 of those years were in the Town Clerk's Office.,,,,

 

Bunnie (Englehardt) Tomes,,,Hi Jack - sorry you have been one of the laggards that needed hounding! Too many irons in the fire and not enough time - plus a little procrastination for good measure. HUGE thanks to all of you who have worked so hard on the 50th. Timing is just not right for me to shake loose and head east - I would need an extra week or two tucked into the calendar. Many thanks, also, for the time someone put in to add names to all the photos - makes it much more fun to peruse the web site. Now to the bio - with editorial privileges to you as needed! After graduating from MHS - I headed off to Simmons College - hoping to pursue something in the sciences - but found that wasn't in the books for me - transferred to Lasell College in Liberal Arts / Business, then to Boston University to major in French/minor in Spanish - specializing in audio-lingual teaching and language labs. Married a Virginia boy - a techie from MIT - Physics major, and settled in Winchester MA, then Burlington, MA. Taught in Chelmsford MA schools for several years, then 'retired' to start a family, moved to Sudbury, MA, did lots of substitute teaching, and had two sons. Husband Forrest was at Harvard Univ - Linear Accelerator, then Honeywell Plated Wire Memory div while working on MA in Nuclear Physics, MBA, CPA, and PhD work in Physics. In 1975 Forrest was enticed by Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, IA to take over the Test Equipment program for the company - so off we went. We have enjoyed the area so much that we have built our retirement home here on a bluff high above the Cedar River - and well out of reach of the devastating floods of 2008. While our two sons were in school, I did the PTA and several other community activities - and wore several different 'hats' professionally - volunteer coordinating and training, Executive Director of the area Arts Council, COO for the 2000 census in Eastern Iowa, had my own business as an arts management and fundraising consultant, work with several environmental groups. My last few working years was as a 'social butterfly' for an area bank - managing the travel and activity program for senior large depositors - which happily involved planning parties, meetings, and travel. Best trip was a group cruise to Alaska - plus Denali and glaciers. In between I was able to travel with Forrest throughout Europe, and spent several weeks in Japan. Our eldest - Charles - is 41 - lives in a small community near Cedar Rapids, has 'retired' from being an IT / Microsoft specialist, and has an 8 year old daughter who is the light of our lives. Youngest - Robert - lives in N. VA - and can 't tell us exactly what he does because he'd have to shoot us! He is very 'into' the political science/intel community - as is his spouse. We got to visit him in Israel when he was on fellowship - and enjoyed travel around the Middle East with him - including Petra - a memorable trip! We don't get to see him as much as we'd like. Forrest retired from Rockwell in late 1999, and we planned and built an 'accessible' home to retire to, our granddaughter arrived in 2001, I got 'new knees' in 2005 to keep up with her, and we raised almost a million dollars to build a new astronomy observatory to house a huge telescope donated by the University of Iowa. (web site - http://www.cedar-astronomers.org/) We try to spend part of each summer at the Cape - but also head off to northern WI with friends, and trek around the country to visit family and friends. Which is why we can't get to the reunion - will be heading off on a road trip to South Western US and southern CA - and to take part in the commissioning of the USS Makin Island in San Diego in October. Great to read the bios from everyone - they did prod loose some memories! I'll will look forward to seeing all the post - reunion pix and reports. Regards and best wishes to everyone! Bunnie Tomes 122 Lakota Ct NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 October 1st,,,,I was just looking at my calendar to see if there was any way I could move things around to join you all this coming weekend. Alas - not to be - am committed to doing program at astronomy observatory on Friday - so no chance of getting there in time on Saturday and then back in time for Sunday / Monday commitments. Drat. Plus, I would practically have to BUY the plane with what airfares are from Cedar Rapids for last minute flights! The Observatory is 100% volunteer driven, and there are not enough volunteers - same story everywhere, I think, these days! Seems that volunteer 'jobs' get to be more time demanding and time consuming than our full time 'real' jobs were/are! I need to retire from retirement. With your comments re: the auto club, know you understand! I have a comment to add on St Casimir's - my grandfather was one of the prime builders/workers when the Lovell Bus Barn was converted to the church - and he and especially my Grandmother continued to be very active in the church for many years. I am very happy to learn that it is in use as a church again. Please wish everyone a big HELLO - and have a grand time! I will greatly look forward to lots of picture postings on the web site. I have saved all the info on the web site - pasted it into a worddoc - and will probably print it off to take with us on our CA trek to read!.....Bunnie

 

Jackie Primiano,,,,,,,,Jack just received the package we sent out and had to call me. He got a thrill out of the write-ups and the photos. He did need the names to recognize a lot of you though,,,and Bunny said the same thing thanking us for putting the names on the photos. After serving in the Navy for 24 years, Jack retired and went to work at the post office and wouldn't you know it, he retired from their too. He's just a retiring kinda guy I guess. He is sorry that he will not be joining us at the reunion. He's got to attend the wedding of his grandson in Tennessee and then he and his wife Mary are heading for Virginia for a week. And our reunion is happening right in the middle of all of those planned activities. The Mary and Virginia vacation ties together at where Mary's stationed, you see, she's also got about 22 years in the Navy and with luck, should be getting out sometime next year. And it continues. Jack's son is a captain in the Air Force in Germany and he kinda thinks he'll follow his parent's footsteps and make a carrier out of it too. In total they have one son and three daughters, one right here at Bridgewater College. They also have a house in Spring Hill Florida just outside of Tampa. Now let me think. Ted Kauppi is right there, Lenny and Judy are just an hour south, Denise is another hour south in Ft Myers, Dotty and Sally are down there for the winter,,oh and I almost forgot that Davey Spratt lives in Naples full time,,,sounds to me like if we all were to head in that direction we could make a class of '59 winter reunion happen with just a few phone calls. Jack P,,,if you're planning to meet with Bo, Cyril, and Whitey, give them some time to plan it out. They stood me up the first time too. If one of them calls you, call me for sure and I'll do the same for you if they call me. None of them are any good at remembering to make phone calls. Thank you so much for calling me and giving me all this information, even if you didn't know you were doing it. Please, please, please look a few of us up when you come to Maynard. We'd love to see you. ,,,,jack

 

 

This next bio from Tom is a little different. You have to go to his site to see it complete with pictures. for now copy and paste and by tonight I'll have it so you simply click on it, but be sure to arrow yourseld back to us,,,jack

 

Tom French, MHS 1959 ,,,,Hello fellow classmates. I've enjoyed hearing from you on the MHS website - and I'd like to hear from a few other friends who seem to have gone underground. Jack has been after me for a bio -- I tried writing one but it was long and sometimes only pictures can tell the story. I didn't want to clutter the MHS website with all that (and by the way Jack has done a great job with "our" website, hasn't he?) so I made a separate page for it - click on the following link: http://lakeboon.com/bio/bio.htm be sure to click on your back arrow button to return to this website.

 

 

Charles Wayne Chandler,,,,,,passed away this past July. His wife Mary called Pat when she got the package we sent and I say package because we sent letters to those we knew were checking the website and then copied the entire website to those we felt were not. Wayne and Mary moved to Rockville Maryland to be near their two kids Karen, and Steven and their five grandchildren. He had retired from the aircraft industry working as a line shift maintenance manager for U S Air, and most recently was working part time at a nearby golf course to keep himself busy. Mary said he was very handy around the house doing carpentry, electrical and plumbing and all this ties into the yearbook write up which said he was a fix-it-up person. I then read the Gateway to the Future section where it talks about the twins (Ralph and Roy) flying back from Africa and it says, Before leaving the African airport they are assured of a safe flight because master mechanics Wayne Chandler and Jimmy Brooks have completely checked over the plane. That’s pretty scarey if you ask me. When Wayne received the package he got out his yearbook to match up the pictures with those on the web and talked about making the trip up to the reunion. To Mary, Karen, Steven and the kids, even though we don’t really know you, that doesn’t mean our hearts don’t go out to you in this your time of need. God Bless you all and the same to our classmate Wayne,,,,,,

Vinnie J. Buscemi,,,,Greetings fellow classmates! I'm still in New Hampshire, but I've spent much time in Maynard over the past year and a half. My sister and I are caregivers for our mom in the house where we grew up. Since mom likes to ride in the car, we often travel the roads of Maynard and the surrounding town. I did get lost twice,,,or maybe it was three times. I'm looking forward to our 50th. See you all then,,,,Vin

 

 

Gary Armour,,,,,He's responded and will be attending the reunion. He's also promised a bio via email. Gary is living in Grafton, has 2 children and 1 grandchild.

 

 

Ted Kauppi,,,,,,,I spoke with Ted a week ago and he's coming up for the reunion. He's down in Florida full time in a brand new house and lovin it except when he goes to the coffee shop in the morning, there are few if any old familiar faces. Oh well a small rpice to pay for lovely weather all the time. Ted has 3 children and five grandchildren. More to come in his promised bio,,,,,

 

 

Vera (Niskonen) Morreale,,,,,,We got her info sheet back minus a bio so I can't fill in the gaps. We do know that she has 5 children, 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Atta go Vera and if you're keeping track of us via this web, please write and tell us how you're doing. Vera will not be attending the reunion.

 

 

Walter (Wally) Mason,,,,Wally and I played telephone tag for a few days but I did get to speak with his lovely wife Cindy. Wally and Cindy were up this way in Townsend, thinking life was just great when Cindy got the news she had cancer and with only months to live. He instantly quit his job at Digital, packed up and moved to Edinburg Virginia where Cindy grew up and they settled in to be near her family during this time of crisis. That was some 20 years ago. Cindy beat the ugly disease, is presently still working and loving their home in one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Shenandoah Valley. The actual town they live in is called Colombia Furnace which 90 miles SW of D.C. and their home is set on six acres, part forest and backing up to even more forest. And Wally takes advantage of that gathering wood every Saturday, for the winter. And then he takes Sundays off to recoup. Something about getting older and he can’t do as much as he used to. He’s also had a bypass on his leg etc. etc. and now his body tells him when he has to quit. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there and are presently doing that Wally. Cindy and Wally have three children and five grandchildren, one of which, (the love of his life) three year old Hanna can be seen sitting on Wally’s lap on his “facebook” page. To Wally and Cindy, every time any of us are traveling that way to Florida, we’re going to be thinking of the two of you as we pass by that gorgeous part of this country you live in. Cindy, our congratulations to you, our prayers are with you and please take care of that old buzzard Wally for us. We know him as Walter, but if you wanna change his name, by all means, have at it. Wally wants us to know too, that he will not be attending the reunion but wants to be remembered during the evening and if I have anything to do about it, Wally, your wish will be granted. Our class of ’59 blessings to both of you

 

 

Joan Ferguson,,,,,Hi everyone -I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at the reunion. Still keeping busy working full time for my home parish (St. Bridget) running the religious education program for them. It has been interesting as I now have grandchildren of some of you in classes. I love working with all the kids ages kindergarten thru 10th grade. They can be challenging some times! Haven't done much traveling the past 3-4 years (but covered a lot of places before I slowed down a little). My younger sister (middle sister Pam and I live in family home) came from Hawaii this past June, with her daughter and 2 grandchildren as a surprise for our 18 year old great niece who graduated from high school. Beth was only here a week but her daughter and kids stayed 3 weeks. It was the first time we have all been together in 5 years. My 2 nieces (the one from Hawaii and the other here in Fitchburg) have 5 children, ages 18, 5, 3, 2, 8 mos. I really enjoy the little ones -(I had a 10 yr old great nephew who passed away 5 years ago who was the brother of the 18 year old). I love to knit, crochet, garden, cook and for the past 4 years have been knitting hats for cancer patients undergoing chemo. It is a very rewarding project, since I am a survivor. I have always been an avid walker, especially in the summer months but had shoulder surgery in June -doctors never say how long PT is going to take before you can raise your arm to wave -oh well, that's life. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you on the 3rd.,

 

 

Ray Buscemi,,,,,,We got Ray's info sheet back stating that a bio will be forthcoming via email. What we do know is that he and his wife Chris will be coming to the reunion and that they have two children and two grandchildren. October 2nd,,and Ray sent in his bio. Ray Buscemi.....Chris and I were married in 1966 and have been living in Needham for the last 35 years. We raised two boys who were very active in sports and scouting (both achieved the rank of Eagle Scout). I retired from 34 years of teaching mathematics in 2003 and have a nice little part-time job to keep me out of mischief. Chris is in her 20th year at Boston College currently working in the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment and not quite ready to retire. Our oldest son, David, graduated from Tufts University and also earned his Masters there as well. He is a chemical engineer and lives in Elkins Park, PA with his family. His wife, Drusilla, is a Major Gifts Officer in Advancement at Arcadia University. They have two wonderful, adorable, precious children: Sebastian (age 7) and Saffron (age 5). Our son Peter, also graduated from Tufts University and got his Masters from UMass Amherst. He is a geologist working for a small engineering firm in Acton and lives in South Natick with his family. His wife, Mara, is a Veterinarian at Angell Memorial Hospital in Boston. They have one wonderful, adorable, precious sheltie, named Corey (age 11 they think - adopted him from a animal shelter). Chris and I like spending time with our family and travel often to Pennsylvania. We took a wonderful trip to Sicily two years ago and have started planning another adventure for next fall. Looking forward to seeing all of you this Saturday,,,,,Ray

 

 

I've still have promises for a few more bios. If yours is not here,,,please get it to me...jack Judy Rut, Gary, and Dennis,,,and of course Betsy,,,you too,,,,now that you've found us, shoot me a bio. They're coming in slow but sure,,,and thank you to all of you that have given in to my annoying emails and phone calls. It's all worth it after hearing the comments when people read them. And Tom's suggestion is well taken. I'm going to keep this website going until I get tired of doing it, so as the great Yogi says, It ain't over till it's over.

 

 

 

And for your phone and/or email enjoyment

We’ll only put your information here if you ask us to do so. All the names here have mentioned they would love for anyone to contact them so please feel free to do just that. I'm the lucky one because I've talked with all of them.....jack)          

                                

 

Pat D’Errico          978 897-8622 pat's email is a work email,,call her instead 
Jackie Malcolm 978 897-3445 maynard1959@aol.com
Eddie Mullin  978 897-7894  edmully@msn.com
Lenny Melanson 937 321-7496 

llmjr1@woh.rr.com
Denise (Murphy) Vannelli   dvannelli@comcast.net
Sally (Chapman) Kangas 508 759-4863 salkangas@comcast.net
John (Whitey) White   Whiteycarver@aol.com
Jesse (Piecewicz) Tobin   JesseTobin@aol.com
Bunny (Engelhardt) Tomes   alexarts@mchsi.com
Nancy (Sheridan) Gerlach   NancyGerlach@aol.com
Cyril and Judy Spratt   Cyrilspratt@aol.com
Connie (Lowell) Saarinen   Clamdgger@aol.com
Judy Manning   jamanning24@yahoo.com
Billy Shaw  978 433-3457 joanandbillshaw@charter.net
Dave Spratt   david_spratt@msn.com
David Kuleisus 011 30 211 010 1754 thymari@aol.com
Barbara (Harrington) Holt 302 644-4865 mombarbh@aol.com
Donna (Leate) Colleton   NanaCx8@aol.com
Judy (Kane) Kulju   kulju_j@hotmail.com
Brenda (Mariani) Maurais   aliandkat@comcast.net
Sandra (Koski) Porter   sporter41@verizon.net
Dotty (Murphy) McDonough  508 888-6162 sgtmac181@comcast.net
Barbara Littig   ew5.ba2.tiel@juno.com
Jack Bubnowicz  978 897-8469 jg.bbwz41@verizon.net
Dennis Lombard  760-994-0175 dennis.mustang@hotmail.com
Larry Colleton   lrcolleton@earthlink.net
Bruce Koskinen   maynardkoski@yahoo.com
Betsy (Fouratt) Adler   ewadler@comcast.net

Joan Ferguson

   jcfergy@aol.com
Walter (Wally) Mason  540 984-8492 wcdmason@shentel.net

 

 

 

So far we have 36 email addresses but i really haven't pushed getting them up here. I will though now that I have a little more time on my hands. Eventually I'm hoping to have them all up and everyone talking just like we did 50 years ago. Our new after reunion cheer,,,,,"Stay in touch-email a classmate"

 

 

 

Here’s who attended the 40th reunion

            Which was held at the Chocksett Inn, Sterling

 

Paul Barilone                         Bob Bradbury                         Ray Buscemi

Vinnie Buscemi                      Paul Chyzus                            Donna (Leate) Colleton

Larry Colleton                       Joe Corriveau                    Karen (Grandell) Crowther

Walter Crowther                  Pat (Manuel) D’Errico           Nancy (Sheridan) Gerlach

Barbara (Harrington) Holt    Bruce Koskinen                     Judy (Kane) Kulju

Jack Malcolm                        Brenda (Mariani) Maurais    Lenny Melanson

Ed Mullin                                Ralph Nelson                         Roy Nelson

Judy (Crotty) Peterson          Leigh (Robinson) Romanowski

Connie (Lowell) Saarinen      Billy Shaw                               Clark Smith

Cyril Spratt                             Judy (Byrne) Spratt               David Spratt

Jessie (Piecewicz) Tobin         Denise (Murphy) Vannelli     David Wattu

Karen (Keto) Nichols

And last but not least, which I’m sure he’s used to by now, John White who now calls himself J P whitey

 

 

And here’s who will be attending the 50th reunion

Ed Mullin,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Pat (Manuel) D’Errico,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jack Malcolm

Barbara (Harrington) Holt,,,,,,,,,Karen (Keto) Nichols,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Bill Shaw

David (Bo) Wattu,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,J P Whitey,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Paul Barilone  

Clark Smith,,,,,,,,,,,and maybe,,,,Ralph Nelson,,,,,,,, He's paid but has a conflict already

Lenny Melanson,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Nancy (Sheridan) Gerlach,,,,,,,,David Spratt

Jessie (Piecewicz) Tobin,,,,,,,,,,,,Paul Chyzus,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Dorothy (Murphy) McDonough

Judy & Cyril Spratt,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jack Bubnowicz,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Joe Corriveau

Bruce Koskinen,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Mary Connerney,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Connie (Lowell) Saarinen

Sandra (Gunn) Connors,,,,,,,,,,,,,Judy Kane Kujlu,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Gary Armour

Vinny Buscemi,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Larry Colleton,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sally (Chapman) Kangas

Judy (Crotty) Peterson,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ted Kauppi,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Marianne (Donaghue) Santucci

Sandra (Koski) Porter,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Brenda (Mariani) Maurais,,,,,,,Karen (Grandall) Crowther

Denise (Murphy) Vannelli,,,,,,,,Tom French,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ray Buscemi

Tony Kavaleski,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Joan Ferguson,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Donna (Leate) Colleton

Jimmy Brooks,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and we're hoping for one more

Donna did not make it and Vinny didn't either but they both meant to and we missed them dearly

 

42 classmates coming ,,,maybe 43 and Ralph is bummed out he can't make it.

Biggest trunout ever

 

 

And where were our other reunions you ask?

10 th Russo's 1969
15 th Maynard Country Club 1974
20 th Maynard Rod & Gun Club 1979
25 th Sheraton - Boxborough 1984
30 th Crown Plaza - Natick 1989
35 th Westford Regency Inn 1994
40 th Chocksett Inn - Sterling 1999

50 th Marlboro Country Club 2009

 

 

Deceased Classmates,,,,,,,,,25

 

Mary (Staple) Yastrzemski   1971                Lois (Ely) Kenefick                1984

Ray Mikkonen                       1989                Stanley Zaleska                     1993

Earl McPhee                          1994                David Nevala                         1994

Charlene (Nyman) Lyon        1994                Norman Hannon Jr                1995

Joe Graceffa                          1997                Richard Colombo                   1998

David Allen                            1999                Karl Hilli Jr                            2002   

Richard Boreson                    2003                Roger MacGlashing              2003

Leanna (Norton) Tower         2004                Jimmy Boudreau                    2005

Carole (Lizotte) Smith           2005                Walter Crowther                    2005

Sally (Boeske) Currier          2006                Wayne Katvala                      2006

Kenny O'Driscoll                   2007,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jean (Lorentson) Mattson,,,,2009

Joane (Nyholm) Bourne ,,,,,,,2009,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Bobby Fleck,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2009

Wayne Chandler,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2009 

 
Reunions gone by:

 


Bill Shaw

Paul, Bob, Larry

Clarkie Smith

Vinny and Friend

Jessie and Connie

Barbara and Denise

Dave, Vinny, and Audrey

Two Spratts

Ralph, Jack and Bruce

Bo, Cyril, and Whitey

Jimmy and Pat

Eddie, Andy, and Judy

Judy, Brenda, Judy, Roy

Judy, Sandy, Bob, Paul, Audrey

Karen and Hubby

Ray and Wife

Sandy, Jack, and Pat

Vinny and Jess
     
     




Top row,,,Walter, David, Larry, Clark, Jesse, Leigh, Connie, Barbara, Pat, Denise, Judy, Bruce, Karen, Bob, Whitey, Roy hiding, Bo, Karen, Cyril, Bill, Joe. Middle row, Judy, Judy, Brenda, Donna, Nancy, Paul, Ray Eddie, Ralph. Lower and sitting on floor,,,Jack, Vinny, Paul and Lenny.



And that’s only a taste at what we have in store for you. We’ll add and change things on the site as we get the info from you.  If you want your phone and email address to show here, just let us know and if not, we will respect your wishes and not publish it. The heck with Classmates.com, let’s do our own thing right here. And by all means, please give some serious thought at attending your 50th class reunion

 

***********************************************************************************************

 

I happened to be looking into insurance from AARP and these AARP jokes came along (ironic) at the same time. Keep the funny stuff coming and if I have room and can get away with it, I'll try to get them up here. No promises though. I thought you'd get a kick out of the following but I did remove a few that were on the edge.

 

Questions and Answers from an AARP Forum

Q: Where can men over the age of 60 find younger, sexy women who are interested in them?

A: Try a bookstore under fiction.
Q: What can a man do while his wife is going through menopause?
A: Keep busy. If you're handy with tools, you can finish the basement. When you're done you'll have a place to live.
Q: How can you increase the heart rate of your 60-plus year old husband?
A: Tell him you're pregnant.
Q: How can you avoid that terrible curse of the elderly wrinkles?

A: Take off your glasses.
Q: Why should 60-plus year old people use valet parking? A: Valets don't forget where they park your car.
Q: Is it common for 60-plus year olds to have problems with short term memory storage?

A: Storing memory is not a problem, Retrieving it is the problem.
Q: As people age, do they sleep more soundly? A: Yes, but usually in the afternoon..
Q: Where should 60-plus year olds look for eye glasses? A: On their foreheads.
Q: What is the most common remark made by 60-plus year olds when they enter antique stores?

A: "Gosh, I remember these!" SMILE, You've still got your sense of humor, RIGHT?

 

Most of the pictures are up. I'll play with it when I have some more time but for now that's it. However, there are two more of classmates that didn't make it and I'm going after more too. I have Betsy and David K to put up,,and for all you others that couldn't come, please send me a photo of yourself,,,,jackie





Jackie, Lenny,Connie, Joan, Babs

Mary, Sandra, Joe, Ed, Gary, Paul

Jack, Dave, Teddy, Bruce

Bruce, Teddy, Clarkie, Dave

Bo, Jack and Whitey

Sandra, Sandra, Judy, and Mary

Karen & Butch

Judy, Dotty, Sally, Marianne

Jimmy, Paul, Tom, Cyril

Jesse, Eddie, Judy, Marianne

Gary, Bo, Jackie

Joe, Paul, Lenny

Nancy and Sally

Brenda and Joe

Karen, Denise, and Connie

Dave, Bruce, Whitey and Cyril

Brenda, Judy, and Judy

Judy, Brenda, Ray, and Connie

Eddie and Larry

Marianne and Judy

Clarkie and Karen

Dave and Dottie

Clarkie, Jackie B, Butch, and Jackie

Jack and Jesse


Butch, Eddie, Lenny, Bruce

Pat, Lenny and Jimmy

Teddy and Bruce


David Kulesius and Paul Chyzus


Betsy (Fouratt) Adler

Walter Mason and Grandaughter



Judy Manning

Audrey (Malcolm) Langille

David, Betsy, Judy, Audrey, and Walter did not attend the reunion, but sent photos. If you did not attend and would like us to post a photo, please send it along.

 

 

AND IN CLOSING

You MUST travel to this website. It's a MUST and I can't say that enough. If this doesn't say it all, nothing will.

http://www.stanthony-sacramento.org/multimedia/Take_a_10-30_minute_walk/index.html

Thank you Lenny Melanson for sharing this with us. Have a great life my friends,,,