Our Friend and Classmate Artie Brierley

A year ago I never could have imagined writing about Artie in the past tense but here I am doing just that.

In the Spring of 2009, I reconnected with friend and classmate Artie Brierley after a great many years. He had discovered this Glen School blog you are reading and immediately understood it and frankly loved it simply because - like me - he loved his past, his friends, growing up - he had wrung life for all it was worth.

I remember meeting Artie Brierley when we were 5 years old - honestly don't ask me why, but I do have a phenomenal memory. He was as friendly and fun then as he was through Ben Franklin Junior High, Ridgewood High School and in 2009! I don't remember or know of a single soul who did not like him. He easily - with all the others from Glen School - made life growing up and going to school that much better. I mean can you imagine having Artie as a college roommate? How lucky would you be? You'd be guaranteed to have fun and you would find no truer mate than he.

Artie always had fun. Pictured here he is with good friends l to r: Tom Nepola, Artie, ? and Tom Cermack. If someone can identify the 3rd guy to the left please let me know! I know I should probably remember!

I remember back in Glen School that if he was appointed captain by Mr Bookstaver (our gym teacher), I'd hope he'd pick me and when I was selected captain, I'd hope to pick him!

Above is l to r: Gary Vukov, Craig Hopewell and Artie Brierley at Vuke's wedding. Gary was as close to Artie as anyone.

In 1993, we had our 20th Ridgewood High School Class of 1973 reunion in Mahwah, New Jersey. There were 14 Glen School alums attending that night. About midway through the evening, Artie took the mike and asked that all Glen School "kids" gather for a photo. I never would have shown it then but I was so pleased that someone had done that. It was obviously a group we were all very comfortable with - in fact my wife Caryn and I must have spent most of the evening talking to Cara Worthington and Karen Eide and other "kids" from Glen School. Artie simply reinforced this bond we have with each other - an irresistible bond I might add. It is indeed a tough one to explain to people. Recently someone had asked me "Why would you want to have an elementary school reunion?" (which we just recently had at the old school in November) - the only answer I could come up with was that you'd have to experience what we had to appreciate it - there were 40+ kids that went to Glen School, we had wonderful neighborhoods where we spent as much time as possible outdoors, we attended school from kindergarten through high school generally and for the most part we genuinely liked each other and I must say that I got much more out of that reunion than I thought possible.

A fuzzy picture cropped from the group photo of 1993 high schooll reunion (l to r) Jim Smethurst and Artie Brierley.

Well fast-forward to late December, 2008 when I started this blog and decided to revist and document our time growing up and attending Glen School. When Artie had discovered the blog, we began emailing back and forth and he started to send me some wonderful photos. We spent time on the phone talking about all the old names, even everybody from high school too.
Sometime around the beginning of summer 2009, through emails with Margaret Silvers, Artie, Ann Rimmer, Chic Voorhis and others - the idea of a reunion became inevitable. Artie immediately wrapped his arms around it and started helping me find more people.

In July, Artie got a group together for the Ridgewood 4th of July parade (always a classic) - and to this day I regret very much not being able to be there for that for obvious reasons.

Above l to r are: Cliff Clayton, Tom O'Connor, Artie Brierley, Cynthia Hoogland, Eileen O'Connor and Jeff Auger enjoying the great weather at the 2009 July 4th parade in Ridgewood, NJ. Photo courtesy of Cathy O'Neill.

Above are Cathy O'Neill and Corey Duvall. Sorry for all the maiden names girls - it just makes it easier when everyone searches for you! Photo courtesy of Cathy O'Neill.

Tom O'Connor and Corey Duvall enjoying the 4th of July parade in Ridgewood, NJ. Photo courtesy of Cathy O'Neill.

Well, Artie and I continued to talk about the reunion and how we needed to get some other classic people like Tom O'Connor and Tad Shepperd and Corey Duvall to come (guys whom he truly loved) and then suddenly there were other friends from high school like Jimmy Appleton, Daun Paris and Gayle Allard that wanted to come too - how it all evolved was just perfect and Artie was the biggest cheerleader!

Around the end of July, 2009, I had told Artie I would love to have the reunion in the gym at our old school but was getting nowhere with the Board of Education in Ridgewood. Living in town, Artie took the ball, went to the Board of Ed and suddenly he gave me the right names and phone numbers and we made it happen. Having it at the old school obviously made it that much more poignant and special.

Plans were moving along and people were getting excited about it, but on October 20, 2009 Artie suddenly passed away. It was devastating news - it truly was devastating. I mean I know Artie had been ill and had 2 amazing transplant operations but he really was doing quite well. The emails were flying and we all were very saddended that Artie would not see the fruits of his labors - he simply would have loved every moment of it! Can you imagine Artie's reaction as Jan Potdevin walked unexpectedly through the door that night? - like I said you can't explain these things. We had 6 teachers in attendance, we had our custodian - George McFall's - entire family there, we had 7 moms and a lot of other wonderful highlights. Artie's brother Robert came in his place that night and Artie would have just loved that, in the end, Gary Vukov came too!! (Very friendly inside joke! - Artie and Vuke were best friends). He would have been the king in his court. I miss him a great deal - what a penalty to have to pay when you reconnect with someone and then lose them all in such a short time.

Artie was born September 14, 1955 and grew up in Ridgewood, NJ - and came back to live in the town he loved so when he began his recovery. Though single at the time of his passing, he had 2 wonderful daughters - Erica and Lauren - who truly were the lights of his life. He admittedly lived for them.

Artie's daughters Lauren and Erica.

Cawtawba College in Salisbury, NC where Artie earned his degree.

After earning his degree in 1978 in Business Administration and graduating from Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, he started his own company which sold creative services for corporate meetings and special events in New York City. He absolutely loved the "Big Apple". He had a studio in Midland Park and then Glen Rock, NJ. He had a house on lakefront property in Highland Lakes, NJ which he just loved and found peacethere over the years and then his kidneys failed him in 2001. He would begin his long and successful road back. As Artie would say, he enjoyed a new and unique outlook on life - a second chance to live his life.

The lakefront in Highland Lakes, NJ.

One of Artie's favorite slogans was:

"Life shares well, A busy mind finds no peace, Like a person - and have many friends."

He was indeed a survivor and was given the miracle of life time and again over the course of 8+ years. He had both a kidney transplant AND a heart transplant which is incredible when you think about it. He even expressed his desire to find a soul mate and friend to share his life but his girls were admittedly what he lived for.

Each day that he was able enjoy the sun, he counted as a wonderful bonus. He loved his days outside and always brought along his camera. If you saw any of Artie's photos you could see this new outlook on life shining through - one album was titled "Sunny Spring Day" - he appreciated everything life gave him in his second shot at it.

He loved red wine. He was always there for his friends and always made time to laugh. He admitted that he lived his life to the fullest and always respected others. He absolutely loved to fish and the walls and shelves in his apartment were adorned with figurines and pictures of fish of all kinds. His taste in music was good old rock and roll like The Stones and he had for years loved "my man" Leo Kottke - and in particular when Leo played the 12-string guitar.

Artie's "man" Leo Kottke.

His favorite tv shows included anything to do with nature, history, science and cooking. His favortie tv network was MSNBC.

He also loved movies including "Hunt For Red October", "The Gladiator", "Braveheart", "Das Boot" and "Silence of the Lambs".

Artie as a baseball player for the Ridgewood High School Maroons.

He also was a jock at heart and in life. He was a member of the RHS baseball, wrestling and soccer teams. He loved the Yankees and he would have so enjoyed seeing his Yanks win another championship this past year.

He really enjoyed reading too and his favorite author of the moment was Paulo Coelho. He also loved "The River Why" by David James Duncan. A book about what Artie himself loved so much. The book basically conveys to the reader that you can fish all your life, but its not the fish you're after. Its a wonderful story of a man who comes to fall in love with both the wilderness and the woman who shares this life.


Life is filled with wonderful reminders of Artie's life such as the films he liked or the books of authors he enjoyed or the music he loved but I personally won't need any of that to really be reminded how wonderful a guy Artie Brierley truly was.

During the time of his recovery, Artie's daughter Lauren pointed out to Artie a famous quote written by Charles Darwin. It goes: "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent but the ones most responsive to change." Artie adapted incredibly well to the changes in his life over the last 9 years and was at peace with who he was.

I'll end with a very simple and very appropriate quote of Artie's from the back of the Ridgewood High yearbook - "Take life as it comes!"

Ridgewood Baseball Association!

Its called the Ridgewood Baseball Association (now known as the RBSA - which includes girls softball). If you were a kid growing up in Ridgewood, NJ and loved baseball, you couldn't wait 'til RBA tryouts in the spring. Spring was all there was - no summer and fall leagues like today. For the last 8 years I have gotten to enjoy it all again as a head coach for my son in the spring, summer & fall.

Click on all photos to enlarge.

Above photo is from Paul McCubbin. This a Willard team and players include: Kevin Almquist, Mr. Almquist, Doug Place, Mac Smith, Peter Carroll, Mr. Barnett, John Krause, Ted Harrison, Bill Barnett, Rob Dible, Bill Nolan, Paul McCubbin, Mr. McCubbin, Kevin Atkins, Keith Boswell, Todd Kirkpatrick & Doug Perkins.

Paul McCubbin who authors the RHS 1977 blog, had these following memories about his dad John McCubbin and the RBA:

"My Dad will always be in my mind about baseball, Boy Scouts, BBQs, and the PTA. He coached my brothers and I in baseball, and when we were through he headed up the Ridgewood Baseball Association (RBA) for a year. One of his favorite mementos was the paper weight they gave him for his long years of service."

As for me, ever since I was 4 or 5 years old I just loved baseball! I started collecting baseball cards when I was 4. My dad used to bring home 5 packs of cards every week when I was little (5 cents a pack - can you imagine?) - which he bought when he got the daily newspaper. Once I started getting an allowance I could buy my own. I remember he and I sitting at the dinner table and me asking him questions like "Is Mickey Mantle good?" "Should I keep Willie Mays?" - well, 4 years old ya know!? Anyway, my dad would tell me which ones to tuck away and not trade or flip to my friends.

I definitely got my love for the game of baseball from my dad - an old Brooklyn Dodger fan who by the way, was very upset when they moved to LA! My dad was a sports guy - he was short but he played semi-pro football in Bergen County - winning the championship one year with the Mercury's - he also played for a team called the Teaneck Red Devils. I still have his gold football which was presented to him after they won the championship!

Above is the Teaneck Mercury's semi-pro championship team. My father - Fred Flannery - is the one holding the football.

Sports was a Flannery thing - in fact my great-grandfather - John R. Flannery - was the father of american lacrosse! He owned a company that employed native americans that made wooden lacrosse sticks and he was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in Baltimore, MD. In 1897 he established the United States National Amateur Lacrosse Association which consisted of eleven college and club teams which from 1897-1937 played for the "Flannery International Trophy" if you can believe that! It usually went to Oxford-Cambridge or Syracuse and in its final year was won back from England by an all-america team made up of college and club players. Amazingly the cup survived and now resides in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame with my great-grandfather's medals and such! The dates and all the names of the winning teams are engraved on the cup. I just had to share this as this is a piece of history I am very proud of and I realize has nothing to do with with baseball!

The above print shows the Shamrock Lacrosse Club in 1871 - champions of the world. John R. Flannery is the first player in the center row l to r. John, at the age of 21, was treasurer & secretary of the club at the time. It would be 6 years later when my great-grandfather would establish the first National Amateur Lacrosse Association.

Now back to baseball! As far back as I can remember, I would wait for my dad to get home from work and when he pulled in the driveway I would always ask him, "You wanna have a catch?" - not once did my dad ever say no! He put in long days but he was always there for a catch or to throw the football! In 1987, a movie called "Field of Dreams" came out - I'm sure most of you recall it. Well, my dad had just recently passed away at the time and watching that movie really had an impact on me. That scene at the end when Kevin Costner realizes that the player remaining on the field is his dad in his younger days - ugh, when he asks him, "Dad...wanna have a catch?" - well, I had now learned what a tear-jerker truly was! It is always the simplest of things that mean so much!

Incredibly, my mom had saved my very first baseball glove (shown above)! I remember the day I got it - 5 years old! Believe it or not I could catch a ball with it! It was a Rocky Nelson model (sorry Rocky, but hardly a name a kid would recognize then!)

In 1961, I went to my first Yankees game! How incredible that first time was - I even remember the drive into the Bronx. I remember the great anticipation of that trip and the excitement of seeing Yankee Stadium up ahead for the first time from the car - topping that of course was the walk up the tunnel to our seats - I'll never forget how incredibly green the grass was and the smells and the bright sunshine that day! What an impression it all made on me! At every game I always brought my glove in the hope that I'd catch a ball. I never caught one as a kid but I did finally catch one as an adult off Eddie Murray in the 1980's in right field - I gave it to my son recently!

The above photo was taken from the internet of Yankee Stadium - circa 1963.

One of my Dad's customers was Elston Howard the Yankee catcher. We used to see Jim Bouton sometimes at Johnnie's Barber Shop in Ridgewood. My father always brought home Yankee autographs and had taken me to some baseball dinners too. One of the special guests at one of the dinners was a young Bobby Cox (Atlanta Braves manager) - who used to play for the Yankees!

Being a Yankee fan in the early 60's was incredible! I mean going to the stadium to see players like Mantle, Maris, Ford, Berra - how exciting when you're a kid. Even my son emulates Berra (Ricky's nickname is Yogi in baseball). Dad always got box seats - and sometimes I was lucky enough to sit right behind the Yankee dugout. What a thrill to see Mantle or Maris walk up and down the dugout steps. My dad even took a home movie of Mantle (which I still have) - in the desperate hope that it would be that day he'd hit one out! I'll have to post the movie as soon as I can figure out how to do it! Margaret I will need your expertise on that one!

When I returned home from Yankee games I couldn't wait to meet up with my friends or head over to Glen School on my bike in search of some kind of baseball - stick ball, a catch, a baseball game, running bases or curb ball. Sometimes if nobody was around, I'd chalk up a box on the side of the gym and pitch against the wall in make-believe baseball games - Yanks against whoever!

In 1963, I joined the RBA - Tiny Tim league - didn't have t-ball then! I was 7 that spring and in 2nd grade. The most remarkable thing - looking back now - is that we really didn't have helmets!! (See photo of me in my living room wearing one them!) It was basically like a hard ski band for your ears - no protection for your head as it was open at the top!

Above photo shows me after a practice at Travell in our living room! Always had a bat, glove or football in my hand!

My first season was at the old Travell School before it was torn down to make way for the Travell that exists today. The field was all dirt! I think I played on just about every baseball field in town: Ridge, GW, Willard, Somerville, Vets, Glen School, Stevens Field and BF.

In the above photo you see the front of the Travell School - my Tiny Tim team played behind it.

Above is Andy Wright who lived on Salem Lane behind Glen School. He too was an RBA guy! Picture shows Andy posing in his backyard.

To kick off the season, the RBA always held a parade. We would start gathering by the train station near the William Pease library and continue under the tracks, down North Broad Street, East Ridgewood Avenue and North Maple Avenue to Vets Field. I'm happy to report this tradition is still alive and well!

Above is Artie Brierley and Gary Vukov in back row. Front is possibly Steve Stewart, unidentified & Bobby Rogers. This was after arriving at Vets field when the parade was over.

Vets Field in Ridgewood as it looks today.

In the games, we proudly wore our RBA t-shirts and sneakers - in fact I lived in those shirts! My dad was so excited that I loved baseball that he threw himself into the RBA - he was at every game, helped coach and to my chagrin became a league umpire!

Before he recently passed away, Artie Brierley recalled the annual "Bucks for Baseball" campaign we always took part in every year! According to Art, "If you had a station wagon.......the RBA wanted your car!" Our dads would help drive members of the teams around town soliciting donations for the RBA. Artie loved baseball too! He played all through the various leagues and was a member of the Ridgewood High School baseball team with John Wescott among others. Artie also fondly recalled flipping baseball cards with us against the school and the pump station by the kickball black-top. Artie was also helping me to research the history of the Ridgewood Baseball Association at the time of his passing.

Above is a classic RBA photo. From l to r is Ken Merrill, Artie Brierley & Gary Vukov.

Above is the 1973 Ridgewood High School baseball team. Artie is in the middle of the front row. John Wescott is the 5th one in the second row going l to r.

After you paid your dues in the Timy Tim League - there was the regular Little League, Pony League and Babe Ruth. Everyone attended tryouts in the Spring. These tryouts were usually held at Ben Franklin Junior High School. From the tryouts, you were placed on teams based on your skill level. You also finally got a uniform once you graduated to Little League! However, you felt like an old-timer because the uniforms were so incredibly hot and huge - always bigger than you! I mean its one thing if the shirt is big, but the pants would barely stay up! Everyone needed a belt - not for looks - but to keep the pants up! You had classic stirrup socks and cleats - and in spite of how cumbersome the uniform was you finally felt like a big league ballplayer!

Above is Ricky Flannery when I played for MacHugh's. Photo was taken in front of my house.

Your team was usually sponsored by a local business. Among the teams I played for were Dairy Queen, MacHugh's, Elks Club and Marsh & Groat. I remember one of my coaches was Betsy Kline's father.

Above is Ricky Flannery when I played for Marsh & Groat. I was at the height of my pitching days on this team. Below is my old Marsh & Groat game schedule!


I played infield, centerfield and I pitched for several years. I was actually a pretty good pitcher - striking out double-digits on 3 occasions! I had a wicked sidearm pitch that guys always swung at - and missed! I always found it fun playing against friends - I was competitive but it was fun to compete against your buddies. I don't know why I didn't try out for the team at RHS - it is truly something I regret more than anything - no confidence and preoccupied!

Those of us who played ball (me, Ken Merrill, Gary Vukov, Bruce Meneghin, Jan Koper, Artie Brierley to name a few) were rabid baseball fans. I seem to recall that most of us were Yankee fans but that may not be entirely true.

Above you'll find another classic RBA team with Artie Brierley and Jan Koper in front (Artie is the tall one with dark jacket and Jan is next to him in light jacket)

Ken Merrill recently shared this memory with me:

"When I was in 3rd grade," (Fall 1963), "the Yankees played the Dodgers in the World Series. I was fortunate to be able to attend the first game of that series!" Ken also recalled that as kids we always talked baseball and he remembers us "talking about the Yankees and especially all the World Series ballgames." I'm sure we did it again in 4th grade because the Yanks played a better World Series only to lose to the Cardinals and Bob Gibson in 7 games!

Above is Sandy Koufax - Yankee killer in 1963!

The thing that stands out in particular about those World Series games is the transistor radio! In those days games were never played at night and we always listened to the games on the radio at school, on the way home or on the steps outside the house when you got home from school. While it was frustrating not seeing the game, it was terribly exciting to listen to - your ears would be glued to every descriptive detail and play-by-play. The suspense of not seeing it was such a thrill! What's Mantle doing?!

Above a classic 60's transistor radio that helped to fuel our imaginations!

Cara Worthington recently shared that she recalls Ken Merrill's special baseball glove and how much it meant to him. Cara goes on to say: "........ I grew up in NJ and all the boys had Mickey Mantle gloves - and I particularly remember that Ken had one. With that kind of Yankee pride surrounding me I really didn't have a choice but to be a fan. There really were no viable alternatives! I am not sure why I remember that Ken had a Mantle mitt - but it might be that it really meant a lot to him!"

Above is a Mickey Mantle model baseball glove - not Ken's though!

Of course one memory that stands out during the RBA years was that my teams almost always went to Van Dyk's Ice Cream after our games! This was a ritual that we all looked forward to on game day!

Our classic stop after baseball games - Van Dyk's Ice Cream in Ridgewood!

After a couple of years, my dad became an umpire. He would sometimes end up umping one of my games!! I will never forget when he called me out on strikes for the first time - I said "Dad I'm your son!" as if that made a difference! He explained to me on the way home that when he umpired he was not my dad!

Above is one of my dad's umpire schedules! How the hec did things like this survive the years? Among those he umped with included classic dads: Jim Corcoran, Gordon Brevoort, Frank Florence, Tony Pettofrezzo, Armond Stella and many others!

Those of us who were involved with Ridgewood Baseball got many years of enjoyment from it. The friendships and the sport itself were very special! While I didn't know it at a young age, sports can give a kid incredible confidence - you don't even have to be a great player to get so much out of the experience. The camaraderie can be what some kids need to help them fit in and give them confidence in other things in life.

We didn't have batting cages or pitching cages - man what we would have given to play organized ball in the summer and fall like my son does today. Today, I am a member of the board of Danbury Youth Baseball and as Commissioner I try very hard to make the experience of baseball as much fun for the kids as it was for myself when I was their age while also teaching them (kids of all skill levels) to be competetive without losing the respect for all aspects of the game. I am particularly proud to say that this past fall (2009) we established a Buddy Ball league for mentally and physically challenged kids from 5 - 18 years old. Our hope is to combine children from the neighboring towns and play in a travel format - visiting each town once for a game - this will begin in Spring, 2010. Bringing baseball to everyone who wants to play is incredibly rewarding.

As I said, I coach Ricky but I also use to coach my daughter Jennifer in girls softball before she reached high school age (2 championships by the way!). Jennie is now a junior in high school and is one of the captains of her varsity softball team and their chances are pretty good in her final 2 high school seasons. Ricky is a freshman and we are excited about him trying out for the Danbury High baseball team this spring. Here's a few pictures of their time in baseball and softball. Please forgive my being a dad with these next couple of photos!

Above is Ricky in the 2004 Spring season of Danbury Youth Baseball.

Above is Jennie in the 2001 PAL Girls Softball spring season.

Above is the last Cal Ripken team I coached before Ricky moved up to Babe Ruth. That's me on the far left and Ricky is the 3rd player in the back row from l to r.

Above is Ricky's first season in Babe Ruth (junior Babe Ruth) - this was last Fall when we won the championship - a very cold and wet night in early November 2009.

Finally, a real neighborhood baseball story! On June 18, 1967 there was a big game - a bragging rights game at Glen School - a father / son baseball game! From all accounts the boys won it fair and square but all had fun! Thanks to Margaret Silvers for allowing me to use the photos! These precious photos were taken by her father Sam and kept in his special scrapbooks. Enjoy!

I think that is Mr. Daly on the left in the hat and Jeanne Stanley-Brown clapping hands in the shades (sitting)!

Mr. Henckler up at the plate. Who did the lines?!

Mr. Nunno shown above clapping. Lis Ege is the girl standing and clapping in the center of photo and Margaret Silvers sitting in white next to her.


All the mom's taking in the game. Lis Ege doing someone's hair, Margaret Silvers in the front the girl who's getting her hair done and it looks like Trisha Daly in front.

It ended up to be quite a game but the boys beat the dads 3-2! Back row from l to r: Stan Knight, Matt Lalumia, Robbie Silvers, Bob Daly, Ronnie Knight, Hank Henckler, Rick Knies. Front row l to r: Kary Samson, unidentified and Bobby Bennett. The little boy at top left is Timmy Daly and the girls in the lower right corner are Margaret Silvers, Lis Ege and her sister Tina Ege.

Above photo shows a very respectable dad's team! from l to r: Mr. Daly, Mr. Lalumia, Mr. Samson, Mr. Silvers, Mr. Nunno, Mr. Henckler, Mr. Knight, Mr. Bennett and Mr. Terhune. One is unidentified.

The same field used for the father/son games as it looks today.

If you have anything you can add to this story including photos - please contact me at cmad@ntpLx.net.

Congratulations To Walter Perdue!!

Several years ago, Beth Perdue's dad Walter - Ridgewood High School class of 1949 - was inducted to the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mr. Perdue was inducted for his years playing football , running track and playing basketball for the Maroons! He was captain of the football team as a senior. Our sincerest best wishes to you Walter on a great honor!

In 1960, Walter went into the sporting goods business in Ridgewood - "Perdue's Sport Shop" and a few laters purchased the famous 1931 Woody - you always knew where he was!!


I tried finding a photo but had no luck! So I thought I'd add a familiar memory (though its not the original Perdue woody!)

New Blog Up! RHS Class of 1973!

We are gonna try and find as many people as we can for the RHS Class of 1973 reunion. To get ready for that we started a blog. We're also planning BF & GW reunions - check out http://rhsclassof1973.blogspot.com/.

The Glen School Reunion - Nov 7, 2009

Well we had a great evening Saturday night. I personally could have gone all night - ya know, breakfast at BF, then Graydon! Thanks to everybody for allowing me to be rather entusiastic about all this!

Seriously though there were so many highlights to the evening and some great surprises! I will post more about the reunion but want to thank everybody for being part of it! For those that couldn't make it - you were there in spirit and, well, talked about - in a good way of course! And Jan Potdevin if you see this - THANKS a million for coming!

Pictured in the above photo are l to r: Melanie Teasley, Jen Rudy, Margaret Silvers, Chic Voorhis, Sue Nunno, Cara Worthington & Ken Merrill - Kenny you still out-dress us all!

What fun to spend an evening with tons of people you like! Just as Corey said last night - these people are real - we're all different but its just so comfortable! How many friends have we all had over the years since school that have come and gone? Its a great feeling and as Cara says, very reassuring! Thanks for making it such a great success!

In the above photo l to r front row: Pat Mercer-DiLauro, Linda Pursiano, Jen Rudy, Beth Perdue, Jan Potdevin, Cara Worthington, Corey Duvall; back row l to r: Melanie Teasley & Chic Voorhis.

Pictured above are l to r: Daun Paris, Beth Perdue, Cara Worthington, Ann Rimmer, Katie Knight & Gayle Allard.

Not all the girls are pictured here but girls you're all as beautiful as you ever were! That includes Linda Pursiano, Karen Pursiano, Terri, Kim, Cheryl, Jen Pelley, Jan, Jennifer, Suzie, Mags, Dana, Diane, Sherry, Maryanne, Theresa (and my wife Caryn!) - Jill, Lynn Malley, Beth Daly & Karen we missed you! Thanks to my wife for letting me run with this whole thing and understanding it all! It was so worth it! What is your secret girls!?

And of course you couldn't have a night like this without your tear-jerking moments like meeting Evangeline, Veronica, Kathleen and George McFall, Jr.!

More to come!!! And by the way - we are planning a BF Reunion for 2011 (hopefully at the school) which will lead up to hopefully the biggest RHS reunion in 2013 - nobody can miss these! We will start the search!

New Class Photos From Jan Peters!

Miss Beattie's 3rd grade class 1962-63.

1st Row l to r: (?), Sally Vandervoort, (?)

2nd row l to r: Beth Yingling, (?), (?), Jan Peters, (?), (?), (?), (?)

3rd Row l to r: Corey Samson, Andrea Worthington, Steve McCormick, (?), (?), (?), (?), Connie Beyer, Rob Silvers, Jill Spangler

4th Row l to r: Billy Hertan, Bobby Corcoran, (?), Emo McDaniel, Jim Potdevin

This is Jan's 4th grade photo (1963-64) with Mrs Prescott. She also had Prescott for 5th grade. Jan Peters is the 2nd one in the top row l to r. Sally Vandervoort is the first one in the middle row l to r. Ken de Grouchy is last one in top row l to r.

Above is Mrs Dejongh's 6th grade class (1965-66). Sally Vandervoort is first one in the middle row l to r, Jan Peters is 3rd one in middle row l to r. If I'm not mistaken I think the boy at the end of top row l to r is Lenny Pascione (not sure if I spelled the name right).

I recently received these 3 class photos from Jan Peters. Jan used to live in the house next door to the school parking lot. I thought she might have been a couple of years older than me but I think she was a year ahead cause she had Miss Beattie for 3rd grade in 1962-63 according to the sign. I know I can spot Sally Vandervoort and Ken de Grouchy but can anyone else help identify some of the others?

Jan thanks a million for the photos!

Roslyn Road & Salem Ridge Gang Blog!

The above photo is one of many you'll find at the Roslyn Road & Salem Ridge Gang website. This particular photo is at the Silvers' house on "Movie Night". Katie Knight, Trisha Daly, Stanley-Brown's, Beth Daly, Lis Ege, Margaret Silvers among others are pictured.

You just have to checkout the Roslyn Road & Salem Ridge blog (http://roslynroadsalemridgegang.wordpress.com/). It's produced by Margaret Myatt-Slivers (Glen Class of 1969). Mags has 120 photos from the neighborhood posted there now - if you remember that neighborhood and kids like the Bennett's, Stanley-Brown's, Silvers', Daly's, Henckler's, Samson's, Ege's, Demick's, Knight's, Knies', Vandervoort's, McDaniel's, Smith's (so many!!) you will love it!!

If you remember any of these fantastic parents you will get a kick out of the hippy party and other themed parties, the ski weekends, the father-son baseball game, Hank in the Memorial Day Parade - priceless stuff!

Margaret's dad - Sam Silvers - took and catalouged an extensive amount of photographs and Margaret has been retrieving them from her dad's scrapbooks. Its so great that we have this record of such a fun time to grow-up. Margaret and Hank Henckler have really come through! Ken de Grouchy too has some incredible stuff including possibly the record of the song that was sung in the 1962 parent production called "No Space Like Home" and home movies. Stay tuned and check back often - you just never know!

Be sure to comment on Margaret's photos and let her know what you think - add memories, names, etc.

Need Camp Green Diaries, Photos, Memories!

Hey everybody so far I have Karen Pursiano's camp diary and mine. I have several photos including a great one of Andy Wright (later Glen alum) wearing the classic Camp Green sweatshirt we all bought. We need whatever you have - the story is shaping up well and will be a fun piece to be sure! Just email me and let me know if you have anything to contribute!!

Coming Soon!

We're busy with girls softball (Jennie made it to the nationals in July!) and Ricky's baseball (we start districts this weekend!) so there hasn't been a lot of time to update, but here's some of the stories we're working on: Gay Blades (Ken deGruchy may have home movie film of it!), Glen fashion shows (we have Elsa Ege's artwork from the brochures), Glen School circus, Christmas concerts, Camp Green, The Art Linden Story and so much more! We have lots of photos too! Please keep checking!

Don't forget about the reunion of sorts later in the year - we'll keep you posted. Hey we may only get 5 or we may get 50 - either way, with the teachers it should prove to be a blast!

Glen School 2nd Grade Class of 1967 - We Need Photos!

If anyone has the 2nd grade class photos for Mrs Cook (1962-63) and Miss Mercer (1962-63 - split class) please email to Rick Flannery cmad@ntplx.net. These are the only ones we're missing! Next we'll have to start asking for individual class photos!

A Photo Taken By Miss Beattie!

First Row l to r: Peggy Small, Ellen Kelly, Charles Ehrlich, Robert Wells, Jill Stanley-Brown, Bobby Owens (not sure)

Second Row l to r: Cindy Werbeck, Linda Williams, Larry Rogers, David Johnson, Kent Meneghin, Frank Petrucci, Maryanne Vestal (not sure), Patty Fall, Alexis ?

3rd Row l to r: Anne McNaughtin (not sure - if it is Anne she passed away about 10 years ago), Debbie Brevoort, Jeff Barber, John Hall, Mark Shumeyko, Paul Davis, John Schenck, Bruce Neandross, Wayne Bond, Penny Ward, unidentified

Thanks to Ken deGruchy and Bob Shumeyko for identifying most of these "kids"! Sorry if some names are spelled wrong - email and let me know if we messed up!

This photo was personally taken by Miss Beattie. (Just click to enlarge photo - photo isn't great quality sorry!)

Miss Mercer and 1st Grade - 1961-62!

Miss Mercer - mention that name and you immediately recall what that class was like. For me the first thing that comes to mind is doing "The Twist" at our desks in the morning after the Pledge and morning prayer! Miss Mercer would put "The Twist" on the bulky school record player and we would twist 'til our sides ached! It was great fun and always set the tone for the day - we were ready for anything!

This was also the time we were introduced to Dick & Jane! The Dick & Jane readers were instrumental in teaching us how to read and write at the time. Think & Do books were also a major part of our learning process. Of Dick & Jane Pat says: "Dick and Jane still rule but I used many books and my own imagination to keep you all connected and fascinated. Variety is the key."

Above is Karen Pursiano's "New Before We Read" workbook. Karen was a grade below us and is Linda's sister.

After Mrs. Janicke in kindergarten, Pat Mercer was our first full-time teacher. Bruce Meneghin, Melanie Teasley and I would walk to school together each morning. As I recall, I loved going to school each day as a direct result of Miss Mercer. She made learning fun, but I realized later in life that I probably started school a year too early - for the most part I was always a struggling student - always trying to catch up but loved every minute of school.

We had great parties too including our first big Valentine's Day party when we decorated this huge box where we would deposit all our valentine cards that we wrote to our classmates. At the afternoon party they were distributed to everyone. It was great fun and I remember always looking forward to the cards from the girls!

Above is an early Think & Do workbook similar to the kind we used.

We had a huge class - I mean huge - 32 kids! So Miss Mercer received help during the entire year from a woman name Grace Hensley who helped Pat get through the year - I can't imagine having 32 1st grade kids in one class! Pat recalls Grace warmly. She remained friends with her for several years until she moved from Ridgewood. Grace helped with all the paperwork and grading. She is now deceased but Pat says "I adored her!" Grace is pictured in our class photo.

Pat Mercer grew up in Margate City, NJ which is a Jersey Shore town. As she herself recalls, "It was a wonderful place to grow up and I still return often. Living in a resort town was lots of fun."

Above is a photo of Atlantic City High School where Pat graduated. It was built in 1922 but was torn down in the 1990's for something even better than a school - a parking lot! Kinda reminds you of that song by Joni Mitchell.

Pat was the 3rd of 4 children and all 4 attended and graduated Atlantic City High School. This historic and beautiful school was amazingly torn down about 15 years ago to make way for - are you ready - a casino parking lot! Sure they built a new school but ACHS was a memorable school, built in the gothic style. On a website I recentlly found this about the old ACHS: " As you walk through the halls and the rooms of these old buildings that are no longer in use, you sense a feeling of loss for the beauty that was held within these walls. Looking up at the ceilings and walls, one can find etchings that the new buildings are not graced with. These are art forms that are lost and are being destroyed all over.....". Soon, there will be a time when one looks at that parking lot and that person will never know that a high school was ever there. You could almost say that education took a back seat to gambling - sigh, but that's a debate for another blog!

Upon graduating high school, Pat attended Glassboro State College (shown in above photo) which has since been renamed Rowan University in New Jersey.


Pat relates that the first time she entered a classroom as a teacher she was hooked! She says, "I enjoyed a satisfying career. When I was student teaching, I asked my supervisor what the best school system in New Jersey was and he told me it was Ridgewood, NJ so I sent a letter of inquiry having no idea where it (Ridgewood) was and it turned out he was right. During the superintendents convention in Atlantic City I was interviewed and hired." This was February 1960. She was hired at a salary of $4,500 a year - of which she says "Yikes!"

Even at a young age, Pat Mercer was very much involved in teaching her classes - it wasn't simply a career - she took a special interest in shaping the class and trying to inspire each one of us. She recalls: "When you teach elementary school there is no such thing as typical - that is what makes it so exciting! Kids are very adaptable. When I felt the pulse of the room changing, I changed with it........you kids were so bright and fun, I had a million tricks up my sleeve and needed every one of them. ..........keeping the kids stimulated and excited to learn was no easy task."

When asked about dancing at our desks Pat recalls: "It was my belief that music helps break the ice. 'The Twist' was the popular music at that time so it was natural for me to choose it. I have always - for 31 years - encouraged kids to dance and sing each day - it brings out the best in the kids and allows their fear and insecurity to fade. Of course I pretended not to watch them but in reality that is how I found out who they were."

Looking straight ahead in the photo above is the door to the kindergarten. To the left of the door is where our 1st grade class was. We had the cloak-room outside where we hung our winter clothes and rain gear which included those rubber buckle boots! My daughter Jennie actually took the photo from outside! Photo taken December, 2008.

Of the teachers at Glen School - which included Pat Prescott, Jeannette Janicke, Amy Beattie and Nancy Cook - Pat says: "The teachers were all very close to one another. We ate lunch in that room at the end of the hallway (near Miss Beattie's classroom). Some teachers would play cards, some would read, whatever. It was a social time and we all got along." Amy Beattie and Pat even shared an apartment together before Pat got married.

Pat nails it when she says the kids cannot remember what they are taught at that young age but indeed remember the teacher, what the class was like - how they felt in that class.

Pat loves that she is remembered so fondly - that she had a hand in helping children at a young age learn and be themselves.

I asked Pat about a man by the name of Mr. Kraft. While I attempt to avoid being negative about anything it is a difficult task when talking about Mr. Kraft. He was some sort of school psychologist. As I recall I was very put off by this man. I recall that in art class in first grade, I was asked to draw a picture of my family. There were 5 of us. Each member of my family wore glasses except for me. In the picture I had drawn glasses on each of us - including myself even though I didn't wear them. Well Mr. Kraft attempted to analize this - why would Ricky draw glasses on himself when he doesn't wear them? My mom was called in - it was absurd really. My mom put him in his place and that was that. Pat recalls Mr. Kraft in a similar way. "I remember Mr. Kraft. I had a class of 32 kids and he was telling me how to talk to each one of you individually - I don't think so. He also thought I should sit on the floor so I wouldn't be higher than the kids - no to that also - amen!"

I had asked Pat what the last day of school was like for her. She responded this way: "The last day of school (all the years) has always been a real tough day. I spent so much time with these little friends and really knew who they were."

I am trying desperately to gather information about our beloved principal Art Linden but it is a difficult task. About Art Linden Pat remembers him like this: "Art Linden was a fun person and we all loved him so. Art was a marvelous human being with a family he loved dearly. I was very close to his wife Mary and to him even after I left (Glen School) in 1964. Mary's death was a tragedy and in the end - it is my opinion - he (Art) died of a broken heart. The story is tragic and wonderful but I do not feel it is my place to tell his story....just to remember them and smile."

When we were promoted to 2nd grade, we had 2 classes - I was in Mrs. Cook's class and Pat taught a split 1st & 2nd grade class. Cara Worthington recalls learning diagram sentences from Pat in 2nd grade.

Pat also recalls how parents and teachers worked so well together. Ultimately - she says - the parents are teachers too and must have responsibility for their children's learning and behavior. Pat recalls fondly the relationships she had with many parents and the mutual respect for each other.

Leaving no doubt - her fondest memory of Glen School - of teaching - is by the far the kids - "It's always about the kids"!

Show & tells were always a bog part of the school days at Glen School - a chance to tell about a trip you took or collection you had. Pat remembers one show & tell where Ricky Marsh told us all how he was a philatelist (one who collects and studies stamps) and how one day she cut up the organs inside a chicken and one of us called out "Miss Mercer you are deee-gusting!"

Above is our 1st grade class - all 32 of us! This class photo was provided by both Ricky Marsh and Art Brierley (at the same time) - thanks you guys!

Front Row l to r: unidentified, unidentified, Melanie Teasley, Jan Potdevin, Karen Eide, Linda Pursiano

Second Row l to r: Betsy Kline, Barbara Durheimer, Ellen ?, Kara DeGraw, Jill Neandross, Lisa Faeth, Cara Worthington, Pam Bennett

Third Row l to r: Robbie Whittemore, Bruce Meneghin, Ricky Flannery, Ricky Marsh, David Clay, Art Brierley, Gary Vukov, Chic Voorhis, Greg Rehe, Danny Wagner, Carl Vrabel

Back Row l to r: Corey Duvall, Richie Spell, Tim Dekoker (sorry if misspelled), Paul Vaccari, unidentified, Doug Brown, Bruce Cunneen

Back-to-School night was always a big deal - especially for us kids. I remember how exciting it was to clean my desk and leave out good papers and artwork so when my parents came to class that night they would be proud. I remember writing a note and getting a note back from my mom and dad which I would find the next morning. Pat recalls Back-to-School night as fun too. "I remember being reminded to be able to answer questions on the topic of the time "Why Johnny Can't Read" - Dr. Voorhis (Chic's dad) asked the question (about that topic) and I gave a great answer - my career was on track! Parents were so lovely and respectful."

Above is a picture of Bruce Cuneen from our kindergarten photo.

In kindergarten through 2nd grade, there was a boy in our class named Bruce Cuneen. He was an incredibly happy kid and I remember him fondly though I didn't fully understand his affliction. Isn't it amazing how a child - knowing they are terminally sick can smile and be so happy? He suffered from Cystic Fibrosis. He fought to be included in everything and was always so carefree. Pat remembers this about Bruce: "He was a strong-willed little boy. He had Cystic Fibrosis - the life expectancy was 7 in 1960. He had wonderful parents who wanted him to have as normal a life as possible knowing it would not be a long life. He was a great little kid - just like all the others - no special anything - just one of the boys. They moved away at the end of the year." June Cuneen was involved at Glen School right through 1962 and was both a castmember and a member of a committee for the 1962 Glen production of "No Space Like Home". Pat continues, "He (Bruce) died soon after and his funeral was in Ridgewood. I went to his funeral and there was the darling child lying in a casket in a Cub Scout uniform.....it was a difficult time for all."

As kids we all have memories of the JFK assassination - I was in Miss Beattie's class at the time (see her profile in this blog). I asked Pat what she remembers about that history-changing day.

"The Kennedy Assassination was a day I will never forget. I was reading to the kids after they returned from lunch. Mr. Linden came in and whispered "Do not tell the kids, but the president has been shot." We had one little tv in the entire school - I could not believe what I was hearing. I waited a bit but then burst across the courtyard to find out what was happening. The kids could sense something awful had happened so against my instructions, I decided I needed to tell the kids the truth as I knew it at that moment. It was a Friday and I knew that once the kids got out of school they would enter a world of chaos so I sat them all down and told them the story. Life was never the same again. The kids knew me well and could clearly see that I was rattled and possibly even crying. I knew that people would be so stunned they would not have time or the words needed to convey what was happening so I told the truth as I knew it but more importantly, I assured them that their life would go on as they knew it."

In 1962, the entire school - just about every parent - put on an extravagant musical called "No Space Like Home". This show was produced by Hank Henckler's mom Muriel. Hank was 4 grades ahead of me! Several teachers along with a slew of parents participated in the show (including my dad). The teachers included Amy Beattie, Pete Gauharou, Barbara Zink, Charlotte Nash, Art Linden AND Pat Mercer. Pat, as it turns out was a dancing girl! She remembers it this way: "I remember the teachers were in a musical at night. I was a dancer and the theme was the moon. I was humiliated to death to appear in the outfit - not my thing!" The show was memorable simply beacuse of the sheer effort of it and the participation of practically everybody! Pat says "the parents were soooo much fun!"

Pat Mercer (center) and mom's as part of the dancing chorus from the show "No Space Like Home"!

Pat was married on June 29, 1963 and became Pat DiLauro. She recalls many of her students actually went down to Margate City to watch the ceremony! She met her husband Renato - affectionately known as "Rennie" - through her sisters who had met him at a wedding - they gave Rennie Pat's number and the rest is history! Sadly, Rennie passed away in 1996.

Pat and Rennie raised 3 children - JoAnne, John and Andrew. She has 3 grandchildren and a foster child who feels the love of the DiLauro clan! Pat still lives in the same house she has called home for over 40 years! (I love that!)

Summing up Glen School she has this to say:

"I loved every minute - Glen School was my first job. I adored Art Linden and Glen School - it was magic! I remember all of you - every detail. I have a candle that Gary Vukov's grandfather made. Being a teacher is a gift. You all taught me as much as I taught you!"

Aside from Gary Vukov, Ricky Marsh and Bruce Cuneen she recalls speaking to Kara DeGraw in the early 90's. She has been friends with Cara Worthington "forever" and recently mentioned Linda Pursiano this way: "Linda was an adorable little girl! I remember her well....also her mom who I used to see at the A&P when it was on Route 17."

Many students recall Pat fondly including Ken de Grouchy and Ricky Marsh who recently told me "Miss Mercer was one of my favorite teachers - ever!" Ricky recalls fondly playing with Jill Neandross (one of the first girls he ever played with). He also remembers Jan Potdevin who attended Bucknell University with Ricky in the 1970's. Ricky's neighbor? "Frankie Petrucci but we were never in the same class." Ricky is known today as Rick Marsh. Chic Voorhis - and obviously several others - were fortunate to have had Pat as a teacher twice!

When Pat emailed me in January, I was thrilled! The connection - just like with old friends - is always there. Thanks to Cara Worthington for pointing out the blog to her!

Please click on all pictures to enlarge.

The memories are many and if you have any memories of this class or any class please share it with me at cmad@ntplx.net .

Cara Worthington - when you think of her - remember her - you think of many things. She certainly is and was one of the most intelligent people I ever knew - as a student I was absolutely intimidated with her brain-power! She's also one of the nicest people you could have known. When someone says that somebody is an all-around person, that would easily describe Cara. (The above photo of Cara is from 1967).

A piece like this would probably embarrass Cara but so be it. I for one always admired her approach to everything. It is pretty cool to witness the successes of former classmates, especially when you genuinely like them!

Cara was destined for the Ivy League - even at Glen School. She deserved the best but more than that, the Ivy League - Yale in particular - is better off having accepted her back in 1973.

Like several of my Glen School classmates - Art Brierley, Gary Vukov, Kara DeGraw, Karen Eide, Bruce Meneghin (to name a few) - we all attended school together for 13 years! Myself along with many others are not surprised by what Cara has accomplished or that she commands the respect she does from the education community. Cara currently teaches history at the prestigious Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. In our high school yearbook we were asked to quote ourselves - you know, say something profound or funny even. Cara's was perfect: "Look around!"

Back in 2001 Cara wrote this thoughtful letter that was published in the Yale Alumni Magazine. Here is that letter in its entirety.

"Out of the Blue - My Life as a Person"

by Cara Worthington Fekula Hyson Yale Class of '77 (November 2001)

"I have never forgotten one of the arguments made by Yale alumni against coeducation: It had always been expected that Yale would produce 1,000 leaders a year. How could this tradition continue if women were admitted? So here I am 25 years out, wondering if those traditionalists were right. Have I and the Yale alumni of my vintage lived up to Yale's expectations? And perhaps more important, have I lived up to my own?

When I decided to go to Yale at 18, I am sure that I did not realize that Yale would expect anything of me. I just wanted to go to a college where I could study Russian and environmental science, and as one of my friends reasoned, "If you don't like it, it is easy to transfer down." I even remember saying to someone who was impressed that I had graduated from Yale, "How can you be impressed by something I did for less than four years?" However, whether I like it or not, I am a product of Yale, and its expectations of its graduates haunt and inspire me. I know that I am not the only graduate to ask if I measure up against my classmates and against the expectations of a group of Yale alumni who really weren't sure I should be there in the first place.

I have to admit, though, that I am puzzled and amused by some of the entries in the "Alumni Notes," passages like this: "I am the CEO of a major corporation and travel throughout the word on a regular basis, my husband is the chief of surgery at a major medical facility, but the true joy of our lives is our three children ages 6, 8, and 10." Is this what those Yale alumni had in mind? Something is missing here. Raising kids and working full-time is harrowing and challenging for the husbands, wives, and the kids.While some alumni are taking this path, others are divorcing, and fighting for custody, and there are others who have lost their jobs, and others who will never have children. This is our reality. Sometimes it seems to me that we are afraid of telling the truth, and for those who were trained to seek Lux and Veritas this is strange indeed.

Last year, a women's singing group from Yale came to the school where I work to perform for an assembly. Looking at this group of self-assured, talented, and attractive women, I was struck by one sense -- heartache. Who was going to prepare them for what was ahead? Did they know it wasn't a clear shot to the top? Did they realize that life is full of heartaches? Did they have any idea of what would bring the greatest joys? Did they realize how many personal decisions and compromises would influence that career they were preparing for? Were they prepared to face the personal and professional challenges? And I asked myself: Why didn't I feel the same way about the Yale men in the Society of Orpheus and Bacchus when they performed the year before? Perhaps I should have.

I am a college counselor at a private school, and in that capacity I meet many college admissions representatives. Two years ago, I had the chance to have a long discussion with a representative from Mount Holyoke. My personal experience with all-women's colleges is limited. The closest I came to one of them was when my own high school guidance counselor said that she "could just see me at Smith." As one of the only girls in AP chemistry and calculus, I took that as an insult. Hadn't I already proven that I could compete against and sometimes even beat the boys? Why would I consider an all-girls' school? Yet, talking about the programs and focus at Mount Holyoke, I realized that they were hitting the complex problems and roles of women today head-on. And then I began to wonder if Yale makes the same effort to prepare its alumni for their futures, balancing ambitions, dreams, professions, and families.

I am only a history teacher and college counselor. I stayed at home for seven years with my first three children, and I was widowed 12 years ago at age 34. I was a single parent for six years, and then I remarried. I am now a full-time working mother of five. I am not a leader of anything, but I would like to lead a discussion. I am worried about school violence, about children of all ages left unsupervised. I am concerned about children who go home to empty houses and parents who are stressed out. I am worried about the quality of child care for most working parents. I am concerned about intelligent, talented women who are told, as one of my classmates was, that if they aren't willing to work full-time, there isn't a place for them. I am worried about mothers feeling trapped and frustrated at home. I am worried about children without fathers, and about fathers who are separated from their children. I am less concerned about our professions as Yale alumni, and much more concerned about the quality of our lives, and the quality of life of those people we have the power to affect, whether it be our families, our colleagues, or our employees.

Have we Yale alumni lived up to our potential as leaders? I am not so sure. When I read some of the "Alumni Notes" entries I shudder, for it seems that many are still trying to impress us with their achievements, as if still trying to live up to the expectations of that group of Yale alumni determined to produce 1,000 male leaders. Perhaps it is too much to ask for an assessment of the quality of someone's life in two lines or less, but there does need to be some acknowledgement that it isn't that easy or simple to define a life worth living. And this message needs to be clearly communicated to those who need to hear it most -- the undergraduates at Yale.

Maybe it is time for such a discussion on the campus. What are some of the conflicts and problems that Yale alumni and alumnae have encountered as they have tried to live full personal and professional lives? Why not gather those CEOs, partners, diplomats, doctors, professors, and all the rest of us, and ask: How is it going? What can we do better -- for ourselves, and for those whose lives we influence? And maybe, it just might make those Old Blues proud."

As Cara once said, "Look around!"

The Spring Sing - 1967 w/ Mrs. Jamieson!

The above Spring 1967 program was designed by Theresa Merrill and "dittoed" by Agnes Larsen!

Choir - we all tried out for it. Amazingly I made it and was a soprano! When you tried out you had to sing by yourself while Mrs. Jamieson played the piano - ugh was that embarrassing! It was both humiliating if you didn't make it and gratifying if you did!

I recall we did a Christmas concert and a Spring concert in 5th and 6th grades each year. The concerts would include both grades.


I recently unearthed the May 24, 1967 Spring concert program (my mom had saved it - it was copied on Mrs. Larsen's ditto machine!) To have these old programs is great because it not only shows you what songs you sung but also who was part of the choir with you, who was in the orchestra and who directed you. Now I will be the first to admit that I was - at the time - torn between being happy to be picked for choir and not happy because there was debate on whether it was "cool" to be part of it - but I was there nonetheless! I - like a bunch of others - put baseball high on my list and comparing baseball to choir - well, just no comparison at the time!

Now, I have loved music since I was playing my sisters' Beatle's records. Even today I love bands like Green Day, Coldplay and The Ramones and yet - with equal appreciation - I luv Yo-Yo Ma and Sinatra too! I say this because in the same hour I can listen to The Clash and The Stones and then put on a song like "Simple Gifts" by Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Kraus. Why do I bring that up? Well to me "Simple Gifts" is one of the most beautiful songs - beautiful in its melody and utter simplicity AND "Simple Gifts" was one of the songs we sang that Spring in 1967! It is here - sung in children's voices so you can get the feel of maybe what we sounded like! The lyrics are simple but wonderful! Simply click play on the photo below - quality isn't great but that was the song we sang. (You may have to adjust your volume).

Hit play on the picture below to hear the song!

The story of the song "Simple Gifts" goes back more than 150 years to 1848 when the song was written by Elder Joseph - a member of the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine. Incredibly, this renown and simple song has only one verse but had been known as an uplifting "Dancing Song" at the time.

For the most part the song was unknown outside the Shaker community until 1944 when Aaron Copland scored the song for use in the ballet "Appalachian Spring". He used "Simple Gifts" a second time for a compliation of songs in 1950. Even the band Weezer has used variations of the song on their 2nd album as the introduction to the song "Across the Sea" and in a song on their "Red Album" titled "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)".

The song was more recently used in Barack Obama's inagauration - but to me the most beautiful rendition of the song is Yo-Yo Ma with Alison Krauss (if you've never heard Alison Krauss - her voice is beautiful).

Here are the lyrics as they were in 1848 and as we probably sung them:


'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight,

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come out right.


Talk to any former Glen School student and you'll find reactions to the Choir "thing". Here are a few responses from Glen "kids":

Tim Daly: "What's up with the choir thing? I made it and I DIDN'T want to be in it so I could be playing baseball!"

Rob Silvers: ".......I was asked not to be on the Glen School Chorus! That was a real blow to my self esteem and I have been in therapy since!"

Bob Daly: "I guess there is a pattern here. I didn't make the choir at all and I was the only one in my grade. I still can't sing!"

Trisha Daly-Hernandez: ".....I was also asked not to participate in the 5th and 6th grade choir! I had forgotten about that. It was quite devastating at the time because it was me and a few of the delinquent boys in class who I was then left alone with in the classroom while everyone else went to choir practice! I recall that they were not very nice to me at all! My mother was very annoyed that I was not allowed to join, even though I really wanted to................ I believe my mom went to the school to complain (which was not her style at all), to no avail. I remember the music teacher.....terrified me by making us sing all alone at the tryouts!"

Steven Breitkruz: "Well, I can relate to that as well. I was actually included in the 5th grade choir but then did not make the 6th grade (choir). I guess my musical talents have been diminishing ever since!"

Judy Wilson Davies: "I played flute for a short while in 6th grade."

Cynthia Wagner-Boseski: "Played the clarinet. I remember Mr. Grimm telling my mother that I showed promise when I didn't continue........"

Diana Wagner-Casey: "I played the violin 1 year and hated it. Sang in the choir as an alto.....most of the boys were sopranos. Still remember a lot of the songs we sang. To name a few: Waltzing Matilda, Oklahoma, Bring A Torch Jeanette Isabella."

Margaret Silvers: "Concerts were okay, only because I didn't "make" choir in 4th grade and I was mortified. I never told my parents when concerts were. I made it in 5th and 6th but I think only cause they felt sorry for me!"

Katie Knight: "I played flute. I sang in the choir at church and we did singing assemblies at school." (Orchestra and choir did the concerts together)

Beth Daly: "I was in choir and I remember learning to sing the song "Let There Be Peace On Earth" - it is still a favorite of mine, and I still remember all the words."

Ann Rimmer: "Sang in the choir and played clarinet. I do remember singing in the Christmas concerts ( I think Cara Worthington and I led the 12 Days of Christmas), also a clarinet solo and duet with the band leader (don’t remember his name). If memory serves me I played some Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass song." (The musical director at the time was Mr. Grimm)

Need Gay Blades & Camp Green Photos!

We need help with more pictures! Karen Pursiano recently sent a couple of great photos from Camp Green including a picture of the coal she found! If anyone has any photos please email to cmad@ntpLx.net! We also need Boy Scout / Girl Scout pictures - Karen Eide we need a picture from your Girl Scout tv commercial/photo shoot!!! Does anyone still have their Camp Green diary? Karen Pursiano and I still have ours - mine is a riot! The things one writes in a journal when you're 11 (and we were graded on them no less!) Yes I will share it!


The above photo was taken by Karen Pursiano and is a teaser for the Camp Green story! It shows one of the 2 eagles rescued from Penn Station when it was demolished circa 1963. Thank you Beth Perdue-Sontag for that information! Beth gets to enjoy the Camp Green grounds to this day as she lives near there. The grounds are beautiful I'm told, however the buildings that would be so familiar to us are sadly long gone.

Art Brierley, Gary Vukov & Ken Merrill - Ridgewood Little League (RBA)!

Couldn't resist loading these up! These were recently sent over by Art Brierley. Gary and Art - if I remember right - were in the same class together almost every year and were - and remain -very good friends. I would venture a guess that Art is as sentimental as me - our school years were a blast to be sure. They were different for each of us surely - some of us (me!) took a little longer to get going after graduation in 1973 - but we're all connected despite the distance of geography and years. I for one, toast all my friends from Glen School!

Above is a photo from 1965 - Art Brierley is 4th from the left (front) and future Graydon Pool lifeguard Jan Koper is 5th from the left next to Art! I think this team is Gilsenan - they were a powerhouse if I remember right - I know we didn't beat 'em!

Above from left is Ken Merrill, Art Brierley and Gary Vukov - Spring 1966.

Above photo shows Art Brierley (back row l to r) and Gary Vukov. In the front row is Bobby Rogers 3rd from left (sitting). Both this photo and the one above it were taken at Vets Field - I think shortly after our RBA parade. Every year, we'd start the parade at the train station and parade to Vets Field.

Photos courtesy of Art Brierley!!

The BF Soccer Team - 9th Grade 1969-70

Here's a great bunch of classic Ridgewood guys including some Glen School alums! I will add the names in a couple of days but had to post this one for Brierley! This is the 9th grade soccer team from 1969-70!

6th Grade Mrs. Bleeden's Class!

Just got this one from Art Brierley! Thanks Art! This was Elizabeth Bleeden's 6th grade class 1966-67. The paisley shirt was hot and I must say Art, Ken Merrill and Frank Petrucci got it goin' on - pretty sharply dressed fellas! We still need 1st grade and second grade photos you guys! Wasn't Gary Vukov in this class? Gary must have been out that day.

Ken Merrill, Frank Petrucci, Frank Fortino, Bobby, Martin - where are you guys? UPDATE!!! As of October, 2009 Frank Petrucci, Ken Merrill and Martin Vaz have been found! Frank is in Florida, Marty is in California and Ken was close by in NJ! We're getting there - hopefully we'll find Betsy Kline and the others!

Top Row l to r: Frank Fortino, Bill Lavery, Bobby Stewart, Art Brierley, Ken Merrill, Frank Petrucci, Alex Kramer (deceased)

Middle Row l to r: Martin Vaz, Carey Hoff, Sue Nunno, Jill Neandross, Beth Daly, Lisa Faeth, Bruce Meneghin, Elizabeth Bleeden

Front Row l to r: Irene Williams, Betsy Kline, Penny Ward, Lynn Malley, Linda Breitkruz, Lori Abrahamson

Nice goin' Art!

Coming Soon!

Yeah, that's me! Circa 1966 or so!

Hi everybody! I'm so involved in baseball at the moment (I'm on the board of our baseball league here in Danbury) so its taken me away from this labor of love! I have been putting stories together on Camp Green, Gay Blades, Ellen Jackson, Mary Schmidt (Walker), Zita Wilcox, Pat Mercer and more!! Hey I still need some class photos of my years - they're listed below - please help if you can!

We only need 2 more Class of 1967 photos - please help if you have them (thanks to Art Brierley for all the photos you recently sent!):

2nd grade Cook - 1962-63

2nd grade Mercer (split class) 1962-63

Dr. Bill Montick - One of Glen's Favorite Teachers 1968-69!

Imagine teaching a 6th grade class for less than one year and having a profound effect on your students. You'd probably say that's gotta be some kind of teacher - well you'd be right!

Dr. Bill Montick came to Glen School at the young age of 21. He grew up in nearby Glen Rock, NJ where he attended Central School and went onto the Junior/Senior High School where he graduated in 1964.

Above is Glen Rock's Junior/Senior high school.

It was while attending school himself when he realized what he wanted to do with his life. In his own words, Bill describes his 6th grade teacher this way: "My own 6th grade teacher - Mr. Valenti - was the coolest guy I knew in elementarty school, and most certainly was responsible for the fact that I decided I wanted to be an elementary school teacher at a very young age." He sites other influential teachers along the way but, he says, Mr. Valenti was indeed the most signifigant.

Upon graduating high school, he attended Springfield College in Massachusetts where he graduated in 1968. Ironically, Bill had gotten to know Paul Harrison at Springfield who would also end up teaching at Glen School! Bill would later earn a Masters degree from William Paterson College in the 1970's and continued his education even further when he earned his Doctorate from Rutger's University in 1981.


During Bill's senior year at Springfield College he asked the Director of Personnel at the Education Center at Springfield - Bob Sullivan - to come observe him teach at Buttonball Elementary school in Glastonbury, CT. At the end of that term, Bob Sullivan met with him and talked about what he saw in Bill's teaching. At that moment the Director took out an already prepared contract ready for Bill to sign! At the same time Mr. Sullivan relayed that Paul Harrison was now teaching in Ridgewood, NJ. It was shortly after this that Bill realized they would be working together - sharing the 6th grade classes at the same school!

When I asked Bill if he was nervous taking on a 6th grade class when he himself was so young he answered it this way: "You know, it's interesting you should ask this, and the answer is yes, but more interestingly at one time there was a Superintendent at Ridgewood, Ernest Fleishman, who at one opening convocation said, "If you don't feel butterflies in your stomach on the first day of school, maybe you don't belong here." I never forgot that, and I felt them as each new year began. Finally, in my letter of resignation, I concluded by mentioning that particular address, and then said that in September I would indeed miss those butterflies."

The above photo shows Bill Montick's 6th grade classroom at Glen as it appeared in December, 2007. Photo is property of Doug Terhune.

Bill's first 6th grade class of 22 kids would quickly develop a bond with him that is so rare with any teacher let alone a teacher in his first year at the age of 21! His students would continue this special relationship with Bill Montick to this day. He too has never forgotten how special this particular class was. Below is the class picture of that first 1968-69 6th grade class at Glen School.

Photo was taken in the center courtyard of Glen School.

Back: Dr. Bill Montick

3rd Row l to r: Scott Yates, Steve Breitkreuz, Mitch Perdue, Bryan Kreuger, Tommy Chicino, Lis Ege, Sue Crowe, Lisanne Janke, Kim Vukov, Karen Stewart

2nd Row l to r: Mary Claire Hull, Diana Wagner, Lee Kinchley, Patty Breitweiser, Patty Reese, Margaret Silvers, Barbara Demick

1st Row l to r: Roger Fortino, Charles Nalbantian, Walter Fennie, Phillip Denu

(It is with great sadness that I learned from Kim Vukov recently that Karen Stewart passed away a couple of years ago. She was married to RHS graduate Mark Vervecka Class of 1972 - she had a son).

Bill's time at Glen - while short - was memorable despite leaving Glen School on June 9th for military service. Bill wrote to and sat before his draft board and found that even though he was a teacher, he would be drafted in February, 1969. Bill found himself upset at the thought of leaving his class midway through the school year - especially 6th grade kids. To remedy this, Bill had found that if he enlisted instead, he would receive a 4-month delayed entry which allowed him to remain at Glen until June 9th.

Bill left for basic training at Fort Dix, NJ.

Once in the service Bill realized he would be going to Vietnam in April, 1971 - once he completed several rounds of special training. This included a year of basic training at Fort Dix, NJ. He took intelligence training at Fort Holabird, MD and was trained in Vietnamese language at Fort Bliss, TX. He would become a Special Agent in Military Intelligence.

Upon completion of his language training, he took off for Ben Hoa, Vietnam. He flew from San Francisco to Alaska to Japan before arriving in Vietnam.

After 6 months and 20 days Bill earned an early-out from Vietnam to continue his education. Bob Sullivan had also contacted Bill to inform him that there would be an opening at Travell School in Ridgewood beginning in January, 1972. When the assignment was accepted by the school system, he became what was known as a "short timer" in Vietnam and was back home and discharged from active duty December 16, 1971. On January 2 - as he relates - he was the only person at Travell with a deep, dark tan!

Bill would spend his entire teaching career in the Ridgewood Public School System. He initially was drawn to Ridgewood because of Ridgewood's great outdoor education program. His career included 1 year at Glen School, 14 years at Travell and 21 years at Willard! For all 21 years at Willard he taught the 5th grade.

Above is a very early photo of Willard School when it had been rebuilt after a fire had destroyed it. It would be here that Dr. Montick taught 5th grade for the last 21 years of his teaching career.

Part of Bill's style back in Glen School was making sure there was always time for a smile and he considered his special brand of teasing was accepted by his students. By this he meant that even though he was Mr. Montick - their teacher - it wouldn't keep them from being able to work together and hopefully even enjoy the class. Of course, they more than enjoyed it - they treasured it!

Bill says that he always thought it very special that at the age of 21 he was responsible for children who were only ten years younger than he at the time.

While his days at Glen were not what you would call typical, he and Mr. Harrison always found time during lunch (as students we all ate lunch at home!) to head down to Mr. McFall's office for a card game!

As I mentioned, the Glen School Class of 1969 - in large part the inspiration for this blog - remained in touch not only with Bill Montick but were also fortunate enough to spend some special moments with George McFall back in 2000 during the RHS Class of 1975 25th reunion weekend. They met with Mr. McFall at Smith Brothers Bar & Restaurant with 12 others in attendance including: Margaret Silvers, Dr. Bill Montick, John Brevoort, Ken Li, Trisha Daly-Hernandez, Sue Crowe-Wilson, Chris Leyden, Walter Fennie, Cynthia Wagner-Boseski & Diana Wagner-Casey among them.

One of the better reunions - with both Bill Montick AND George McFall at Smith Brothers restaurant in Ridgewood, NJ in 2000. Pictured are in front l to r: John Brevoort, Margaret Silvers-Myatt, George McFall and Ken Li. Back l to r: Chris Leyden, Dr. Montick and Walter Fennie. Photo from Margaret Silvers-Myatt.

In my dealings with Dr. Montick myself, I find him to be incredibly humble and another great example of the high caliber of teachers that have come out of Ridgewood's long history of educational excellence.

A great photo of Margaret Silvers-Myatt with Dr. Montick at the Fireplace in Paramus, NJ. Photo from Margaret Silvers-Myatt.

Below is a letter that was written as a tribute to Dr. Montick at the time of his retirement by one of those 6th grade students from his very first class, Diana Wagner-Casey. It is reprinted here with Diana's permission. Thanks to Margaret Silvers for providing it.


Dear Bill,

Who would have figured that all those years ago that the creative writing skills you pounded into us would come in handy! Reflecting back now, it was not one of my more favorite activities, but I remember sitting at my dining room table, writing and rewriting my assignments, trying my hardest to come up with something out of the ordinary to please you because for some reason ordinary just wouldn’t suffice.

And now, as I sit here trying to put together this letter, tears fall down my cheeks. “Why”, I ask myself, “am I crying?” I think a few tears come from knowing that future generations of students won’t be able to experience the wonderful learning atmosphere that you brought forth to enlighten the minds of youngsters with your obvious love of teaching. I also think that some of the tears come from a little bit of self-pity knowing that we are all growing older and, with your retirement, comes an end to an era.

I think back to that first day of 6th grade, when, there you stood…. the new teacher; a tall, thin young man, fresh from college and none of us had any idea of the impact you would make on our lives that year and the years to come.

I developed my keen love of math and science from you. There would almost be an aura of light around you or a charge of electricity as you taught those subjects to us. Who won’t enjoy learning when a teacher brings such excitement to a class and the eagerness to share all you know with them?

I remember the “Green Hornet”, the winged beast that carried you to and from school each day. When we didn’t see it in the parking lot in the morning, we knew that meant it was going to be an unexciting day with a substitute teacher.

I think back to your calm and patient demeanor, although you would sometimes show your exasperation with a bunch of us sometimes-obnoxious 6th graders. But because we thought we were so cool, you would just smile that little smile of yours and humorous in thinking that it was so. You understood the psyches of pre-teens and wouldn’t think of doing anything to crush them because you were about building, not destroying.

You sheltered us from the hard realities of war when you went off to Vietnam at the end of the school year. I still have the quaint photos of your Army life, with dogs running around and men sitting around leisurely. I’m sure it was vastly different from your true experiences in that hostile environment but for the teenage boys and girls, miles away in the creampuff town of Ridgewood, you gave us carefree junior high years and worriless days and nights.

We shared our lives with each other; my marriage to Skip and yours to Isabel, the birth of my sons and the adoption of your son and daughter and how proud you were that their birth mothers picked you out of all of the other prospective parents and rightfully so, you receiving your doctorate degree in Education and me going back to college many years later to get my degree in Computer Science.

I would look forward to receiving your Christmas card with your letter letting me in on the all of the projects you had been working on that previous year and I loved surprising you with a birthday card in December and a note with what was new in my life. Life as you had known it in the past 30-plus years is about to change. Some of the changes will be tiny, like summer vacation all year long (every child’s dream come true!) and some will be big. But no matter what, I wish you well, my friend, in all the wonderful experiences life will have to offer in the near and far future because you truly deserve the best.

Love,

Diana


Another student, one who - along with Scott Yates & Doug Terhune - started this whole Glen School phenomenon - recently shared her thoughts about Dr. Montick:

"I remember the first day of 6th grade and Mr. Montick told us he was only 10 years older than us. I had a hard time thinking about that. I was only 11, so 10 more years was nearly twice my age. He also said it was his first teaching job. I wasn't quite sure what to do with that information, either. But it was fascinating that he was telling us so much about himself. It was a little bit unnerving.

After all, Mr. Montick was - no matter what - a grown-up and a teacher. So, there was an assumed cultural divide and a line in the sand that was not to be bridged or crossed. We were cool kids, and he was a teacher-grown-up. Right?

So, why is he being so open? How should I act?

Unfortunately, I spent way too much time in 6th grade thinking about how I should act. Should I play Barbies or try smoking cigarettes? Should I like boys or get grossed out? Should I be smart or cool?

But Mr. Montick's open, easy going style meant that in his class, I could just be myself. I didn’t have to think about who I wanted to be. Whether I was working hard on a project or trying to cheat on a science test, Mr. Montick would smile and giggle a bit. He was never harsh. His overwhelming respecting and accepting demeanor was not unnerving; it was comforting.

Mr. Montick, (okay, okay, Bill) do you remember me writing all the science test stuff on my hand? Of course, you caught me, but you didn't get mad. You smiled and giggled. Now that was unnerving. How can this teacher be so nice? (I remember discussing it with you a while later, and we agreed I probably learned a lot of science that day by writing it all really tiny on my hand.)

So, Mr. Montick wasn't a normal teacher. He treated us like ourselves. He respected us. He forgave us. And, I sensed he enjoyed us, almost as friends. We not only knew his first name, but we made fun of it with him (Billy Blastoff, because he was so tall, I suppose). We knew what car he drove, where he lived, and the friends he had. We even knew a little bit about his family. His Dad was our neighborhood milkman.

6th grade was a tough year for me. I did not want to like boys other than kickball or running bases. I did not want to smoke cigarettes or cut Girl Scouts or sneak around. But I didn't want to be left out, so I tried to be cool. I failed miserably at it, and I hurt some kids along the way, for which I regret.

But in Mr. Montick's class I did not fail. I enjoyed learning, I enjoyed the class, and I enjoyed feeling more grown up because a grown-up respected me and shared his life with my class.

Thank you Mr. Montick, for being real!"


If anyone would care to add any other comments to this story please email me at cmad@ntpLx.net and I will include them!

New Photo at Roslyn Road-Salem Ridge Gang!

You've got to check out the latest photo just posted over at http://roslynroadsalemridgegang.wordpress.com! It includes Daly's, Stanley-Brown's, Silvers' and Lis Ege! Great stuff! Keep 'em coming Margaret!

Thanks for All Your Help!

Both this site and the Roslyn Road-Salem Ridge Gang site has been getting an enormous amount of help and we can't thank you guys enough! Please keep it going! Its been fun having some long lost classmates pop in Rick(y) Marsh and Doug Brown and Cathy Vrabel. So far 7 teachers and a principal and hoping for 2 more! Never thought it would be this great!

Ken Merrill, Wayne Bond, Jill Neandross, Carl Vrabel, Greg Rehe, Jan Koper, Paul Attella, Brian Marchese - to mention just a few - if you're out there we'd love to know what you're up to!

Glen School Field Trip List!

Here's a short list of field trips that classes went on while attending Glen School. Please add to the list!

United Nations

Ridgewood Fire Department

Thomas Edison's Laboratory

Seton Hall University

Metropolitan Museum of Art - added by Katie Knight

Museum of Natural History - added by Katie Knight

Bronx Zoo

Museum Village

Sleepy Hollow (Home of Washington Irving) This place was scary according to Cathy Vrabel-Breheny - thanks for the addition Cath!

Trenton State Capitol (added by Carl Vrabel)

Lederle Laboratories (added by Carl Vrabel)

There's gotta be more than this in 26 years! Email to cmad@ntpLx.net.

1970's Glen School Faculty Photo!

Here's a 1970's Glen School faculty photo. What makes this one special is that they started asking Mr. McFall be part of these classic yearly photos. What a classy guy this man was!

The photo was taken in front of the offices - the gym is to the left when looking at the photo. I'm trying to find out the exact year. We need help with names so please email me at cmad@ntpLx.net if you can fill in the blanks!! Sorry for the bad quality. Sorry for any mis-spellings!

(Click to enlarge photo)

Top Row l to r: ?, ?, ?, Adrienne O'Brien, ?, George McFall, Bob Mulrooney, Jeannette Janicke, ?, Nancy Cook, Elaine Hammer, ?

Front Row l to r: ?, Arax Mardirosian, Agnes Larsen, Art Linden, Ellen Jackson, Zita Wilcox, ?

6th Grade - Miss Beattie's Class 1964-65!

Here's a great class photo set supplied by Amy Beattie-Carvell of her 6th grade class 1964-65. She had the pleasure of teaching these kids in 3rd grade and then had them again for 6th grade. This was the year Amy got to experience 6th grade camp with her students at Camp Green! We still need a lot of names but there are a ton of familiar faces!

If you remember, this was also the year that - as students - we got the regular class photo that was taken in the courtyard and the black & white collage of all of our individual photos.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Above photo taken in the courtyard at Glen School.

Back Row l to r: Steve McCormick, Matt Lulamia, Bob Healy, ?, ?, Joe Yakowicz, Roger Kreuger, Steven Dean

Middle Row l to r: ?, ?, ?, ?, Amy Beattie, ?, ?, Robin Smith

Front Row l to r: ?, ?, Bobby Brown(?), Bobby Rogers, ?, Tom Nunno

If we have any of the names wrong or you have any names you can supply - email to cmad@ntpLx.net.

1965-66 - Mrs. Boerner's 2nd Grade Class!

Here's Mrs. Boerner's 2nd grade class from 1965-66. Glen School Class of 1969. Featuring the famous Maggie Moo Cow - Margaret Silvers! If anyone can help identify some of these names please advise! Thanks to Margaret for the photo!

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Top Row l to r: ?, Debbi Regelman, Miss Boerner, Paul Pettofrezzo, Cindy Pomeroy

2nd Row l to r: Cindy Johnson, Walter Fennie, Jane Bitzer, Caroline ?

3rd Row l to r: ?, Trisha Daly, ?, Brian Lally, Margaret Silvers, ?, ?

Bottom Row l to r: Mitchell Perdue, Pam Morton, Paul Naser, Jeff Davis, Sarah Avery

If you can help identify some faces please email me at cmad@ntpLx.net!

Glen School Classic From the Archives - 4th Grade 1960-61!

As far as I can tell, this class photo is from the 1960-61 school year (the sign in front says 1961). That was the only year in the 60's that class photos were done with the stage as a backdrop. Photos were then taken in 3 locations outside and then returned to the gym in later years.

This is Pat Prescott's first Glen School 4th grade class. We still can't identify everyone so please help where you can! Thanks to John Teasley for supplying this great photo!

Hank Henckler told me that he can't get over how short he is in this photo (boy in the red jacket) as today he is 6'3!

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Top Row l to r: Rich Vaccari, Donnie Durheimer, Jim Carr, John Teasley, Hank Henckler, Gary Werbeck, Jim Buckley, Peter Berger, Randy Duvall

Second Row From Top l to r: Kathleen Schenk, ?, Suzy Terhune, ?, ?, ?, Patty Lord, Karen Midboe, ?, Jill Harris

3rd Row Sitting l to r: Charlotte Flynn, ?, Barbara Sharp, Karen Bond, ?, ?, Patty Turnbull, ?

Front Row l to r: Larry McDaniel, We're given 3 names here its either Bobby Robertazzo, David Rehe or Bobby Brown - I could have sworn it was David

1962 - Glen School Presents "No Space Like Home!"

In 1962, the Space Age came to Glen School in the form of a musical titled "No Space Like Home". The show was produced by none other than Muriel Henckler. It was an entirely original musical that was performed by Mr. Linden, several VERY talented teachers and a ton of parents. The above cover to the program was designed by Else Ege.

As Scene 1 opens we find Mr. Linden sitting in his Glen School office. From there we leave earth for Planet Pluto. After a performance on Pluto, we travel to Mars. On Mars we find there is an all-important "United Meeting of the Planets" that must be attended to before taking off for Venus for more relaxing fare - a fashion show! Then its off to the moon for a mysterious visit to Eduardo's Hideaway (incidently Eduardo is played by Henry Henckler who had more jobs in this production than anyone!) Then its off to another show on Neptune before we all return to Mr. Linden's office for the finale! Whew!

While I don't remember the show, I definitely remember sitting in the audience watching my dad Fred Flannery. He was one of the singers along with my future 3rd grade teacher Amy Beattie!

Probably the best part of this entire production was that every single parent who had a kid(s) attending Glen School was there that night - in the audience, had donated money, helped with refreshments, performed, helped behind the scenes, made puppets, designed and printed the program, the script - you name it and one or both of our parents was involved! Any young parents out there - take note - participate in your kids education! Its a win-win situation for everybody - the friendships, the school, the interaction with teachers - like everything we did at Glen School it was priceless!

We are actively searching for movies, slides or photos of this night so if anyone has anything - PLEASE contact us! So far we have 2 people that might have something so I'm hoping when they get the time to search we'll get lucky! How great would it be to find these photos and see your mom or dad? My sincerest thanks to Else Ege for supplying the photos of the program which really help to make this story! I hate spelling names wrong so if there's a name that needs to be corrected please advise!

Any parents that were part of this classic show please email me (cmad@ntpLx.net) with memories!

Here's the list of credits followed by a list of patrons (names are spelled as they appeared - I will correct if I know the right spelling):


PRODUCED by Muriel Henckler
DIRECTED by Mary Jane Crescas
STAGE MANAGER - Deenie Smith
SCENERY CONSTRUCTION - Alan Weschler
MUSICAL DIRECTOR - Bob Whittemore
PIANISTS - Don Engle and Dan Hazen
CHOREOGRAPHER - Jeanne Stanley-Brown

SCRIPT COMMITTEE
Dick Kreuger, Ted Shumeyko, Dennie Smith, Ronnie Schenk, Bonnie Ferrannie, Gerry Carr

STAGE CREW
Dennie Smith, Gloria Tamborelli, Jeanne Stanley-Brown, Alan Weschler, Irv Kaplan

SET DESIGNERS
Arlene Van Der Wege, Else Ege, Ruth Potdevin, Irving Kaplan

WARDROBE
Barbara Brown, Gerry Carr

PROPS
June Duvall, Betty Lord, Sandy Wagner

LIGHTING
Jim Brown, George McFall

SOUND EFFECTS
Henry Henckler

PUBLICITY
Marina Worthington, Dot McLaren, Else Ege, Sandy Wagner, Sue Shumeyko

MAKE-UP
Emily Petrucci

PROMPTER
Evadna Knies

WAYS & MEANS and HOSPITALITY
Ronnie Schenk, Helen Werbeck, Kay Kelly, Eleanor Brierley

PUPPETS
Gini Brevoort

HOUSE
Clo Davis, Jean Lavery, Helen LaFiura, June Cunneen, Audrey Neandross, Marion McDaniel

ACTORS & ACTRESSES
Bill Carr as Al Sycamore
Bonnie Ferrannie as Miss Carson
Charlotte Nash as Miss Rambler
Ken deGruchy as Gunther McNapp
Ray DeGraw as Wally Spotts
Marina Worthington as Zsa Zsa Cadwallader
Jack Flynn as Bert Steele
Dick Krueger as Harry Steele
Sue Shumeyko as Pandora
Ted Shumeyko as Plutonus
Ray Bennett as Rbadamanthus
Vic Crescas as Mercurio
Art Linden as Mars
Sandy Wagner as Venus
Bill McLaren as Mercury
Sylvia McCormick as Saturn
Pete Gauharou as Jupiter
Anita Bennett as Pluto
Katie Samson as Earth
John Voorhis as Uranus
Gloria Tamberelli as Neptune
Deenie Smith as Fashion Commentator
June Cunneen, Jan Ludwig, Audrey Neandross & Janet Voorhis as Models
Amy Beattie as First Moon Girl
Barbara Zink as Second Moon Girl
Henry Henckler as Eduardo
Sue Shumeyko as Nightclub Singer
Muriel Henckler & Sue Shumeyko as Two Swells
Marjorie Stockstill as First Neptunian
Helen Werbeck as Second Neptunian
Irma Sabin as First Contestant
Beth Deane as Second Contestant
Bud Van Der Wege as Ned Browler
Jim Corcoran as Zack Whaley
Janet Voorhis as Applause Girl

DANCING CHORUS INCLUDED: Jean deGruchy, Pat Mercer, Sylvia McCormick, Jessie Signorile, Jeanne Stanley-Brown, Gloria Tamborelli, Ginni Terhune

SINGING CHORUS INCLUDED: Amy Beattie, Anita Bennett, Fred Flannery, Henry Henckler, Dor Krueger, Clo Davis, Irma Sabin, Ronnie Schenk, Katie Samson, Gloria Stewart, Peg Rogers, Roy Teasley, Sandy Wagner, Barbara Zink

USHERS WERE: Henry Henckler, Dennis LaFiura, Laurie McDaniel, Duffy Smith

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Agnes Larsen - For Her Assistance
Sam Silvers - For Printing the Script
Jill Davison - Soft Shoe Arrangement
Dot McLaren - Posters
Leif Neandross - Material for Scenes
Howard Schenk - Space Prop
Bill Turnbull - Popcorn Machine & Popcorn

PATRONS



Below is the list of all the people who worked the various souvenir and refreshment stands! That show had to be so much fun for everybody involved! Now that the show's over let's all head over to the Henckler's for coffee!

The Roslyn Road & Salem Ridge Gang!

There's a great new site! Its called "The Roslyn Road - Salem Ridge Gang". Authored by Margaret Silvers-Myatt (Glen School Class of 1969). It promises to be loaded with photos and information about the Glen School neighborhoods! Visit often and don't be afraid to chime in too!

We're looking for all kinds of neighborhood photos. Also please help in our search for photos, slides, home movies or props from the Glen School production of "No Space Like Home" presented by all the parents and teachers in 1962. All of our parents and teachers contributed to that out-of-sight space age show which was produced by none other than Muriel Henckler who still lives on Roslyn Road!

See the link to this great new site near the top of the this blog on the right.

Glen School Gym, Recess, Summer Rec & More!

Glen School definitely holds a lot of different memories for many of us. Some of those memories concern what we did at recess, gym class, after school and during the summer between school years.

We had gym class twice a week as I remember it, recess just about everyday and a lot of us either hung out after school or went home to get changed before going back to school (we all wore good clothes to school!) We'd use the baseball field, playgrounds, ride our bikes around or climb onto the roof and sometimes get kicked off the roof by Mr. McFall! Climbing the walls at Glen School was so easy! The outside walls have this unique block system that allows you to easily maneuver yourself to the roof. It seems Mr. McFall spent half his time kicking us off!

Be sure to click on all photos to emlarge.

RECESS

As I recall, recess was a fairly segregated thing - the kindergarten had their own playground, 1st - 3rd graders had theirs and 4-6 had the blacktop for kickball games.

Kindergarten was basically a free-for-all once we were let out the door! All classrooms had a door that led directly outdoors.

In the above photo, the shed still remains where all the toys including the tricycles were stored. That's our kindergarten classrom to the right. Photo was taken December, 2008.

In my kindergarten class there were these 2 huge green tricycles that we all fought over and lots of sand toys for the large cement sandbox that also had this very-difficult-to-climb-down-from contraption called the wave - at least that's what everybody called it. Once you climbed up it, it was difficult to climb backwards or change direction in order to climb down - I'm sure kids must have fallen off it many times!


Above is a picture of "the wave" - a jungle gym that was easy to climb up and difficult to climb down! My wife Caryn is pictured on it circa 1995. It has since been removed and replaced with a tree! (See below)

Amazingly in the above picture are other playground apparatuses - monkey bars, etc but there's no fence protecting it from E Glen Avenue!

The kindergarten playground was divided by a line of hedges and on the other side was a larger playground that consisted of the cool stuff - a really huge swing set, monkey bars, a neat looking but very lame slide, a see-saw and a checkerboard that was gigantic that to this day I have no idea what it was intended for - but its still there! The swings were the best and was what we all wanted to do during recess in 1st - 3rd grade - 4 swings 35+ kids - it was a mad race! Margaret Silvers remembers playing tag on the checkerboard (at least some classes used that thing!) and Margaret remembers the great swing-set!


Above is an aerial view of what the playground looked like in 1959 - complete with the checkerboard - just before it was completed.

Above is a picture of the playground as it looks today - not much to it. This view is from the hedge line separating the sandbox.

Me & Bruce Meneghin on the swing set at his house. I lived in my RBA shirts!

Me standing in front of our old 3rd grade classroom - Miss Beattie's class! My daughter Jennie (15) took the picture December, 2008 - how weird and wonderful to be there with your kids! Our lives are busy but wow when you take the time to pause and step back onto your old school grounds (even BF or RHS) - well its just feel good stuff!

Around the corner from our 3rd grade classroom was the blacktop - here's where the real action was - kickball! It seems to me its all we ever played outside at recess from 4th through 6th grade. It was fun and we always picked teams via the captain system. As we all sweated it out - hoping not to get picked last or even close to last - the teams were picked by the 2 assigned captains. Always the classic red ball - there seemed to be an endless supply of these balls at Glen School!

Above is where we used to play kickball - Salem Lane to the left.

It was also here that you started to talk a little more out in the open about girls and girls about boys. You'd talk about the hot tv show of the day. It seems either Katie Knight or Ann Rimmer started this thing where they would go around pulling "fink tags" off our shirts - these were the sewn-in loops on the back of the boys shirts - if they spotted yours, they chased you (which wasn't a terrible thing!) and pulled it off - amazingly not ripping your shirt! Not sure what they did with them once they got them though! But I would swear that Katie probably got more than anybody!

Beth Daly fondly remembers singing Monkees songs, jumping rope, playing tag and hopscotch during recess.

According to Margaret Silvers kickball was "just the best!"

Cynthia Wganer recalls getting picked early by captains for kickball - even before a lot of boys! Her sister Diana Wagner remembers getting hit the face and seeing stars one time! She also recalls playing in that gully (probably below the checkerboard) - boys against the girls (I guess we all did that!). There are also memories of the kickball always rolling down into the Wright's yard on Salem Lane.

For Judy Davies she remembers "absolutely loving kickball" at recess.

Katie Knight remembers the fink tags of course (She must have been the ringleader on that!) and hopscotch.

GYM CLASS

Just as we always played kickball on the blacktop, we almost always played dogeball or "bombardment" as we called it in gym class. I loved playing that! Some people were very good at it. Rob Silvers remembers Phillip Knies being exceptionally good at it - he'd have 2 balls - he'd throw one in the air and while a prospective target looked up to try and catch it (if you caught the ball the person who threw it is out) - he'd nail the unsuspecting kid with the second one!

On gym days you always had to remember to either bring or wear your sneakers - if you didn't Mr. Bookstaver would either make you sit out (which was devestating) or you'd have to play in your socks which was no fun. Inevitably, there was always someone who sat out.

Our gym teacher Charlie Bookstaver as he appeared at a 2001 award dinner honoring his many years of service as a soccer and basketball official.

Of course those ropes that hung from the ceiling were there for a reason and most of us dreaded the days we had to attempt climbing them to the top in front of everyone - man that was humiliating. I could not do it. Margaret agrees they were very humiliating. On the other hand there were those that could do it and do it easily! Judy Davies was one who could scramble to the top and come back down like it was nothing! Cynthia Wagner recalls trying to climb the ropes but just not having the upper arm strength to do it. There was one guy in my class who did it without even thinking about it - Corey Duvall. Here was a guy that you weren't jealous of but you admired and were easily impressed with.

On other days there were these funky looking scooters - I actually don't recall them for some reason but the Class of 1969 (Glen 6th grade) had a blast with them! Here's what Diana Wagner had to say about them: "Mr. Bookstaver would have a hard time controlling us cause we would be swooshing across the floor not paying attention to what he was telling us he wanted us to do with them!"

There were other things we did in gym - I remember once playing softball on the field closest to the gym and we did some square dancing. Square dancing was fun cause you got to hopefully do it with the person you had a crush on but if you were nervous - as it seemed everyone was - you or she would get clammy hands which was so embarrassing - you thought "oh my gosh - she'll never like me now!" I remember square dancing with Karen Eide - and I think we did a performance at night in front of our parents! I am sure I had the clammiest hands of my life that night dancing with Karen - I was happy and nervous at the same time! Judy recalls enjoying the sqaure dancing in 5th and 6th grade. Diana Wagner too looks back on the square dancing as great "fun - holding hands with a boy!" and the "sweaty hands - his, not mine!"

Each year we would also be evaluated for the President's Physical Fitness Award - John F. Kennedy had renamed the award the "President's Council on Physical Fitness" and Lyndon Johnson changed it to the "President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports". It was indeed a prestigious award to try and achieve but not many of us achieved it (I was horrible at chin-ups and rope climbing!) However there was one guy in our class who seemed to outdo us all when it came to physical fitness of course - Corey Duvall. If memory serves me right Corey had to have won this award every year he was at Glen - at least it seemed that way! There was just nothing he couldn't do - he had incredible arm strength even in 1st grade!

FIELD DAY

Field Day was an end-of-the-year event where we all competed - in our good clothes - in running, jumping and softball throw competitions up on the field. The best would compete in the town meet held on Vets field across from Graydon Pool.

Cynthia Wagner remembers that there were probably groups of 4 or 5 kids that would compete against each other.

Judy Davies recalls "training for field days"! Well, it must have paid off cause Judy still has her ribbons to show for her hard work!

BIKE REGISTRATION

How can you forget getting a license plate for your bike! When you were little, getting your very own metal license plate from the police department was exciting and it was a way for the police to have a captive audience to teach you what to do and what not to do when riding your bike.


Above is my bicycle license from 3rd grade 1963. Along with your "license" you also received a very official looking metal license plate for your bike - of course only when you successfully passed the riding test! The police officer wrote "no night riding" on the top of my license!

Each year you received a different color plate and you were given your license card which had your name and address, expiration date and signature.

It was quite a formal affair that included a special safety course with cones. Riding your bike to school was one thing I couldn't wait to do - it gave you independence. Margaret remembers her registration process doing hand signals with a very stern policeman!

Diana Wagner and Judy Davies remember the course they had to maneuver was set up by the gym. I myself remember it as a really big deal - couldn't wait to have my new license put on my bike!

We never locked our bikes either! Actually someone locked Margaret's bike to the rack once and she tearfully waited while Mr. McFall hacksawed it free!

Sometimes not having a lock was unfortunate as Tina Ege learned one time when she forgot to bring her bike home from school - the next day her bike was found on the school roof!

I remember the 6th graders in the safety patrol (or was it 5th graders?) telling me to "stay off the grass"!, "walk your bike"!, etc - exerting their new-found authority!

You always ran the risk of getting your nice pants stuck in the chain of your bike too - I often remember coming home with grass stains and grease on my pants! I'm sure my mom was pleased!

AFTERSCHOOL & WEEKENDS AT GLEN SCHOOL

I almost always rode my bike back to school after school hours - looking for what friends might be around, looking for a stick ball game (my glove was always on my handle bars) or a baseball game up on the field. We used to play stick ball against the gym wall in the extra parking lot. We'd chalk up a square on the wall and the fence of the first house on Eastbrook above the parking lot was the home run fence. We spent hours doing that. We also tried to gather up other guys - from all grades to get baseball games going.

Andy Wright remembers shooting off firecrackers and getting caught by Mr. McFall - he also recalls climbing the roof to the gym, throwing pebbles around and - getting caught by Mr. McFall!

Andy recalls his routine of riding his green Schwinn stingray through the cut in the hedgeline by the sandbox on his way home from school.

Chic Voorhis and myself remember the utter coolness with which Brian Marchese used to ride his silver stingray - he could do wheelies clear across the blacktop! We looked at him in awe - not quite sure what to make of him but finding him years ahead of us despite probably being the same age! Brian was at Glen only in 5th grade but made it memorable! Chic also recalls the snowball fights with the 6th graders on the hill (man they seemed like teenagers when you're little!) Chic beams when remembering that he nailed a 6th grader in the face but then recalls how the angry 6th grader proceeded to run after him and wash his face in the snow!

From Eastbrook Road, this is the gym from the back. We would play endless games of stick ball against the wall, practice tennis against the wall and play a unique game we called "curb ball" with a rubber sponge ball - a baseball type game. To the left you can see the walls that were so easy to climb - but it was best to start by the kindergarten, cross over the breezeway and up to the gym roof from there!

Bruce Meneghin (Class of 1967) loved climbing to the gym roof to fetch tennis balls that made their way up there from stick ball games - he would later become an accomplished mountain climber as would his brothers!

I probably I rode my bike more than I can remember down Quackenbush to Norgate, Eastbrook, Westbrook, Roslyn, Salem Lane. As I got older I remember a bunch of us riding to Saddle River - we'd grab canteens and be gone for hours! We would try and follow the river.

I also remember going over by the Vukov's - somewhere on their street was this huge oak tree that had a million acorns that we'd collect. North Road - where the Vukovs, Merrills, DeGrouchy's and Rehe's lived - had the best woods - there was a semi-formal entrance and long path.

SUMMER RECREATION PROGRAM

Thanks to Andy Wright for this photo of his Summer Rec badge from the 1972-73 season!
In the summer before my family went on vacation to the Jersey Shore in August, we had Graydon Pool and the Summer Rec program. When you signed up for Summer Recreation you were given a solid color badge which you had to wear. Activities included builiding endless amounts of popsicle-stick "things" - rafts, houses, boxes. We also made pot holders for our parents and lanyards. There were games and costume parties. I think those in charge were high school kids.

All the Daly kids: Bob, Tim, Beth, Amy, JoJo and Trisha went to Summer Rec. Beth recalls the endless amount of popsicle-stick gifts that her mom received from the thoughtful Daly clan!

The Wagner girls remember going to Summer Rec during the month of July. Diana Wagner recalls making beeswax candles.

Judy Davies remembers the time she showed up at rec one day and forgot that she was supposed to wear a costume - so she hurried back home and hastily put together an original outfit that included a stethoscope and nurses cap and returned.

Graydon Pool was the best though. It had a certain smell in the summertime. When my family went we spent the whole day there. My sisters used to come too but always shook us off to hang with their friends. I remember having swimming lessons early in the morning and seeing friends there from Glen School and sunday school. One good thing about sunday school - like baseball, scouts, etc - it was the chance to meet other Ridgewood kids you wouldn't see til junior high and high school otherwise. Graydon was such a staple with us that my mom would take us home about 4pm (after getting there at 8am) go home, wait for my dad and we'd go back with my dad so he could get an hour of swimming!

Graydon was such a familiar place - even our gym teacher - Charlie Bookstaver - was a lifeguard there!

The Wagner girls would ride their bikes from their house on Linwood Ave (almost Washington Twp). Cynthia recalls her swimming lessons as a young girl and the water being terribly cold at 8:30 in the morning as she was forced to go in! Once the girls learned how to swim they mostly swam at a friends house on Gateway Road - the Butwinksi's in July and then down to the Jersey Shore in August. Once they got to high school it was always summers at the shore!

The memories are endless but for just about all of us it was so much fun!

Miss Smith's 3rd Grade Class of 1969!

Here is Miss Smith's 3rd grade class. This would have been the 1965-66 school year. This is the Glen School graduating Class of 1969 (2 years younger than us!) The wall is still there but that tree is so big and overgrown that the wall is almost engulfed by the branches and completely shaded. The Class of 1969 were really the ones that made it a point to stay in touch with each other and even had reunions that included George McFall and Bill Montick (6th grade teacher 1968-69). Their efforts are what inspired this website - thanks you guys!

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Back Row l to r: Bryan Kreuger, Tom Chicino, Pam Morton, Roger Fortino, Karen Stewart, Walter Fennie, Linda Kinchley, Chris Leyden, George Yakowicz, Jeff Davis, Miss Smith

Middle Row l to r: Patty Breitweiser, Cindy Pomeroy, Sally Reese, Trisha Daly, Debbie Reagan, Sarah Avery, Margaret Silvers, Judy Wilson, Kim Vukov

Front Row l to r: Kevin McCarthy(?), Scott Yates, Doug Terhune, Mark Petrik, John Dilorenzo, Paul Pettofrezzo, Jimmy Durbeck

9th Grade Cheerleaders at BF! 3 Glen Girls!

(Click on photo to enlarge)

9th Grade Cheerleaders 1970 - 3 Glen School girls here! What a classic group. They include:

Back Row l to r: Jean Lineweaver, Colleen Moran, Pat Vanlentin, Cara Worthington (Glen), Barbara Durheimer (Glen), Jean Woodcock, Colleen McCarthy, Lori Picozzi

Front Row l to r: Beth Perdue (Glen), Penni Reilly, Chickie Lynch, Valerie Graham, Barbara Taylor

Go BF - Beat GW!

3rd Grade Classes Go To Museum Village - 1964!

In June 1964, we all went to Museum Village on a field trip. My mom was one of the chaperones. Incredibly, she saved the thank you notes from the kids in my group! I must say this was a great group! Aside from myself, there was Greg Rehe, Beth Perdue, Melanie Teasley, Lynn Malley and Katie Knight! In addition, Beth Daly wrote to my mom because she had Miss Beattie leading her group and Miss Beattie asked her group to pick a mom to write to - Beth picked mine!

The trip as I remember it, was the typical roadside-type historic spot. It had a blacksmith, drug store, general store, etc. I remember I bought a horseshoe nail ring which turned my finger dark green!

We all had a blast and the 2 pictures included here are when we posed in the stocks. It capped the end of a very memorable year that started out normal - but the death of JFK in November, 1963 and the arrival of the Beatles in February, 1964 changed all that.

Remember the white field trip permission slips? I couldn't wait to get mine signed - we went on some really fun trips over the years.

Above is Beth Perdue - Beth was in Miss Trantum's class (married and became Mrs. Jones). I remember wishing Beth was in our class!

Greg Rehe posing in the stocks! Greg was the only guy in my group but we weren't complaining!

Here are the letters of thanks (Beth Perdue's even has a self-portrait!):



Katie wrote 2 pages! The coaches Katie writes about were the wagons that were out front.

Beth Daly wishes she was in our group!

Poetry By Glen School Kids (9th Grade!)

Here are 7 samples of poetry by 4 of my Glen classmates. These were published in our 9th grade BF yearbook in 1970. This is great stuff! We obviously had a lot of talented kids in my class! I couldn't resist posting here not only for the nostalgic value but so others can appreciate it!

Karen Eide

Cara Worthington

Cara Worthington

Melanie Teasley

Melanie Teasley



Gary Vukov


Gary Vukov

Glen 6th Grade Goes To BF!

The Summer of Love - that's what was between us and 7th grade at Ben Franklin Junior High (now middle school). If you're like me, music is a great yardstick for marking a period of time or one's life. 7th grade would begin September 5, 1967. (Click on photos to enlarge)


The Monkees were still clinging to their popularity but were giving way to incredible musicians and bands of the time. That summer saw The Beatles hosting the Monkees in London at the conclusion of their short tour there. Jeff Beck made a splash in London. The Bee Gees would release their debut album.


Categorized as the oddest pairing to ever share a tour bill - The Monkees started out their US tour with Jimi Hendrix as the back-up band! It would only last for several shows as Jimi had had enough of the 12-year old crowd. It would be claimed later by Jimi's manager that it was all for "outrage publicity".

What would truly mark the music scene that summer was the Monterey Pop Festival - June 16-18 - which featured The Who smashing their instruments and Jimi Hendrix "making love" to his guitar then lighting it on fire on stage. Other acts that weekend would include Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and Ravi Shankar. Almost making more headlines than those who actually performed were the amount of top bands who were no-shows including The Stones, The Beach Boys and The Kinks.


Though they had been around for a while, Simon & Garfunkel would really come onto the scene in a big way later that 1967-68 school year dominating the soundtrack to the movie The Graduate in January 1968 and realeasing arguably their most beautiful album "Bookends" in March 1968.


The debut album of The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Are You Experienced" was released that August. Also in August the Beatles' manager - Brian Epstein - would be found dead. The two major albums of the year included Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles and Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys.

I remember heading to the Jersey Shore in August - as we did every summer - and buying my first love beads! I was trying to model myself after a hippy/surf bum type! Remember all the pop-art posters and pop-culture of the time? My room was filled with posters of The Beatles, The Doors, The Who, surfing and later that school year a huge poster of Goldie Hawn (my favorite female star of the time!) Obviously everyone remembers her but she was the lovable blonde on tv's Laugh-In which debuted in January, 1968. I remember we all talked about the show on Tuesday mornings (Laugh-In aired on Monday nights) while we waited for the bus to BF in the Glen School parking lot. The show definitely wasn't as over-our-heads as our parents would have liked to think!


7th grade was the first time a lot of us started taking the bus to school. It was the first time we would eat lunch at school. The first experience with locker rooms & showers - which for many was awkward! And of course relationships! I will never forget sitting in homeroom - Miss Colbeth's class. Fred Strype had such a crush on Nancy Hesse! We all had a crush on Nancy but Fred was more mature than I so I acted as a go-between (find out information, "you think she likes me?") for Fred. Fred really liked her and asked me what I thought. Both were great and I remember on the bus one day after talking about Nancy with Fred thinking how suddenly insecure I felt!

Teachers? Who can forget Dona Maria Garcia or Miss Farina, Mr. Yennie, Mr. Cooke, Mr. Bleeden, Mr. Wanamaker, Mr. Rispoli, Mr. Cobb, the Tilgners, Milton Kalina! The list goes on!

Anyway 7th grade was the time when the Glen School crowd started going in our own directions.
I realize this post doesn't have much to do with Glen School, however I just couldn't resist adding some of the photos from our BF years! Enjoy!

7th Grade Choir:

First Row l to r: Holly Magro, Mary Humrich, Jean Lineweaver, O'Driscoll, Mark Zacharias, Bruce Meneghin, Mike Adams, John Cooper, Jeff Auger, Peter Fore, Alex Kramer, Ron Schneider, Greg Rehe, Karen Eide, Sue Lerner, Jane Richardson

Second Row l to r: Kris Faulstick, Barb McCutcheon, O'Brian, Maryann Vaz, John Petrik, John Chase, Julie Nies, Sue Sergeant, Cindy Leather, Terry Di Egidio, Maureen Butler, Lori Picozzi, Carol Tschudi, Brian Fawkes, Stephen MacKay, Marianne Sullivan, Nan Kritzler, Joan Wenner

Third Row l to r: Emily Dubner, Luann Speechly, Sakol, Vallerie, Elisa Foca, Kate Harbison, Jennifer Rudy, Linda Breitkreuz, Jan Potdevin, Jean Woodcock, Sue Musson, Linda Pursiano, Jill Tringham, Sue Sparrow, Sue Kerner, Gayle Allard, Sharon Du Flocq, Denise Sheehan

Fourth Row l to r: Beth Perdue, Nancy Cohn, Martens, Whitley, Hillary Jones, C Campbell, Jacqueline Erle, Garey(?), Meyer (?), Kathleen Burke, Melanie Teasley, Nancy Toney, Joyce Germanio, Robin Morris, Christine Meyer, Janet Helms, Elaine Pedersen, Mrs. Holderith

Fifth Row l to r: Darleen McGrath, Parks, Jill Osborne, Joyce Hamilton, Roxanne Hobbs, Beverly Kilian, Gail Nuber, Barbara Taylor, Cara Worthington, Barbara Hall, Diane Lungaro, Linda Struse, Mary O'Rourke, Huffman, Marina Schidlovsky, Miller

Sixth Row l to r: Maria Pcelli, Wendy Douglas, Nancy Roberson, Ann Rimmer, Katie Knight, Sue Holsten, Beth Daly, Camarillo, Sue Leahy, Sharon Anderson, Daun Paris, Danforth, Jim Leach, Jency Pelley

7th Grade Band:


First Row l to r: Nan Kritzler, Barb McCutcheon, Julie Nies, Virgens, Ed Nalbantian, Arne Olsen, Ron Schneider, Martin Vaz, Dave Porro, Robbie Whittemore, Jay Vandenbree, Marianne Sullivan

Second Row l to r: John Oshin, Mark Zacharias, Darleen McGrath, Carol Risch, Peter Appert, Mark Barnthouse, Nick Stamatos, Tom Lyon, Peter Fore, Alex Kramer, Jean Woodcock

Third Row l to r: Barbara Hall, Cara Worthington, Katie Knight, Margaret Finucane, Pat Dillon, Carol Larned, Ann Rimmer, Panforth, Beth Perdue, Anita Simos

Fourth Row l to r: Bob Norton, Joyce Hamilton, Mr. Tesar, Bill Hart, Sue Nunno

3rd Grade Class 1963-1964 - Miss Beattie!

1963 - when we started school that year in Miss Beattie's class, little did we know that we would experience 2 of the most historical moments of the 20th century as a class - one of them sad and one happy and musically historic - the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the arrival of The Beatles!

Our teacher - Amy Beattie - grew up in Warwick, NY just over the New Jersey border. She attended Miss Hall's School in Pittsfield, MA and earned her teaching degree from Elmira College.

Above is an early view of Cowles Hall at Elmira College, NY.

After graduating in 1961, she was hired by the Ridgewood Public Schools System in the Fall of the 1961-62 school year at Glen School for a whopping salary of $4,800!

While all of us went home for lunch, Amy recalls getting invited to some students homes for lunch! Usually teachers would have their lunch in the faculty room. Sometimes they would play bridge but she also remembers a lot of cigarette smoking!

Her memories of our principal Arthur Linden are what you would expect - wonderful! She says he was a wonderful man to work for and she has a special place in her heart because he was her first principal. Looking back she remembers that when her mom passed away suddenly during our school year, he was very kind to her, came to her mom's service and arranged for Pat Di Lauro (Miss Mercer) to come to the service as well (Pat and Amy shared an apartment together at the time).

Everyone has a memory of Mr. McFall and one of hers is that he took care of the school supplies and was very frugal about giving extra pencils and such when you used them up too fast!

Amy also recalls that she and Pat Mercer (Di Lauro) had talked about how memorable the space flight of John Glenn was! The space age was such an exciting period and we were all so impressed with each new mission! Of course once we landed on the moon, we sadly weren't impressed with much after that!

She remembers Glen School as a very special place - cut off as it was from the main part of Ridgewood. She says that it always seemed like it was a close, tightly-knit neighborhood where we as kids all got along together as did our parents.

Above is the outside of our 3rd grade classroom. The door opened out to the playground. Of course we didn't have the luxury of air-conditioners - when it was hot we simply opened the windows!

For Amy Back-To-School night - particularly her first year - was nerve-wracking. Unlike today, ALL of our parents went to Back-To-School night. It was a time for us to clean our desks, post our latest artwork and leave out special books, papers and a note for our folks. We all looked forward to finding a reply from mom & dad the next morning! Her first year, Amy had written the daily schedule on the blackboard and she misspelled the word "alphabetize". When one of the parents called her on it - she was mortified!

For us of course, this class will always be remembered for the death of JFK and the coming of The Beatles! The range of emotions from these 2 events would go from the lowest to the highest level in 2 short months.

On November 21, 1963, our two 3rd grade classes led by Miss Beattie and Miss Trantum (Jones), went on a field trip to Seton Hall University to record a variety program that was to be broadcast on the radio the very next day. We were also joined by Mr. Linden. (Please refer to the archive on this blog for a more detailed look at this field trip). Well, the next day of course was November 22 and as we all anxiously waited to hear ourselves on the radio, the broadcast was suddenly interrupted with news of JFK's death. We didn't hear the news reports but were abruptly sent home where we all found out the terrible news.

Here is Amy's recollection of that day:

"It is a day I will never forget! I think Mr. Petrik had made the arrangements for the recording. I wish I could remember more of what it contained. I think it was based around It’s Raining by Peter, Paul and Mary with poem, songs etc. by the class. Anyhow we all were gathered around to hear it at about noon on the 22nd when Mr. L. came in and called me out into the hall and told me the President had been shot and obviously the program wouldn’t air. We were also told to send you all home but not to tell you why. As I think about it now I’m not sure that was the right thing to do but it was what I was told to do so that’s what I did…."

Christmas would come and then in early February, 1964 The Beatles arrived in America and we all watched their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show! Many of us bought everything Beatles and along with baseball cards we also traded Beatles cards! It's funny how you remember specific things. I recall running home for lunch that spring so that I would get home in time to hear my favorite Beatles song "She Loves You" which was played on the radio at exactly noon every day for like 3 weeks!

I can't think of anyone in my generation that didn't watch The Beatles on Ed Sullivan that Sunday sunday night. Art Brierley recalls staying at his grandparents house until they saw the whole show! His grandfather "yelling about The Beatles on Ed Sullivan!" On the rainy Monday after Art recalls hanging up his raincoat and everybody asking "Did you see it?" (The Beatles on Ed Sullivan)

At the end of her last year at Glen School (1964-65), Amy married Carl Carvell - a Ridgewood High School graduate (RHS 1954). For her last year, Amy taught 6th grade and got to experience 6th grade camp at Camp Green / Cooper Union in Ringwood.

Amy and her husband Carl moved to Hartford, CT shortly after leaving Glen School and reside there to this day.

She taught one more year in Bloomfield, CT before taking off several years from teaching to raise 3 children and finally returned to teaching nursery school for about another 20 years or so before retiring. She is also a big UConn Huskies fan and attends games when she can.

Asked about what she takes away from her career as a teacher, she says she feels great pride when she meets with her former students. She recently attended a church service where about 20 kids were making their confirmation - she realized that she had taught 5 of those children and it made her feel wonderful to watch these young people that she had a hand in molding!

We loved your class Amy - it is forever in our memories of course because of the events that surrounded it but your skill as a teacher was always aparrent and appreciated by many of us.

Of course, there was this one time when Ken Merrill (Miss Trantum's class), me and whoever else were still outside after the bell rang. We were just around the corner, flipping baseball cards against the wall when Mr. Linden came outside, scolded us and took our cards away - I never got mine back! Hope I didn't lose too many good cards! A lot of wonderful memories in that class!

Above is the wall where we always "flipped" our baseball cards. Closest to the wall won 'em all! Leaners were a killer! This is where Mr. Linden came upon us after the bell and took our cards!

Beth Daly (Rhoten) remembers Amy Beattie this way:

"We thought she was so cool, young and pretty - she was probably like 24!"

She was indeed a classic Glen School teacher!

Thanks to Miss Beattie herself for supplying the class photo! The day it was taken was a cub scout den meeting day (we always wore our uniforms on meeting days!) My thanks to Beth Perdue, Mrs. Perdue and Cara Worthington for having Pat Mercer (Pat Mercer-Di Lauro) get in touch with me which led to the above story about Amy Beattie-Carvell. Cara Worthington - where are you!?

So far we have found Bruce Meneghin, Chic Voorhis, Beth Daly, Beth Perdue, Katie Knight, Ann Rimmer, Penny Ward, Jennifer Rudy, Cara Worthington (I think!) - we think we found Kara DeGraw too! We'll keep trying!

Don't forget to check the archive to the right for the other 3rd grade class and photo - which was Miss Trantum's (Mrs. Jones) class.

This photo is classic Glen School!

Back Row l to r: Chic Voorhis, Carey Hoff, Barbara Durheimer, Cara Worthington, Gary Vukov, Beth Daly, Randy Sharp, Jill Neandross, Art Brierley, Lisa Faeth, Katie Knight, Melanie Teasley, Betsy Kline, Kara DeGraw

Middle Row: Carl Vrabel, Jennifer Rudy, Lynn Malley, Cindy Edinger(I think), Miss Beattie, Carol Anne Mastrogiovanni, Penny Ward, Linda Pursiano

Front Row l to r: Robbie Wittemore, Corey Duvall, Greg Rehe, Jan Koper, Ricky Flannery, John Petrik, Tommy Skinner.

Above the same spot our picture was taken 44 years before! This picture was taken in Dec, 2008.

1st Grade - Class of 1969!

A salute to our friends in the Glen School Class of 1969! Its been a lot of fun getting to know some of the Class of 1969! My first real crush was on your classmate - Cindy Pomeroy! I even gave her my id bracelet - remember those? Cindy lived 2 houses down from me and was one of the sweetest girls I knew! The Meneghin's, Pomeroy's, me and Melanie Teasley spent all of our time together before Melanie moved across town! Lots of football, baseball, swimming, biking, trick or treating together. Great memories!

Here are the 2 1st grade classes - 1963-64 school year!

Mrs. Boerner's Class

Above Photo:

Back Row l to r: Cindy Ward (Penny's sister!), Jimmy Duerbeck, Jeff Davis, Trisha Daly, Tommy Chicino, George Yakowicz, Cheryl DeGrouchy, Bryan Krueger, Paul Pettofrezzo, Margaret Silvers (class president!!)

Middle Row l to r: Doug Terhune, Kim Vukov, Cindy Pomeroy, Susan Skinner, Miss Boerner, Teresa Mastrogiovanni, Patty Breitweiser, Pam Morton, Phillip Denu

Front Row l to r: Roger Fortino, Chris Leyden, Scott Yates, Steve Trogner, Mitchell Perdue, Brian Lally, Walter Fennie

Mrs. Cook's Class

Back Row l to r: Kathy Johnson, Mary Lou Breitweiser, John Brevoort, unidentified, unidentified, Janis Avery, unidentified, Nancy Oswald, Pam Bennett, Teresa Merrill

Middle Row l to r: Kim Skater, Judy Wilson, Janis Malley, Mrs Cook, Sandy Brown, Karen Stewart, Karen Stewart, Barbara Demick

Front Row l to r: Scott Gordon, unidentified, Mark Petrik, Bryan Krueger, David Clay, unidentified, unidentified

Help us fill in the other names!

Glen School Faculty Photo - 1964-65

Here is another great faculty photo from the 1964-65 school year. Thanks to Amy Beattie-Carvell (our 3rd grade teacher) for supplying this one!

This one was taken outside in front of the gym/auditorium.

Back Row l to r: Pat Prescott, Nancy Cook, Rhea Boerner, Pete Gahara, Amy Beattie (Carvell), Jeanette Janicke, unidentified, Miss Trantum (Jones)

Front Row l to r: Alice Coan, Bea Blumquist (librarian at the time), Arthur Linden, Agnes Larsen, Pat DeJongh

3rd Grade & 2nd Grade Class - Miss Trantum (Jones)

Recently Beth Perdue (Sontag) sent over this classic photo! At Glen we had so many kids that there was always a full class and a split class made up of our classmates and some from the younger grade. Miss Trantum's class (who married to become Mrs. Jones) is pictured here.

We know all the kids from my 3rd grade class but can't identify all of the second graders - if you can help identify these kids please email us!

We always wore our scout uniforms on meeting days! Check David Stanley-Brown's bow-tie! That's alright David check our early class photos - we pratically all wore them!

This is easily the most fun part - getting the photos - please keep them coming - we still need class photos!

If anyone has any great memories of this class please email us!

Back Row l to r: Frank Fortino, Beth Perdue, Susan Lavoy, Bruce Meneghin, Sue Nunno, Ken Merrill, David Stanley-Brown, Kara DeGraw, unidentified, unidentified

Middle Row l to r: Unidentified, Karen Pursiano, Gail Wexler, Lis Ege, Mrs Trantum-Jones, Sandy McCormick, Karen Eide, Kathy Johnson, Bobby (?)

Front Row l to r: Bobby Shumeyko, Billy Kline (Betsy's brother), Doug Brown, Mike Rogers, Steven Perez, Billy Corcoran

Need Photos & Stories!

We are looking for the following class photos: Mrs. Cook 2nd grade 1962-63, Mrs. Di Lauro (Mercer) 1st grade 1961-62, Mrs. Di Lauro (Mercer) 2nd grade 1962-63, the other 4th grade 1964-65 (not Prescott), Mrs. Bleeden 1966-67 and faculty photos. We also need single class photos, Glen candid photos, Camp Green 6th grade camp photos, Gay Blades ice skating photos, neighborhood photos from 1960-1970, Roslyn Road Runner kids, mom's fashion shows at Glen, any concert or Glen event (carnivals, etc) photos and any Glen class photos from 1960-1986 (not just our class). Also any family members of Glen teachers, staff or students please get in touch!!

We also need memories and stories! Please help out - our school only lasted for 26 years as an official elementary school! Let's preserve its history!

Ridgewood - Growing Up Around Town!

Ridgewood, NJ - what a wonderful place to grow up! We had great sports programs, afterschool activities, scout troops for girls and boys. The Duck Pond, Halls's Pond & Saddle River for fishing. I probably rode my bike everywhere in town! Who can forget Graydon Pool?

Well, there were indeed lots of "landmarks" growing up in Ridgewood. There's lots of history too! When we weren't attending Glen School our folks would take us in town to church, temple, swimming lessons, the library, saturday "errands" - which in our case included the paper store (which also meant picking up some candy and baseball cards), the cleaners, the liqour store (of course!), Johnnie's Barbershop, Fischl's Bakery, Drapkin's for school supplies and so many other classic stops throughout the years!

This is the section where you'll find pictures of memorable places in town. Some are happily still there and others are sadly gone. As Glen School kids living on the east side of Route 17, we felt like we lived in the "suburbs" of Ridgewood, so when we went "up town or downtown" - depending on the generation you're talking to - it was an adventure! Enjoy!

Click on each picture for larger size.

To this day, the July 4th parade in Ridgewood is long and memorable! It was always quite an event! I remember my sister Ginny driving by in a convertible in the parade in the early 60's! Kids even used to sit atop the marquee of the Stanley-Warner Theater to watch it go by!

Valley Hospital as it looked in the early 1960's!


Remember Arthur's House of Beauty? Not many people would remember the name but they all remember it as the most decorated place in town at Christmastime! It was located at the corner of Franklin and Cottage Place. The structure was torn down to make way for a bank. Perdue's Sport Shop was right near here.

The Stanley-Warner Theater! This was a great place to watch movies as a kid! The balcony was huge and you always caught up with friends there!


The Duck Pond - a place to feed the ducks, fish, have a picnic and then go across the street for ice cream at T&W's!

An aerial view showing what would become George Washington Junior High School - now a middle school.

An aerial view (possibly circa 1968 or so) of Ridgewood High School.

Here's a great shot of Graydon Pool and Vets Fields from the air circa 1960.

Ridgewood Avenue looking toward the tracks on a snowy day circa 1950's.

The famous Christmas tree at the end of Ridgewood Avenue and Broad Street albeit a little smaller. Circa 1960.

A circa 1965 view of Terwilleger's also known as T&W's. Located across from the Duck Pond this was an immensely popular ice cream place - lines would snake out the doors to the parking lot. T&W's and Van Dyke's were the best ice cream places around. I remember always asking my dad to stop on Sunday nights on the way home from family visits - he never said no! Below is an ad from a 1962 Ridgewood directory.


Above is the classic Ridgewood school supply store - "Drapkin's". Located at the end of Ridgewood Ave before the tracks it seemed to have just about everything! Got my baseball cards there and at Lyon's at the other end. Also struggled to get my first Playboy there - you know, stick it between a newspaper so no one would see and the guy at the counter knowing my embarrassment and leaving it between the papers! Drapkin's suffered through 2 major fires but always bounced back.

Here's a view of circa 1964 Ridgewood looking up Ridgewood Ave.

Above is the "Shell" as it is known. Ground was broken in 1957 and the picture above is from the day it was dedicated in 1958. My folks used to watch concerts there - I remember going when I was real little. It's still there today and is located at the far end of Vets Field by the library parking lot.

Always check back as we will always add new photos as we get them!

My sincere thanks to Peggy Norris of the Ridgewood Public Library for many of these photos!

Mrs. Flechtner - 1970's Glen Secretary

Its funny how these things work. You research one thing and you discover something else! Recently through Paul McCubbin of the Ridgewood Blog - I met Kurt Flechtner. I read about his great memories of life growing up in our unique little town. Among the things Kurt wrote about with great fondness was his dad Richard Flechtner. Mr. Flechtner as many in my Class of 1973 will remember was the Ridgewood High School Athletic Director and Department Head and a wonderful man.

Not only was he involved in our RHS sports but heavily involved in the Ridgewood Baseball Association and he ran Graydon Pool as well! Richard Flechtner and Charlie Bookstaver were very good friends.

In my search for Charlie Bookstaver - Glen's beloved gym teacher - I found Kurt and he put me on the track that led me to Charlie and his wife. In researching photos for the Glen site, I came across a picture of a Glen School secretary from the 1970's - "Mrs. Flechtner" - lo and behold this was Kurt's mom!

As Kurt and his brother Jim got older Barbara Flechtner decided it was time to get back in the school system in some way so she joined the staff at Glen School about 1974.

Because the school nurse by that time was only part-time (split between other schools) Mrs. Flechtner always had a stash of her sons toys such as Etch-A-Sketch for them to play with while they waited to get picked up or just needed some rest. She would lay them on the "Magic Couch" - the huge slippery green couches we all remember - get a little rest and half the time the child would return happily back to class!

Mrs. Flechtner would ultimately move over to RHS where she became her husband's secretary. Kurt recalls what a pleasure it was for them both to work together.

Both Richard & Barbara Flechtner were graduates of Ridgewood High School - Richard was Class of 1947 and Barbara Huettig was Class of 1948.

Barbara took the summers off while Richard ran Graydon Pool - they would always vacation at their cottage in Cape Hatteras in August.

In February 2006, Barbara Flechtner passed away. Mr. Flechtner passed away several years earlier. In her later years, Barbara became a renown quilter - in fact at her funeral, the church was decked out with all the quilts she had made - there were tons of them! Even the priest who presided asked how many of those present had received a quilt made by Barbara Flechtner - 75% of the people raised their hands!

Kurt Flechtner now lives in Norfolk VA. He recalls life in Ridgewood as very special and cherishes his memories as a Graydon Pool life guard.

I am grateful to Kurt for giving me the opportunity to talk to him about his mom.

My Weekly Reader!

(Above is a 1963 edition of My Weekly Reader)

Remember "My Weekly Reader"? I remember always looking forward to the latest issue because it was our way of getting current events.

Through this fun child's news source we read about the space program, politics, sports and more. The hope with these weekly publications was that we would read them and then discuss what we read about in class.

The idea for "My Weekly Reader" goes as far back as 1927. It was developed by Eleanor Murdoch Johnson while she was the director of elementary schools in York, PA.

As she herself would later say, the idea came to her because kids were always reading about myth and fantasy - which she had no objection to - but she felt that children also needed to know what was going on around them. She proposed the idea for such a publication to the president of American Education Publications which was already doing a newspaper for high school students. He agreed with her idea and the very first issue of My Weekly Reader was published in late 1928 with a cover story about Herbert Hoover and Alfred E. Smith who were running for president in 1928.

Above is a replica Weekly Reader pin.

As she would later say, "I wasn't quite sure 'My Weekly Reader' would make a go of it, whether it would succeed. However, the American Education Press sent editors on weekends, and I trained them and helped to write 'My Weekly Reader' until 1934 when I went with them permanently as their editor-in-chief."

Circulation ran to 100,000 the very first year and grew to a high of over 13 million by the late 1960's and 1970's.

Eleanor Johnson was born December 10, 1892 - a farmer's daughter. Miss Johnson who stood about 4 feet 10" tall - served as My Weekly Reader's editor-in-chief until 1971 and afterwards continued as a consultant until 1978 when she turned 85!

In her lifetime, she co-authored 4 books and wrote more than 50 workbooks in arithmetic, reading and geography. She also wrote numerous articles and was an active public speaker. She passed away in 1987 at the age of 94.

"I spent every spare moment I had at night keeping up with the very best magazines," Johnson said, "and I was in touch with the universities where I worked and the research that was going on there. Without this background, I could have never conceived of 'My Weekly Reader' and brought it into being"

Safety Patrol!

Who can forget how eager we were to become members of the "Safety Patrol" in 6th grade! I thought it was so cool to get my white belt and yellow crossing flag. There were a number of us that participated in the program. We probably alternated our assigned locations cause I think we only had 3 crossings. Bruce Meneghin and I had E Glen Ave & Auburn. Katie Knight & Beth Daly were also Safety Patrol members who took it very seriously! Who else? I know there were lots of us.

This photo appeared in The Ridgewood News in the 1960's. Here is the original caption:

"Members of the Glen School Safety Patrol get briefing from patrolman Frank Milliken who supervises Ridgewood's School Police Force. Looking on are Pete Gauharou faculty advisor (left) and Arthur Linden Jr. The safety patrol group left to right standing includes Jim Buckley, Charlotte Flynn, Patricia Trumbull & Suzy Terhune. Kneeling from left are John Teasley and Randy Duvall." We used the same flags as these guys! There must be 25 ways to spell poor Pete's name!

Above is Safety Patrol Captain John Brevoort (Glen Class of 1969). John had the luxury of riding around on his bike checking on his patrol "staff" to ensure they were doing their jobs and then at the end of the shift releasing them to class! This same year John organized his first boy/girl party in his basement! Thanks John for this great picture!


Above is my original Safety Patrol certificate signed by Mr Linden! Exciting stuff when you're a kid! Amzingly my mom saved it - my mom should have been an archivist!


Bruce Meneghin recalls that on his way "to duty" one day, his crossing flag got caught in the spokes of his bike and you guessed it - he went right over the handle-bars - his biggest concern afterwards - the hole in his brand new chinos!

For Cynthia Wagner she remembers the beat at the flagpole with Julie Zima and singing their hearts out "...Bill! I love you so, I always will!.....". Diana Wagner had my old beat - E Glen Avenue.

It gave us a little independence and of course responsibility - oh and you could be late for school too!


The School Safety Patrol program was organized by the Automobile Association of America in 1920. The program was funded by the AAA in local school districts. It was designed to help insure the safety of children walking to and from school each day. Each intersection was manned by a boy or girl from 6th grade. We wore a belt-like strap across our chest and waist and were given a crossing flag. If I remember right there were even ranks like Lieutenant & Captain! On the last day of school we were awarded pins and certificates for our "bravery"!



Amazingly, the Safety Patrol still recruits children as crossing guards all around the country. As of 1995, AAA clubs across the country and Canada sponsored 500,000 Safety Patrol members in 50,000 schools! In fact, in 1994 7 members of the Safety Patrol were honored for their heroics in saving children! In 2009, the Safety Patrol celebrates its 89th year in service!

Former Safety Patrol members include: former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Seantor John Warner, former Michigan Governor Bill Milliken, Lee Iacocca, Chief Justice Warren Burger and over 20 astronauts!

4th Grade - Mrs. Prescott's Class!

Thanks to Beth Perdue (Sontag) for supplying our 4th grade class photo (1964-65) - Mrs. Prescott's class. This was Ann Rimmer's frst year with us at Glen School - joining us a little after the school year started due to a bout with bronchitis. She recalled joining a new class late as scary - its always tough coming in as a new kid. Ann fell into life at Glen School very easily and was well-liked by everyone! Hold onto your "fink" tags boys!

This was the year that we had our official class photo taken outside in the courtyard and we received the above collage of our classmate's personal school photos.

Top Row l to r: Karen Eide, Gary Vukov, Greg Rehe, Pat Prescott, Betsy Kline, Alex Kramer, Ann Rimmer.

2nd Row l to r: Cara Worthington, Wayne Bond, Katie Knight, Frank Fortino.

3rd Row l to r: John Petrik, Beth Daly, Martin Vaz, Lisa Faeth, Jim Smethurst, Jennifer Rudy, Bruce Meneghin.

4th Row l to r: Sue Nunno, Ken Merrill, Kara DeGraw, Tommy Skinner, Lynn Malley, Corey Duvall, Linda Breitkruz.

5th Row l to r: Barbara Durheimer, Ricky Flannery, Irene Williams, Chic Voorhis, Robbie Whittemore, Beth Perdue.

Glen School - Reflections

Wow, Glen School! When we left in 1967, I never looked back. It was always there as a part of you but there's so many other things going on in your life that you don't even give it a thought. Now, as I try to put together what life was like at this wonderful little school, you can't help but put yourself back in the classrooms. Piecing it together certainly has not been done by me alone - my sincere thanks to Chic, Bruce, Beth Daly, Katie, Beth Perdue, Linda Pursiano, Art Brierley, Jen Rudy, Ann Rimmer, Cara Worthington, Margarte Silvers, Doug Terhune, Hank Henckler for some wonderful memories - memories that have led to other great memories and so on! This project - that honestly seemed silly at one time - has proved to be a great deal of fun with many rewards including people discovering this site from other graduating years at Glen School and even just people that grew up in Ridgewood - and teachers - the teachers!

When I think back to talking with my mom in later years about HER school years, she never knew what became of most of her classmates - tracking someone down was a daunting task - no internet to help facilitate such a thing. It was 42 years ago that we graduated from Glen (as of when this was written) - scary thought when you look at it that way - but how great it is to be back in touch with people that meant so much.

As far as the guys at school were concerned, I was always impressed with people like Bruce Meneghin and Gary Vukov. I mention these 2 guys because Bruce and I were friends through high school but best friends during Glen School. Gary and I were friends more when I was younger but I always admired him - particularly with all he's achieved. All of our Glen alumni Cara Worthington, Beth Daly, Beth Perdue, Katie Knight, Karen Eide, Kara DeGraw, Art Brierley, Chic, Bruce, Gary, Jill Neandross, Greg Rehe, Sue Nunno, Melanie Teasley, Linda Pursiano (many others!) were a blast to grow up with!

I'm sure its true everywhere, but I know in Ridgewood NJ - where I grew up - we had about 10 or so elementary schools that rolled into Ridgewood High School. When you got to RHS, you knew many of the other kids from sports and scouts and Graydon Pool and church so you weren't completely overwhelmed by it all (there were 658 of us in my high school graduating class!) but you had this silent bond with the kids you went to grammar school with - even if you never saw them or hung out together anymore - kinda strange but very real! Conversing on the internet with people like Ann Rimmer - its just the greatest thing! I mean for some of us, we were together for 13 years! I remember when I started smoking in high school (believe it or not they allowed us to - how times change!) I remember one time in a 3rd floor boys room having a cigarette and Bruce Meneghin walked in on me - I felt embarrassed (and I never felt embarrassed about anything by then!) - you definitely looked at your Glen School classmates differently - with more respect despite not really seeing them much during high school.

Our Glen School Class of 1967 - about 40 kids give or take (always 2 classes) - was filled with some incredibly intelligent and talented kids but we were all pretty grounded and loved the same things which made life at Glen School a lot of fun! As was the culture, our dads worked (an amazing assortment of jobs) and our moms were at home. We walked home for lunch and back to school. Only about 4 of us took the school bus. For the most part we all recall the same things - kickball at recess, dodge ball (it was called bombardment then), field trips, 6th grade camp - for most it was a very enjoyable experience.

Incredibly - during the 1960's our innocence remained intact. My class was 1960-1967 - K-6. We began kindergarten doing the twist and woke up from the Eisenhower administration of the 50's with an exciting new president in John F. Kennedy and kicked off the Mercury Space Program in the spring of 1961 that saw Alan Shepard shot into space for 15 minutes as the very first US astronaut.


We lived through the height of the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Berlin Crisis with air raid drills in the auditorium and real fears of a nuclear attack prompting many of our families to store canned foods just in case. We even had Nike Missile bases practically in our backyards (Franklin Lakes, NJ and Orange, NY)! The remnants of which remain to this day as ghostly reminders to the Cold War.


In 1963, we lived through the deep sadness brought by the death of JFK and the joy of The Beatles 2.5 months later in February, 1964.


A new kind of war in a place called Vietnam began to escalate - for us a tv war which - without realizing it - desensitised us to what was really happening. Many of my classmates and myself would register for the draft as the war raged on for 11 years - but luckily it ended the year we graduated high school.


The Beach Boys released a landmark album - Pet Sounds - in May 1966. We were too young to realize it but music just kept topping itself - getting better, more complex, more meaningful. We neared the end of our final school year as The Beatles released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in June 1967 proving to be the most progressive band in history as in 3.5 years they went from I Want To Hold Your Hand to Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds.


As we left Glen School, the Summer of Love began which brought more exciting changes to music and how it was ok not to agree with everything that was happening in the world. I mean can you imagine how fast these things were happening? We went from the twist to Sgt Pepper's - and all the cultural changes around us - in 7 short years!

Yet while all this was happening, we still went on vacations, played ball, attended scout meetings - our lives continued. As kids our childhoods pretty much stayed innocent and remained unchanged, though things like our fashions grew with the times. Just when you thought our 7 years at Glen School wasn't event-filled enough, there would be 2 more years of assassinations - Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The Woodstock Rock Festival, the Apollo moon landing, the Sexual Revolution and political & civil turmoil like the nation had never seen before - all in less than a decade!

For me living in that Ridgewood bubble of school, baseball, scouts, neighborhood life - was great! That my parents managed to provide this somewhat insulated life with all that was going on - is surely a tribute to them.

On the personal side, I remember starting out at Glen without a care in the world - confident, very secure with myself. But by the time I reached the 6th grade - I became a little awkward and somewhat insecure. It wasn't a dark kind of thing but I do remember always being afraid to ask my teachers questions - fearful of making mistakes and not feeling very confident with the classmates I admired the most - and there were many!

When June 1967 rolled around - I was clearly nervous about what lay ahead - hard to imagine that feeling now! It should have been one of excitement! But I wondered all summer if I would fit in when I reached the 7th grade. Once out of 7th grade, things seemed to click more though. My only regret is baseball. Gosh I LOVED baseball! When I got to high school - while more confident - I gave baseball up. I wanted so badly to try out for the RHS team but was so afraid of getting cut that I didn't risk it! In order to achieve your goals you have to take risks - I knew that but had no guts. I wish my mom & dad had pushed harder on certain things. I have coached my daughter Jennie in softball and my son Ricky in baseball for a number of years now and we have had success - but it was never lost on me when I had a kid on our teams - girl or boy - that reminded me of myself - who just needed a little push or boost of confidence - there's nothing more rewarding than seeing the success of something like that! We never sacrificed the competitve spirit nor did we sacrifice giving every child on our teams ample opportunity for success. So baseball came back to me in the form of coaching and involvement in our town league which has been a great experience.

A Glen classmate, Katie Knight recently relayed a great story about Mr. Gahara - one of the 5th grade teachers at Glen School. She recalled how Mr. Gahara had taken her aside and talked to her about what it was to not make people feel left out - to be inclusive - it was one of those simple but very meaningful moments that you remember teachers for - going a little beyond the academic side of teaching and giving you a life lesson that for Katie remains to this day. And I might add that while that was a great lesson to learn - Katie never made anyone feel left out even before learning it!

Returning to Glen School in late Decmember 2008 with my kids and my wife Caryn - I was struck by the memory of how I felt as a 6th grader in 1967 - the fear I had - fear of the unknown and the fear of failing. As I walked around the entire school with my 15 year-old daughter, I recalled that fear and how far away those feelings seemed but how close and special the memory was of all the baseball games, concerts, stick ball games, summer recreation, end-of-school-year parties, birthday parties and how great a childhood it was.

5th Grade - Mr. Zima's Class!

Here's Mr. Zima's 5th grade class. There were always 2 classes at Glen School, the other class was Miss Nostas.

Notably, Mr. Zima played one of the monkeys in the movie "The Wizard of Oz" when he was younger! Thanks Beth Daly-Rhoten for that amazing piece trivia!

Pictured below are the 24 kids of Mr. Zima's 5th grade 1965-66!


Front Row l to r: Carl Vrabel, Chic Voorhis, John Petirk, Greg Rehe, David Chandler, Ricky Flannery.

Middle Row l tot r: Brian Marchese, Beth Perdue, Lori Arbrahamson, Beth Daly, Susan Anderson, Barbara Durheimer, Irene Williams, Frank Petrucci.

Back Row l to r: Bobby Stewart, Randy Sharp, Frank Fortino, Corinne Frank, Mayann Vaz, Kara DeGraw, Penny Ward, Karen Eide, Wayne Bond, Paul Attella.


The same spot our picture was taken. This was taken circa 1995.

Glen School Gym Teacher - Charlie Bookstaver!

Recently, with the help of Kurt Flechtner RHS 1977, we located our beloved gym teacher Charlie Bookstaver. I spoke to Charlie on Thursday January 15, 2009.

Charlie and his wife Eileen still reside in the home they built in North Jersey and have lived there for nearly 50 years! When the house was completed, moving day for the Bookstaver's was the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated - November 22, 1963.

The vision for many of us is of him being in top pyhsical shape and twirling that whistle around his fingers - as he barked his orders! He says he always stayed very active. He also never seemed to make a mistake - when he demonstrated shooting a basket - it was always a swish. Kids, don't forget your sneakers!

Charlie grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. In 1944, he enlisted in the Navy and was assigned duty on the USS St Paul - a newly christened heavy cruiser. After practice runs to Trinidad and Guantanamo Bay, he entered the war in the Pacific Theater via the Panama Canal. At the time, the talk was of an invaision of the Japanese mainland, but while anchored far enough off the coast, it was reported that the atomic bombs had been dropped. The USS St Paul then participated in the Japanese surrender ceremonies.

Charlie left the Navy in June, 1946. Using the GI Bill, he enetered New York University where he studied education and became a certified teacher in 1952.

He taught for several years in New Hampshire and joined the Ridgewood Public School system in 1959 where he became a physical education teacher. In Ridgewood, Charlie divided his time between Glen, Somerville and Travell Annex schools. Before retiring he finished out his time at Ridge School.

During the 60's, Charlie was a lifeguard at Ridgewood's Graydon Pool. He left Graydon to head the recreation program in Allendale in the summer months.


Above is a photo of Charlie Bookstaver as a Graydon Pool lifeguard in September, 1962.

He also recalls working closely with Tony Napier - another classic gym teacher from the Ridgewood school system!

When I spoke to Charlie, he remembered his time at Glen as very enoyable. He also recalled the tragedy of our principal Arthur Linden - Mr. Linden had lost his wife to illness and then suddenly passed away himself shortly after.

Charlie retired from the Ridgewood Public School system in 1989. He and his wife Eileen have 2 children: Mary and Sean and 6 grand children.


Charlie loved working with and teaching kids and became heavily involved in officiating basketball and soccer games. He was honored for his dedicated service at a Bergen County Soccer Officials banquet in 2001. He is the guy in the Irish knit sweater.

Glen School Teachers - Circa 1968!

Thanks to Bill Montick here is great photo of the Glen School staff circa 1968! Bill Montick taught 6th grade at Glen during the 1968-69 school year.

Back Row: Mr. Harrison, Mrs. Cook, Clara Gould, Mrs. Janicke, Bill Montick, Mrs. Prescott, Miss Nostas, Miss Schmidt (Walker is married name), unidentified

Front Row: Miss Jackson, Mrs. Larsen (secretary), Mr. Linden (Principal), unidentified, unidentified.

Please help identify any teachers you may know in this photo!

School Photos!

Well here's one of mine - 2nd grade Mrs. Cook! Honestly, I have some really bad single school photos! Once I got past 2nd grade I don't what my mom was thinking! By the time I reached 4th grade I entered the twilight zone! Once I gained some confidence back in high school, all was good! Hey everybody please send your favorite single photo from Glen School!

Glen Reunion Pic During 20th RHS Reunion

In November 1993, during our 20th Ridgewood High School reunion (Class of 1973), many of us were anxious to get all the elementary schools together for photos. This was ours. Fortunately Art Brierley pushed us to pose for the picture. I wish the main picture was better. Where are you guys these days! For the picture there were 11 of us. The first one was taken while we were milling around getting ready for the picture.


Back Row: Linda Pursiano, Beth Daly, Melanie Teasley, Sue Nunno, Rick Flannery, Jim Smethurst and Ann Rimmer

Front Row: Cara Worthington and Karen Eide

Back Row: Linda Pursiano, Beth Daly, Ann Rimmer, Melanie Teasley, Sue Nunno, Rick Flannery, Jim Smethurst, Art Brierley

Front Row: Cara Worthington, Corey Duvall, Karen Eide

Glen School - A Brief History

Despite construction of the school being behind in the summer of 1959, Glen School opened its doors to its first classes on September 9, 1959. The school was officially dedicated along with Ridge School on January 31, 1960.

With the baby boom still going strong, Ridgewood saw its biggest change in the public school system in years as Glen and Ridge Schools neared completion in late summer of 1959.


The elementary school children were being housed in a wing of George Washington (the Monroe-Hillside Building) and several rooms in the West Side Church Education building. Once the new schools were completed, George Washington became exclusively a junior high school - one of 2 in Ridgewood - now middle schools.

For the first time in Ridgewood's history, kids from the east side of Route 17 would attend a school in their own neighborhood off East Glen Avenue.

Both schools were state of the art buildings. Ridge School was several times larger than Glen and as one reporter was quoted, he thought Ridge "is easy to get lost in".

Essentially, Ridge School had its main portion fronting West Ridgewood Avenue but set back from the street. At the time, it contatined a "general all-purpose room" which doubled as a gym and auditorium, offices, nurse's room, and 2 kindergartens located at the east end. From the main part of the building, 3 wings jutted outward in different directions. The first wing housed 1st and 2nd grades, the second wing 3rd and 4th grades and the third wing 5th and 6th grades.

The classrooms in both the Glen and Ridge schools were very light and airy with floor to ceiling windows on the outside portion and wide glass partitions on the corridor side. Each room had a door to the playground and recess areas. The rooms were all grouped around exceptionally wide corridors which were expected to be utilized as additional space for small groups of students working on special projects or for several same-grade classes to join together for some special activity.

The modern school architecture of the day was prevalent with the use of light woods and brick inside and out.

Glen was built with rooms grouped around an open courtyard at the center that had a beautiful stone wall and even a reflecting pool. The reflecting pool (later used as a garden) and stone wall was where the dark slate is in the picture below. Where the stone wall extended out, additonal grass was planted.

(Picture from the collection of Doug Terhune - 2007)

The all-purpose room at Glen was smaller than at Ridge but also doubled as a gym and auditorium with a stage for concerts and shows. It had two basketball hoops and ropes for climbing. In the room to the right of the stage, were monkey bars and storage for the mats, balls, etc.


(The gym pictures are from the collection Doug Terhune - 2007)



In addition, there was a beautiful well-stocked library, kindergarten, offices, storage, music room, faculty room with kitchenette and classrooms.

(The picture of the old library is from the collection of Doug Terhune - 2007)

The playgrounds were divided into 3 sections. The sand box area was exclusively for kindergarten. 1st-3rd grade had the main playground: swings, slide, monkey bars, see-saw and huge checkerboard. The 4th-6th grade had use of the blacktop for kick ball and the fields for other activities. The baseball fields still remained unchanged with the two ball fields sitting where they were 40 odd years ago!

A visit to Glen today is seemingly a visit to Glen 30-40 years ago - not much has changed which makes for a very sentimental journey!

Glen School Circa 1995

In the mid 1990's, my wife Caryn and I decided to - or should I say I decided to - return to Glen School and Caryn graciously went along even taking some of the photos you see here and listening to my excitement when I would point out where I flipped baseball cards or played ball. It was a summer day and while the trees were outrageously huge - nothing really had changed! It was practically as I had left it in 1967! It was perfect! So too is it today with little changed. A lot of great memories were made there. The photos below were taken around 1995. Enjoy!

The Main entrance.

In this photo, the camera was pointed through the glass doors of the main entrance - look closely and you can see the "Cub Scout Pack 33 Meets Here" sign in the reflection next to Mr. McFall's old room!

The k-3rd grade side - this side was the playground for kindergarten and the other side of the hedge was the main playground.

The courtyard in the center of the school - sadly the stone wall has since been removed and the reflecting pool/garden filled in.

That is Caryn! That jungle gym was there since the beginning but was removed some time after this picture was taken - a tree was planted in place of the old sandbox.


The Eastbrook Road side showing the old 6th grade classrooms, music room and gym/auditorium.

Dads Visit Mrs. Cook's 2nd Grade Class!

In second grade (at least Mrs. Cook's class) she asked some of us to ask our fathers if they would come in and talk about there jobs. My dad came in to talk about American Motors (he was a service manager for Kobbe & Flannery). My dad was so psyched to do that. He brought a film on the design, engineering and manufacturing of Ramblers, he also brought pins to give out, brochures, postcards, etc. Jill Neandross' dad (Leif Neandross) - who owned the Four Poster furniture store at the Garden State Plaza - gave us a tour of his store. Katie Knight's dad - a United Airlines pilot - also came in and talked about his career and gave us wings! I remember - being a boy - finding that one to be very interesting. Mr. Perdue - who owned Perdue's Sport Shop in Ridgewood - visited the class and gave everyone a tennis ball. Lisa Faeth - who's dad worked in some way with the space program, gave us all toy space capsules! Does anyone remember other dads that came to talk about their careers?

The Perdue Sport Shop was a staple in town for years. You could always spot Beth's dad around town cause he had this cool woody he drove that also advertised his shop.

Amazingly, my mom had kept these letters my classmates wrote to my dad thanking him for speaking to the class. The letters were written June 18, 1963. I will type most of them here but I have to post a couple of them - Corey Duvall's, Katherine the Knight's, Jennifer Rudy's and Carey Hoff's. You'll get a kick out of these:

Dear Mr. Flannery,

I liked the pictures you gave to us. And I liked the pins you gave to us. I hope you will come in again some time. Your Friend, Richard (Richie Spell)

Your Friend, Richard (Richie Spell)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming. Your talk was good. Thank you for giving us the pin, picture, and papers. I liked the Rambler.

Your Friend, Ken (Merrill)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for the things you gave us. Thank you for coming. I hope you can come again.

Your Friend, Barbara (Durheimer)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming to the class. Your talk was very nice. Selling Ramblers must be nice. The film was nice and long. The things you gave me were nice too. You are a nice man.

Your Friend, Lisa (Faeth)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming. It was very nice of you. Thank you for showing us the movie. Thank you for the things. You are a very nice man.

Your Friend, Ellen


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for everything. I am glad you came. The book is very nice. Thank you for coming.

Your Friend, Penny (Ward)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

I hope you have a happy summer. Thank you for coming. Your work is interesting. I like the Rambler its's a good car. Thank you for showing us the movies.

Your Friend, Susan N (Nunno)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming. I liked the film and the books. I liked the Ramblers very much.

Your Friend, Randy (Sharp)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

I liked the movie you brought us. I liked the picture you gave us. I do not know why you gave us the picture.

Your Friend, Art (Brierley)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming to our class room. I liked the film you had. I hope you will come again. I like Rambler models.

Your Friend, Jan K (Koper)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming in to the class room. It was nice of you. You are a nice man. Thank you for the cards and the xray book and the picture.

Your Friend, Jill Neandross


Dear Mr. Flannery,

I liked the film about the Rambler. The clay that they used, if they don't want it I will!

Your Friend, Robbie


Dear Father,

Thank you for the postcards and the pins. I liked the film.

Your Son, Ricky (Flannery)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming to our class. I liked the movie you showed us. And I liked the things you gave us too. The Rambler is a very nice car. Thank you again.

Your Friend, Beth Perdue


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for showing us the movie. The movie was very interesting. Thank you for everything. I hoped you liked the part of the play that you saw.

Your Friend, Bruce (Meneghin)


Dear Mr. Flannery,

Thank you for coming in and talking to us about your job. Your job is very interesting. Thank you for showing us the film. Thank you again.

Your Friend, Karen Eide

Nov 21, 1963 - Seton Hall Radio Show

On November 21, 1963, our 3rd grade class - Miss Beattie - took a trip to Seton Hall to tape a radio program. Each of us that went along recited poems, sang songs and read stories which were all recorded in the studio there. The trip - we believe - was arranged by John Petrik's father but we're unsure about that. After we recorded our show and posed for pictures, we were given a tour of the facilities and learned the secrets of radio communication. We learned how programs were produced and broadcast. Following all of that we visited the physics department where we listened to explanations of the techinal aspects of radio communication. We had lunch in the University dining hall and concluded our trip with a visit to the Seton Hall museum where we viewed an exhibit on prehistoric man.

The Bergen Record came along to photograph some of us. Above l to r: Shawn Stewart, Linda Pursiano (Go Linda!), Lynn Malley and Carol Anne Mastrogiovanni.

The radio station was WSOU-FM. In 2007, I called the station and asked if there was a remote chance they would have a tape of our program but was unsuccessful! We were told the show would be broadcast at 2:05 eastern time on Friday November 22, 1963 - the very next day. I remember we were all pretty excited about the prospect of being on the radio but there weren't a lot of us that had FM radios at the time - so I remember my mom and dad scrambled to find people who had FM. My dad listened at work and my mom listened at a neighbor's. Our class all gathered at our desks and prepared to listen to our show on the PA system.

Above is yours truly at the controls - I was told to "look like you're producing the show!" Smile Rick!

As we sat in anticipation - giggling about who said what - our broadcast was suddenly silenced - John F. Kennedy was assassinated! It was incredible! While many us didn't grasp what was going on immediately - our teachers and principals protected us from it - we were abruptly sent home! I remember walking down the path I always took running into Larry Rogers - older than us - and he said he thought he had heard Jackie Kennedy was shot. Once home though, it was clear what had taken place - it was amazing. My mom was very upset. Beth Daly recalls her mom sitting in front of the black & white tv crying.


It was quite a weekend - 4 days of constant and very sad news. It would be the start to an incredible decade of turbulence that would see more assassinations - Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and the decade would be capped with the landing on the moon! The amount of things that ocurred and cultural changes that were taking place in such a short time is mind-boggling when one looks at the decade as a whole, but thanks to our great parents, teachers, friends and families, our childhoods still managed to survive and provide many of us with very happy memories.

Satellite Photo Glen School

For fun check out this satellitte photo image of Glen School and the surrounding area as it appears today! Just click the link below!

<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=eastbrook+rd+ridgewood+nj&sll=40.982336,-74.085842&sspn=0.000958,0.001717&ie=UTF8&ll=40.987187,-74.084351&spn=0.007661,0.013733&t=h&z=16>

Why A Blog About Glen School?

Can you imagine back in 1967 - or even our senior graduating year of 1973 - wanting to do something like this about your elementary school? While it seems surprising that I woud want to do this, I have always been pretty sentimental about things and for me it was an inevitable task. However I have always lived in the present - its not so much a longing for the past as it is an appreciation of it. I do find it fascinating to look back and try to find out what old friends and classmates are up to and try and preserve a special time in an amazing decade. Despite all the things that were going on in the world we still managed a pretty innocent childhood thanks to our folks, our friends and life at Glen School.

I suppose for some it wasn't an altogether nice experience - especially if you moved around a lot. For me though it was 7 years with generally the same kids and it was a blast! I certainly (embarrassingly) wasn't the best student around and had my "nerd" years but I managed, and stayed with my class. Its funny how one can go back to this school (or really anywhere you have memories) and suddenly you're remembering things that you thought you forgot - its like ghosts from the past.


Standing there on the playground at Glen recently with my wife Caryn, my daughter Jennie and my son Ricky was both weird and very cool. The images of all of my classmates were so vivid to me. I find it challenging to try and locate or find out the fates of "us" and that's probably a part of my wanting to do this - the search, the investigating. I did it for my uncle Bill Rhode who was an 8th Air Force gunner in WW II - I located members of his crew and even found out the fates of his B-17 and B-24 bombers. It is work but is so much fun and can be very rewarding. I hope you can share your memories - good or bad - so we can tell the story of life in that wonderful neighborhood of 30 odd streets.

I was thrilled to learn over the past year that I was not alone in this weird craving for memories of Glen School. The Class of 1969 (Margaret Silvers, Doug Terhune, Scott Yates and so many other familiar names) definitely gave me the inspiration. The HoHokus Class of 71 (K-8th grade) actually found out the fates or their custodians, teachers and most of the kids. Even though every one of us was different - together we were quite a group. Even if we did go our separate ways after 1967, the affection I have for everybody - particularly my Class of 1967, has never left. So many of us have had wonderful experiences and great careers and wonderful families but the simplicity of our life at Glen School really rings true. It doesn't matter if its 1967 or 2007, the innocence - if you're lucky to experience it - is priceless. You obviously can't go back - there have been too many other worthy experiences in our lives but its fun to peek at the past - and hopefully it makes you feel good. While I realize some classmates don't want to bother and others don't want to be found I do hope you at least sneak peeks at the blog and remember something that was special.

Glen School Candids!

This is the place for camp photos, field trip photos, neighborhood photos, birthdays, etc. You can always check back for updates!

Here is Greg Rehe, Jim Smethurst & Wayne Bond at Camp Green! Courtesy of Chic Voorhis.



A picture of me when I played baseball for Marsh & Groat (coached by Betsy Kline's dad). This was taken in the Meneghin's backyard.

Here's a picture of Bruce Meneghin when he and I played baseball for the Ridgewood Elks Club. This was taken in my backyard.



John F. Kennedy died when we were in 3rd grade. My class (Miss Beattie) actually performed a variety show (songs, poetry, stories) at Seton Hall and it was broadcast at the exact same time that JFK was shot! The following Spring, Melanie Teasley, me, Bruce Meneghin, Mark Meneghin, Cindy Pomeroy and Marianne Pomeroy held a neighborhood fair to raise money for the JFK library. We raised $5.35! (but everything was 5-10 cents!) I still have the thank you note from Jackie Kennedy (sent to all that donated). The fair was in my front yard. Note the RBA baseball shirt! Also pictured here are my mom, Marianne Pomeroy, Mark Meneghin, Brian Meneghin and Kent Meneghin. Cindy is standing behind Melanie!

Below is the thank you note Jackie Kennedy had sent for the donation we made.

The art of fishing with Bruce Meneghin. I had gone camping with the Meneghin's - I don't recall where it was though. Bruce help me out!

Below is a picture of Greg Rehe on our 3rd grade field trip to the Museum Village. Greg's the one on the left.


Below is a picture of Beth Perdue not to be outdone by Greg Rehe! Beth always had the best smile!

Circus Day! From l to r: Randy Sharp, Kent Meneghin, Jimmy O'Brien, Ricky Flannery and Bruce Meneghin. This was on the Meneghin's front steps just before we left to see the circus.

This was Halloween - possibly 1965. Front Row: Marianne Pomeroy, Cindy Pomeroy, Brian Meneghin. Back Row: Ricky Flannery, Mark Meneghin. In 1963 I couldn't trick or treat cause I had the mumps - Bruce Meneghin took an extra bag around and collected candy for me - trick or treating with Cindy was a treat!

The picture below shows Andy Wright (Glen School Class of 1974) - formerly of Salem Lane when he played in the Tiny Tim division of the Ridgewood Baseball Association. (Salem Lane is the street right behind where we played kickball).

Not to be outdone by Mr. Wright the photo below shows me after practice in the Spring of 1963. That was my first year in Tiny Tim (RBA). That was our batting helmet - can you believe that? Not a lot of protection there!

Couldn't resist this one! Below is a picture of Chic Voorhis and Michelle Miller at RHS circa 1973! Michelle and Chic were later married!

Below is the Class of Glen 1969 1st grade - Mrs. Cook's class. A lot of classic Glen kids here including Kim Vukov, Barbara Demick, Karen Sewart, Charles Nalbantian & Margaret Silvers! I think Doug Terhune can be found too!


Below is Glen School Class of 1969 3rd grade after they made some puppets! Cindy Pomeroy is in the lower right of photo (as you're looking at it)! Barbara Demick in front too?

The above photo shows (from l to r) Katie Knight and Robin Smith with Snooty McGee. Photo is circa 1962-63. Photo is courtesy of Hank Henckler.

The above photo includes Robin Smith's brother "Duffy" (Donald) who was senior class president at RHS in 1968. He is shown turning over the keys to a brand new Volkswagen van that would be used to transport small sports teams - a parting gift from the Class of 1968. Shown with him on the far left is John Bowe (Chris' brother - Chris was my Class of '73). Wow did we give a gift like that? Two great educators are accepting the gift - John McCutcheon (whom I loved!) and William Leach our principal.

The original caption for this photo reads: "The ability to read type backwards helps," regional editor Russell Stewart explains as he shows Mrs James Rudy of the Glen School PTA how a page is made up. (Appeared in newspaper October 4, 1967) Mrs Rudy is Jennifer Rudy's mom!

Above is photo of Penny Ward riding her sister Jackie's horse "Winslow" in Farmington CT.

Above photo shows Penny Ward riding "Belle Acres Fawn" to a championship in 1973 at Farmington CT. Her sister Jackie was no slouch either!

Above is Lorraine Ward with "Belle Acres Star" aka "April" - another Ward champion horse! The Ward's had a great piece of property where we all went swimming and petted the horses. The farm was known as "Tall Pines Farm".

Karen Eide outside the gym with her Clorox bottle pig! We all made them and Katie Knight caught this one on camera one afternoon afterschool! Thanks to Katie for supplying the photo!

Looking For These People!

We had a lot of "kids" at Glen School - some moved away and some moved to other schools. Can you help find some of these people? I'll use maiden names because its more familiar. Please let me know where you might think they are: Jill Neandross, Kara DeGraw, Greg Rehe, Lisa Faeth, Corey Duvall, Karen Eide, Wayne Bond, Ed Nalbatian, Jan Potdevin, John Petrik, Richie Spell, Ken Merrill, Barbara Durheimer, Jan Koper, Frank Fortino, Melanie Teasley, Martin Vaz, Maryann Vaz, Randy Sharp, Paul Attella, Betsy Kline, Corinne Frank, Dave Chandler, Brian Marchese, Bobby Stewart, Lori Abrahamson, Susan Anderson, Irene Williams, Carey Hoff, Susan Andersen, Linda Breitkreuz, Eddie DeLorenzo, Robbie Wittemore. I'm also trying to locate Mark Linden who's father was Arthur Linden. If you can think of anybody I missed - let me know!

The Afternoon Glen School Kindergarten Class 1960-61

Here's Mrs. Janicke's 1960 kindergarten class! I remember a number of things about kindergarten amazingly. I recall that I couldn't wait to knock on Bruce Meneghin's door so we could walk to school together. We would meet up with Melanie Teasley and walk together. I also remember he and I taught Jan Potdevin and Karen Eide how to whistle. We also gave them each one of my sister's rings! The highlight of kindergarten for me was going to Karen Eide's house - that made my kindergarten!

There was also this big attached shed (still there today!) that had a lot of toys inside, but it also had these 2 huge tricycles that we always fought over during recess. They were bright green. Its ridiculous that one remembers stuff like that! I also recall getting poison ivy all over my arm. My mom put it in a sling all slathered with calamine and I remember chasing everybody around the sand box. There were also games of 1-2-3 Red Light between the kindergarten door and the main entrance to school under the canopy (perfect view of this is the main picture at the very top of the page).

The highlight of kindergarten was getting selected by Mrs. Janicke to go outside and get the milk for the class. Another classmate was selected to get the graham crackers. I read the book "My Mother the Car" to my classmates. Mrs. Janicke was great about getting us to read.

I need help identifying some of the kids so please feel free to help me out. Thanks Rick Marsh for adding some names!

Top Row: Leonard Van de Wagen, Bruce Meneghin, Danny Wagner, Gary Vukov, Arthur Brierley, unidentified, Greg Rehe, Paul Vaccari, Rick Flannery

3rd Row: Betsy Kline, Doug Brown, Cindy Hartman, Carl Vrabel, Jan Potdevin, Ricky Marsh, Pam Bennett, Corey Duvall, Karen Eide, Mrs. Jeanette Janicke

2nd Row: Ellen Haggerty, Lisa Faeth, Jill Neandross, Melanie Teasley, Kara DeGraw, Cara Worthington, Carey Hoff.

Front Row: Richie Spell, Bruce Cunneen

Sorry if I can't identify you! If you can identify some of the kids please let me know! Morning kindergarten class - please send a class photo!

Below is our kindergarten classroom as it appears today! Get out the graham crackers and the blankets! Who's getting the milk from the milk box? (Photo is from the collection of Doug Terhune)

(This photo taken 12/28/08) The large milk box was kept to the left of the door (the right looking at photo) - one layer of cartons for morning and one for the afternoon classes!


HOT SONGS OF 1960:

The Twist................................................Chubby Checker

Save the Last Dance for Me..................The Drifters

Will You Love Me Tomorrow...............The Shirelles

Shop Around...........................................The Miracles

Cathy's Clown.........................................Everly Brothers

HOT TV SHOWS OF 1960:

Gunsmoke

Wagon Train

Rifleman

Father Know's Best

77 Sunset Strip

Dennis the Menace

The Flinstones

POPULAR MOVIES OF 1960:

Ben Hur

The Apartment

Psycho

The Swiss Family Robinson

Ocean's 11

NATIONAL CURRENT EVENTS 1960:

January 26 - Willie Mays signs with the SF Giants for $85,000

January 31st - John F. Kennedy announces he will run for President of the United States

February 13 - France tests its first atomic "device"

February 23 - Ebbets Field - former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers - is demolished

March 16 - First car with solar-charged battery goes on display in NY

April 1960 - Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz divorce

April 5 - Ben Hur wins record 10 Oscars

May 9 - First birth control pill is approved by the FDA

June 18 - Arnold Palmer wins the US Open golf championship in Denver

July 2 - Neale Fraser & Maria Bueno win Wimbledon

July 4 - 50 star flag makes its debut in Philadelphia

August 18 - Beatles who are virtual unknowns make their first public performance in Hamburg Germany

Sept 12 - Hurricane Donna hits the east coast

Sept 26 - JFK & Nixon meet in the first of 4 televised debates

October 12 - Russian leader Nikita Kruschev bangs his shoe on his desk at UN in protest of the Phillipines diplomat and the Secretary General

October 18 - the NY Yankees lose in 7 games to the Pirates in World Series

November 9 - JFK is elected President

November 16 - Clark Gable dies

December 26 - Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers for NFL title

Please check back for local notable local events of 1960!

Glen's Favorite - Mr. McFall!

Above is Mr. McFall's old office (wood door to the left) - this was taken in Dec/2008.

Remember Mr. McFall? His first name was George and he was our school custodian and one of the most memorable people at Glen School. He was a pleasure to know - I remember him like it was yesterday! Seeing George when you got to school completed your day! The Class of 1969 was fortunate enough to have a reunion in 2000 that included Bill Montick (6th grade teacher) and Mr. McFall. The pictures included here are from that reunion and are courtesy of Margaret Silvers. Maybe you'll recognize some of the other names.

Margaret Silvers-Myatt recalls through Mr. Montick that when Mr. McFall received his paychecks, he always changed into non-custodial clothes to go to the bank. He was an extremely proud man - a man of great class.

As Bill Montick says, George McFall treated Glen School like it was his own. He took great pride in raising and lowering the flag outside the front of the building. Bill also recalls that on some lunch hours, Bill and Paul Harrison (the other 6th grade teacher) would race to Mr. McFall's office and play pinochle with him!

Margaret Silvers-Myatt remembers that in 1st grade someone had locked her bicycle to the bike rack - Mr. McFall as always saved the day by hack-sawing the lock off. Margaret also got herself into a spitting fight one time with Doug Terhune, Scott Yates and Bryan Kreuger - all 4 were sent to the office but when Mr. McFall saw them he said: "Three boys against one girl?" and Mr. Linden (our principal) let Margaret off!

Andy Wright - Glen Class of 1974 - recalls like so many of us do - climbing to the roof of the gym looking for baseballs, frisbees and kicking pebbles around - Mr. McFall would come and chase him down and Andy would make his way back to the low part near the courtyard and slide down one of the poles "like Batman"! Mr. McFall also chased Andy when he shot off packs of firecrackers too!

Cynthia Wagner-Boseski remembers Mr. McFall bringing his entire family to our concerts in the auditorium.

Mr. McFall will always be remembered as an amazingly unselfish man who cared for Barbara Demick's father Gene when he took ill.

Chic Voorhis told me recently that during Miss Beattie's 3rd grade class Chic had upset her so that she not only sent him out to the hall but slammed the door so hard that it got stuck! Before long Miss Beattie was pleading with Chic to go get Mr. McFall to unjam the door!

Beth Daly recently told me that when Mr. McFall passed away on May 10, 2006, she attended his wake at Van Emburgh Funeral Home in Ridgewood. She recalls that his family approached her, curious to find out who she was. Once she told how it was that she knew George McFall, she relayed to them how kind-hearted he was and how his bow tie was always straight and his uniform perfectly pressed and how he truly cared for the kids as much as the school.

She also told his family how just his presence alone commanded respect. Beth added the memory of George McFall raising and lowering the flag every school day and the help he gave us kids with stuck zippers, getting sick & helping us look for lost items.

We'll never forget Mr. McFall and what he meant to all of us!

Pictured above with Mr. McFall is Margaret Silvers who along with members of her Class of 1969 spearheaded the reunion.


Pictured top row: John Leyden, Mr. Montick, Walter Fennie. Front row: John Brevoort, Margaret Silvers, Mr. McFall and Ken Li.


Pictured above is Sue Crowe (Wilson) with Mr. McFall.


Pictured above from left to right: Sue Crowe (Wilson), Trisha Daly & Mr. Montick.

Glen School Opens 1960!

The Glen Class of 1966 was the first full class of K-6 at Glen School. Dedications and Open House ceremonies were held on January 31, 1960 for both Ridge and Glen School. The Open House at Glen was held at 3:00 pm that Sunday. The dedication program is below.

Star Spangled Banner &

Salute To Flag.............................................Glen School Girl Scout Troop 216

Invocation.................................................................Rev William Babinsky (Paramus Reformed Church)

Selection..................................................................Glen School Choir

Welcome & Introductions.............................Arthur W. Littlefield Board of Ed

Presentation of Building..............................Lester W. Smith (Architects)

Acceptance of Building.............................................Mr. Littlefield, Dr. Lloyd W. Ashby (Superintendent), John Biggi (Pres. Home & School Association)

Invitation To Open House...............................Arthur V. Linden, Jr (Principal)

Benediction................................................................Rev Charles A. Platt (First Presbyterian Church)

Special bonds were sold to raise the money to build Glen And Ridge schools. The total cost of the site, construction & equipment for Glen School was $542,000!

The first phase of the school was made up of the kindergarten, 8 additional classrooms, music room and library.

The special areas included the auditorium/gym, offices, health room, faculty room, storage rooms and a playground that featured a permanent sandbox and huge checkerboard.

The original staff was made up of the principal, 8 teachers, head custodian, librarian, nurse and secretary.

As of January 4, 1960 the enrollment for Glen School was at 184 kids with a capacity for 240.

The above photo shows a crossing guard crossing the kids that lived across Route 17. There 17 kids that had to cross the busy highway at the time and then E Saddle River Road. The overpass there was not built until 1967. Bus service later solved the problem. Photo appeared in the Ridgewood News January 21, 1959.

Need Help With Teachers Names!

Here are the teachers that I had in order (the names are probably mis-spelled so help me out!): K Mrs. Janicke, 1st Pat Mercer, 2nd Mrs. Cook, 3rd Amy Beattie, 4th Pat Prescott, 5th Mr. Zima and 6th Pat De Jongh. My classmates also had Pete Garharou, Elizabeth Bleeden, Miss Nostas & Mrs. Jones. We also had Mr Bookstaber (gym), Mr. Cook (music - Mrs. Cook's husband!), he passed away not long after, Mr Bookstaver for art (confused with our gym teacher!) There was Bea Blumquist in the library and later Mrs. Gunsberg (may be mis-spelled). Agnes Larsen was Mr. Linden's secreatry. Mrs. Mussilar was our school nurse. Familes of our great Glen School staff, please email me at cmad@ntplx.net!

We Need Class Photos!

Welcome to the Glen School blog! Hey we need class photos (single school photos and entire class) from 1960-1967 - please help! The more classmates that join in the more fun visiting the site will be! Hopefully it'll be a way for people to find each other or just stay in touch once in a while. Or even if you're not up for being in touch, hopefully you'll enjoy visiting! Certainly it will be a place for some fun memories! Email photos to cmad@ntplx.net.