To Mr. McDonough, Our English Teacher
Contributed by Jim Vargo

He tossed it on my desk and huffed, "Read it!"

Robert Frost’s Mending Wall; I’m only a 10th grader.
What am I being asked to “wall in and not wall out?”

Clarence Darrow’s, Defense of Henry Sweet followed. “Read it!”
There are no “negroes” in our town. What does this white guy defending a negro have to do with me?

Next, was Lady Gregory’s, The Rising of the Moon. “Read it!”
I’m an 11th grader living in the land of plenty. Why should I care about some foreign revolution?

“You’re going to sing in our production of Smokey Mountain Opry.”
Most of our dads worked in the Quarries. We lived in three room “company” houses and we didn’t have the proverbial pot to piss in. I sang and rejoiced.

Richard Cory. “Read it!”
My God, can my ignorance really cause someone to become so desperate?

Daniel in the Lion’s Den. “Read it!”
The Congregational Church hosted our senior class breakfast. The Priest wouldn’t allow the Catholics to attend.

We the People; at commencement we “Read it!”

Mending Wall

Fritz. I’m beginning to get it. Thank you.

An Exhortation and an Invitation to All South Amherst High School Graduates from Dennis Dulmage and Jim Vargo, class of 1959.

It is our fervent wish that Cavalier Alumni everywhere will cherish their memories of South Amherst and her people forever.

With these words from Robert Frost, we invite you to share our memories of that wonderful time and place that means so much to us.

"I'm going out to clean the pasture spring:
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And watch the water clear, I may):
I shan't be gone long, ___ You come to."

OUR TIME, OUR HOME

SOUTH AMHERST HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1959
50TH REUNION JULY 18, 2009

Okay All You Squares Sit Down.
Move Over You Freakin S.A. Alums Because…
Here Comes The Class Of 1959!

It Was An Era Like No Other!
It Was The Emergence Of The Dreaded…Teenager.
It Was Mom.
And The Bible.
And Apple Pie.

It Was The Era Of …Rockn' Roll.
It Was Simple.
Life Was Simple.
We Were Simple.

It Was About Gymnasiums.
And Sock Hops.
And Crepe Paper.
And Proms.
With White Sport Coats.
And Pink Carnations.

We Liked Ike And JFK.
But Not Kruschev Or Sputnik.
It Was A Time To Breakout!
We Were Rebels Without A Cause.
Except For Our Music.

The Music Moved Us, Talked To Us, Spoke For Us.
We Were The New Teenagers…
Spurred On By Kasy Kasum And The Top 50.
Rock Around The Clock.
Fats Domino.
Great Balls Of Fire.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.
Catch A Falling Star.
The Twist And Chubby Checker.
Blue Suede Shoes.
Heartbreak Hotel.
Elvis And His Swiveling Hips.

Screaming Teenagers.

It Was Evil.
It Was Sinful.
Love Potion #9.
Cool, Baby, Cool.
Goodnight Sweetheart. Well It's Time To Go. Good Night Sweetheart.

You're Off Key…Get Back To The Script.

Earth Angel.
In The Still Of The Night.
The Stroll.
Chantilly Lace.
Splish Splash I Was Takn' A Bath.
At The Hop.

Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison.
The Everly Brothers And Wake Up Little Susie.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry.
Eddie Fisher, Doris Day, Connie Francis.
The Big Bopper.
The Platters, Ink Spots, Coasters And Danny And The Juniors.

It Was The Age Of James Dean Personified.
It Was Our Time To Rebel.
DA's.
Side Burns.
Pegged Pants.
Black Jackets.
Turned-Up Collars Engineer Boots.
It Was Our Rebelion.
It Was…Rock'n Roll!!!

But It Was Still Mom And The Bible.
And Pink And Gray.
Pink Shirts, Gray Pants.
With Penny Loafers.
And White Socks.
It Was Bobby Socks, Pony Tails, Poodle Skirts.
Tight Cashmere Sweaters!
It Was Sexy.

Hoola Hoops And Charm Bracelets.
Class Rings.
Proms And Corsages.
Going Steady.
Evil.
Sinful.

It Was About Small Town USA.
With Churches And Bars.
With Gas Stations And Soda Shops.
With Grocery Stores.
And Barber Shops.
We Had It All!!!

It Was Easy.
It Was Mom.
The Bible.
Apple Pie.
And Rock'n Roll.
Life Was Simple.
We Were Simple.

'57 Chevys, '56 Fords, The T-Bird.
White Wall Tires, Baby Moons, Pin Stripes.
Cool, Baby, Cool!
Fins, Bullet Tail Lights And Steering Knobs.
Drag Racing, Zero To 60 In 60 Seconds.
Stick Shifts, Duel Carbs, Fuel Injected V-8s.
Dig It, Baby.

It Was 15 Cent Hamburgers.
Manners Big Boy, Mcdonalds, White Castle.
Root Beer Floats, Cherry Cokes.
Soda Shops With Juke Boxes On The Counters.
Drive-In Restaurants.
With Car Hops On Roller Skates.
Drive-In Movies With Your Honey, Your Sweetheart, Your Baby Doll.
Parking, Petting, Sucker Bites.
Clubs And Gangs.
And Cigarettes…Camels, Luckies, Pall Mall, No Filters.
And All I Got To Say Is…Cough, Cough, Cough!
The Marlboro Man.
So Cool Dadio.

A Little Sinful, A Little Evil.
But Always…Mom And Apple Pie.
Don't Forget The Bible.
Always Church On Sunday.
When A Neighbor Was Really A Neighbor.

When An Antenna Was On Every Roof.
Black & White TV.
It Was Great!
The Lone Ranger.
The Hit Parade.
"Lucy, You Got Some 'Splainin' To Do."
Oh Those Commercials…Bosco, Tootsie Roll Pops, Ovaltine.
Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz.
Oh What A Relief It Is.
Father Knows Best.
The Texaco Star Theater.
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.
You Bet Your Life.
"Just The Facts Ma'am, Just The Facts."
Ed Sullivan, The $64,000 Question.
Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke.
I've Got A Secret, Red Skelton.
Beaver, Opie, Ozzie & Harriet, Rickie Nelson.
M…I…C…K…E…Y…M…O…U…S…E
"One Of These Days Alice…"

Church On Sunday And Catechism On Friday.
Bible School, Revival Meetings, Church Picnics And Family Reunions.

Baseball On The Radio.
Dronning…On And On.
And Jack Benny, Amos And Andy, Our Miss Brooks And Art Linkletter's House Party.
What Evil Lurks In The Heart Of Men….
The Shadow Knows.
Baseball Cards For Flipp'n And Spok'n.
Daisy Air Rifles, Red Ryders And Slinkies.

It Was Our Time And Place In The Sun.
And On The Beach.
With Blankets And Bikinis.
Gidget, Sandra Dee, Tammy And The Bachelor.
James Darren, Troy Donahue.
Brando And The Black Board Jungle.

We Were Rebels Without A Cause.
We Would Be Seen Alright.
We Would Be Heard.
Through Our Music.

It Was The Best Of Times.
It Was The Age Of Our Youth.
Of Discovery.
Of Innocence.
Of Ignorance.

It Was Easy.
Life Was Simple.
We…Were Simple.
It Was Simply Mom.
The Bible.
And Apple Pie.
AMERICAN PIE.

It Was America In The 50's.
And Our America Was …Rock'n Roll.
Cool Baby Cool!
Dig It Dadio!

You Look Ridiculous. (In that "Rebel" wig.)
You Don't Look So Hot Yourself.
How Do I Look Now? After removing "Rebel" wig.)
Ridiculous,… Just Older And Wrinkled.
What The Hell Are We Doing Hanging Out With All These Old People?
50 Years?
Tell Me It's Not So!
50 Years!
It Is So, Isn't It?
Yes It Is!

Should We Be Crying? Should We Be Laughing?
A Bit Of Both I Believe.
In The Blink Of An Eye We've Gone From Diapers, To Diplomas, To Deliverance From Life's Illusions.
We've Gone From Sweet Sixteen, To Sex In The City, To, Is There Sex After 60?
Not if You Ask Pudge Wilhelm!
We've Gone From Vincze's To Victoria's Secret.
From Vitality To Viagra.
Hey, Did You See Riddle Perk Up When You Said Viagra?
So Did Liz And Karen!
Where Are They?

We "Gentlemen" Have Gone From Hanging Out Behind Makruski's Garage To Hanging Out Over Our Beltlines.
And Thank Goodness, The Ladies Have Gone From Girdles To Spanks To "I'm Okay With Who I Am And To Hell With Anybody Who Isn't!"
That's Such A Pathetic Attitude!
Ah Yes, Deliverance From Life's Illusions!
We've Gone From Doo Wop and Hip Hop…
To Hip Replacements.
From Hail, Hail Rock 'N Roll, To Beginning To Understand Soul.
From Class Rings To Belly Button Rings!

We've Gone From Crystal Radios To The Inter-Net.
Oh Yeah, The Inter-Net. Did It Really Put South Amherst On The Map?
Google It Up My Man.
Find Singles In South Amherst!
Hell, One Peek Inside Timbers And Andy's Far West Inn Tells You That Story.
Find Hotels In South Amherst.
This Is An Actual Quote: "My Travelguide.Com. Has Compiled A List Of 39 Hotels In South Amherst, Ohio!
Me Thinks That Person Spent Far Too Much Time In East Of Chicago Pizza.
East Of Chicago Pizza?
Oh, Sorry, I Meant Toots Jamie's Old Bar.
Find Homes In South Amherst!
This Is An Actual Quote From An Inter-Net For Sale Advertisement For My Former Home On Main Street; "Breath Taking View Of Beaver Creek."
Ah Yes, The Inter-Net.
Find Great Schools In South Amherst!
We Don't Need The Inter-Net To Find The Home Of The South Amherst Cavaliers!
I Think It's The Falcons.
NO! It Will Always Be The Cavaliers.

You Know, They Say Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat.
They Also Say You Can't Ever Really Go Home.
Well Whoever They Are, They're Wrong On Both Counts.
Tonight, We've Come Home.
And Our Home Was Much More Than Just A Place Where We Hung Our Hats.
Our Home Is Where We Settled Scores With An Actual Scoreboard And An Occasional Bop To The Nose.
That's Because Chiek Tommy Snizek And My Dad (John Vargo) Wouldn't Have Allowed It To Be Otherwise.
Our Home Is Where We Didn't Have To Worry About E-Coli And Salmonella.
That's Because Mrs. Amenhauser, Mrs, Brock, Mrs, Fazey, Mrs. Mathes, Mrs. Mori And My Mom (Marge Vargo) Treated Us And Our School Cafeteria With As Much Care As They Did Their Own Kids And Their Own Kitchens.
Our Home Is Where Our Custodian Hubie Jones, And His Assitants Mrs. Emmerick And Mike Sislow's Mom Taught Us That Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness.
And Woe Be Unto Anyone Who Messed Up The Hallowed Halls Of The Kelly Green And White.
Our Home Is Where We Can Tell Our Grandkids That Some Of Us Actually Did Walk Two Miles To School, In Knee Deep Snow And Torrential Rain.
Up Hill!...Both Ways!
And Those Who Rode The Bus Were Always Greeted With A Great Smile From Chet Zukowski Or Joe Gargasz.
Our Home Is Where You Relaxed Over Malts At Thompson's Or Cokes At Ma & Pa Perkins.

This Is Beginning To Sound A Little Like "Mayberry RFD" Or Thorton Wilder's "Our Town".

Neither Has Anything On Ol' South Amherst RFD.
Aunt Bea Was None Other Than Mrs. Bauer; Mrs. Byant, Mrs. Rollie, Mrs. Schiede, Mrs. Singley, Mrs. Stang, Mrs. Thompson And Mrs. Zigman All Rolled Into One.
I Defy Anyone To Tell Me Goober Pyle Didn't Come To Mind When Coach Calich Was Ranting About Not Making Our Snow Birds.
And If Mr. Judy Wasn't The Spitt'n Image Of Mayberry's Sam Jones, Aka Ken Berry, I Don't Know Who Was.
You Know, To Build Their Town Hall, The Folks In Wilder's "Our Town" Had To Go To All The Way To Vermont For The Marble.
Well, Our Home Is Where They Had To Come To Get The Sandstone To Build Finney Chapel In Oberlin, Old Stone Church In Cleveland And Bill Gates' Mansion In Medina, Washington.

Indeed, Our Home Will Forever Be Much More Than A Place Where We Hung Our Hats.
It's Where We Placed Our Hearts.
Our Home Is Where Dan Makruski Will Forever Quick Cog His Chevy To Victory At Norwalk…
Our Home Is Where We'll Forever Receive Dorothy Lalonde's Messages From Ancient Sites In China…
Where Ronnie Dickinson Will Forever Fulfill His Lifelong Desire To Secure A Permanent Position At The Hoop…
Where Mike Sislow Will Forever Have A Heart More Formidable Than His Athletic Prowess.
Our Home Is Where Bob Becker Will Forever Be There To Help Fight Our Fiercest Fires…
Where Tippy Bodnar Will Forever Be There To Trim Our Hair…
Where Doctor Ruth Jones Will Forever Be There To Tend To Our Hurts.
And Where Her Sister's Smile Will Forever Be As Bright As Dawn…
Our Home Is Where There Was A Will At The Helm And Coach Will Forever Be There To Remind Us To Dig And Drive…
Our Home Is Where Fritz Mcdonough Will Forever Be There To Caution Us To Be Aware Of What We May Be Walling In And Walling Out.
Our Home Is Also Where We Wonder.
We Wonder?

We Wonder…

Did Mary Ann Ickes Really Inherit Her Giggly Nature From Liz Gochnour?
I Hope She Didn't Inherit Liz's Desire To Be A Professional Bum!
Does Liz Still Find The Happy Side Of Everything And Does She Still Cry With Enjoyment?...

We Wonder...

Did Jim Riddle Actually Will His "Romeo Ways" To Bill Willis?
Riddles' "Romeo Ways?"
We Wonder…How's That Working Judy?

We Wonder…

Is Rumble Stilskin Actually Harold Dalrymple?
Who Did Put Those Worms In Miss Carpenter's Desk Drawer?
Where Is The Puppet House We Built In Mrs. Thompson's Class?
Did Our Band Director Mr. Angalich's Hat Actually Get Blown Off At Half Time?
Did Mr. Haskins Really Drive The School Bus When He Wasn't Teaching Social Studies And Math?

We Wonder…

Who Said, "Does Mrs. Odor Really Have One?"?
Who Said, "With A Name Like Mrs. Kunch She Had Better Be Good."?
Who Said, Of Mrs. Purdy, "I Really Don't Think So."?

We Wonder…

Whose Knuckles Did Mrs. Burns, Nee Miss Donahue Rap With A Ruler Three Different Times On The Same Day?
Who The Hell Was Mr. Neil And Did He Really Teach Math?

We Wonder…

Did Jeff Levey Ever Find His Shoulder Pads?
Did Pinky Gainok Really Do That To A Horse?
Ah, Small Town America…

We Wonder…

Today, Would A School Superintendent, As TC Simpson Did, Drive All Day And Night, To Rescue His "Boys" Who Fled To Georgia After Consuming The Beer They "Found" In The Fridge At The Swiss Hall?
Some Of Whom Are Here This Evening.

We Wonder…

What Could Have Possessed Ralph Smith To Become An Office Aid?
I'm Sure It Had Nothing To Do With The Fact That The Other 16 Aids Were Girls!
Is That 6'4" Tall Drink Of Water With The Dark Black Rimmed Glasses Still Making Great Music With His Baritone Sax?

We Wonder...

Is Our Home Where Kenny Wilhelm Finally Gets Laid?
Only To Rest, Only To Rest!
You Know, According To The Quarrytowh Review, Kenny Fashioned Himself As A Millionaire By Age 21.

We Wonder…

If You Asked Him Tonight, Wouldn't He Tell You Haulin' Ass Down A Track With Bob Becker Was Worth Far More Than A Million Dollars?

We Wonder…

Which Of Our Classmates Held The Record For The Mile Relay And The 440 At The Same Time?
Believe It Or Not, It Was None Other Than Silent Joe Shairba.
Joe Wasn't So Silent When He Filled In For Ron Gargasz At The State One-Act Play Contest And Helped The Cast To Win A Superior Rating …All On Two Days Notice.

We Wonder…

I Was A Class Secretary, Sang In The Choir And Enjoyed Long Walks And Going For Rides.
Sounds Like Something Straight Out Of Playboy!
Could Have Been, Could Have Been. It Was None Other Than Our Senior Carnival Queen Helen Syrowski.

We Wonder…

Was It The Values We Learned In Quarrytown That Prompted Service To Our Country?
Or Was It The Independence Day and Memorial Day Parades With Red, White And Blue Crepe Paper Festooning The Spokes Of Our Bikes?
Ask Air Force Veteran Gerry Innes.
Ask Army Veterans Roy Jones, Jim Riddle, and Jim Vargo.
Ask Navy Veterans Jim Lane And Karen St. Peter
And What Would Army Veterans Ronnie Dickinson, Dan Makruski And Mike Sislow Have Said?
Here's Something Night Train Lane Had To Say About His Service In The Navy.
In A Letter To Me (Jim Vargo) Dated August 8, 1961 Jim Wrote…"Hello, Glad To Hear From You…Man I Don't Even Have To Wash My Own Clothes. I Get Clean Clothes Three Times A Week And I Don't Even Sweat In Them."
The Same James Henry Lane Who Was Named An Inland Conference All Star Middle Guard In His Senior Year?
Yep, The Same...

We Wonder…

Patty Allsop Was The Softball Team Manager. Could She Really Have Managed Team Members Ruth Huya, Linda Lane, Lorna Ellis And Doris Jean Russell?
Could Anyone Have?

We Wonder…

Why Was Patty 5" Shorter When She Got Out At The Hoop On A Certain Wednesday Evening? Does Anyone Remember Why? And Does She Still Spend Her Free Time Listening To The Radio?

We Wonder…

Does Ruthie Still Love To Drive And Fix Cars? Does She Still Collect Coins And Records?
Linda Could Tell You The Top 50 Records At The Drop Of A Hat. Is Elvis Presley Still Her Number One Favorite Singer?

We Wonder...

Was It Any Wonder That Lorna Ellis With Her Sparkling Eyes And Stenographic Skills Would Be Elected Football Queen And Class Secretary? Do The Wide Open Spaces Of Texas Enhance Her Love Of Driving?

We Wonder…

What Was Doris Russell Thinking When She Left Ruth And Audrey Stranded On The Corner?
Are Doris' Favorite Hobbies Still Swimming And Reading?
Hey, Was This Conversation Between Karen St. Peter And Audrey Beko Really Overheard In The Girls Restroom?
Karen-"Kenny Thinks He's A Man Now That He Has Hair On His Chest."
Audrey-"So Does Lassie."

We Wonder…

How The Hell Did Karen Know Kenny Had Hair On His Chest?
Do Karen And Audrey Still Indulge In Their Favorite Pastimes Of Reading And Listening To Music?
Did Karen Ever Find Her Deserted Island?
And How Is It Possible That Audrey Felt She Needed To Learn How To Get Along In The World, When She Always Got Along So Beautifully With Everyone?

Gerry Innis Always Planned To Join The Service And He Did. Is He The Only One Among Us To Actually Carry Out His Plans? Does He Own The Convertible He Dreamed Of?
Does He Still Sleepwalk? We Wonder.

We Wonder…

When Roy Jones Willed His "Rough House" Name To Art Roose, Did He Retain His Stubborness And Unwillingness To Give In?
I Hope Not, That's What Helped Roy To Earn 10 Athletic Letters In Three Sports And All-Conference Football Honors.

I Wonder…

Do You Remember The Question Of The Month Column In Our Quarrytown Review?
I'm Not Sure I Even Remember The Quarrytown Review.
Well Let Me Refresh You.
Alright, I'll Have A Scotch And Water.
No, I Meant Refresh Your Memory.
Alright, I'll Have A Jim Beam And Water.

Hey, Another Quarrytown Question Of The Month, "What Do You Want Most Out Of Your High School Career?"
Reggie Martin: "At Least A C."

We Wonder…

Where The Hell Is Reggie? Does He Still Enjoy Music Of The Quiet Variety?

Q & A Of The Month, "What Did Some Of Our Teachers Think Of Rock 'N Roll?"
Mr. Pozniak-"Some Of The Recent Stuff Has Ruined Rock 'N Roll."
Mr. Riddle-"I Prefer Waltzes. The Rockin' Chair Is More My Beat."
Mr. Shiltz-"I Think Rock 'N Roll Is Wonderful."
Orlando Shiltz??? "Rock 'N Roll Is Wonderful."?!?!... Steamboat Shiltz???... What Up With That Dog?
Mrs. Schrader Said-"I Feel It Definitely Has A Place In The Life Of Today's Teenager, Just As Boogie-Woogie Had It's Place In My Life."
Mr. Frank-"I Think It Has A Basic Appeal In Which Lies A Very Earthly Repetition Of Strong Rythmic Elements."
Mr. Judy-"Doesn't Make Any Sense."
Was Mr. Judy Talking About Rock 'N Roll Or Mr. Frank?
Both I Believe.
Mr. Wilhelm-"Is It Music?"
Mr. Mcdonough-"Brings Out The Primitive In Me."
Mrs. Simpson-"Rock N' Roll Doesn't Soothe And Inspire."
Mr. Simpson-"You Certainly Can't Go To Sleep Listening To It."

We Wonder…

If Harriet Wasn't Soothed Or Inspired And TC Couldn't Sleep, What The Hell Did They Do When They Went To Bed?

Final Question Of The Month: "What's Your Favorite Pastime?"

We Wonder…

How Could Don Discenzo Have Said His Favorite Pastime Was Loafing?
Beats Me…You Can't Loaf And Letter In Five Sports. And You Can't Loaf When You're Running, Among Other Things, A Hardware Store In The White Mountains Of New Hampshire.
If You Ask Jim Riddle, I'm Sure He'll Agree, You Can't Loaf When You Own And Operate A Hardware Store Anywhere.
It Was Noted In The Quarrytown Review That When He Was The VP Of The Varsity Club The Girls All Sighed Over Jim When They Saw Him In The Hall.
We Know We Don't Have To Wonder Whether Or Not Judy Is Still Sighing Over Him. Right Jim?

We Wonder…

Do Any Of Us Now Regret The Shenanigans Which Prompted Mr. And Mrs. Simpson To Cancel Our Tour Of The White House?

We Wonder… Can You Imagine…

Mrs. Simpson Without A Pretty Handkerchief?
Coach Rakovan Without A Sullen Look On His Face?
Mr. Reinhart In A Room Full Of Snakes?
Mr. Nader Without A Bow Tie?
The Two Of Us Doing This At Our 75th Reunion?
I'll Be There.
So Will I.

We Wonder...

Why Are We All Here Tonight?
To Put On A White Sport Coat Again?
To Wear A Pink Carnation One Last Time?
To Have One Last Dance With The Past?
Why Have We Come Back To Good Ole South Amherst?

We Wonder...

Was That Era Of Mom, The Bible, Apple Pie And Rock 'N Roll Real?
Or Just A Dream?
Was It As We Now Remember It?
Or Just An Illusion Of What We Want To Believe?
Rock 'N Roll Wasn't A Dream!
I Dig It, Man, It Wasn't!
But, Was It As We Remember It?

We Wonder…

Were Those Days At South Amherst High School Really Special?
As Special As We Now Think?
The Proms, The Sock Hops…
Our First Loves, Our Lasting Friendships…
The D.A.S, Pegged Pants, Cashmere Sweaters And Poodle Skirts?
The Cars, Drive-Ins, Car Hops And Cruising Broadway In Lorain.
The Innocence And The Ignorance
The Simplicity Of Our Youth

Was It Really The Best Of Times?
Was South Amherst High An American Ideal, Then?
Or Just Another Idealized Memory Of Old People Living In The Past?
Were We Really Rebels Without A Cause?
The James Dean's, The Elvis's, The Sulking Teenagers?
Or Was Every Era Before And After, Much The Same As Ours?

We Wonder...

My Brother's (Howard Dulmage) Daughter, My Niece Starr, Graduated In 1988.
Yes, The Last Class To Graduate As Cavaliers.
South Amherst High Is History.
Just A Month Ago We Saw The Falcon On The Wall In The Old Gym.
It Was A Very Rude Awakening For Me.
Will 2038 Be The End Of Alumni Celebrations Such As This?
Will That End The Alumni Association?
Will That Be The End Of Gatherings Such As This?
Will We Here Tonight Just Become Part Of A Forgotten History?

We Wonder… But, We Think Not.

South Amherst Was Not Defined By The High School Only.
The High School Was Simply The Center Of It All For Us.
But, It Was Also Churches; The Fire Department; The Police Department.
The Gas Stations The Grocery Store And Soda Shops.
Even The Bars, Timbers, Jamie's, Andy's Far West Inn
And The Wonderful People Who Ran Them.
And The People Who Worked In Them And Patronized Them.

South Amherst Was Fish Fries On Friday, BB Gun Battles In The Quarries And Camp Fires At The Scout Cabin.
Fire Trucks In The Memorial Day Parade, American Legion Baseball.
And Ice Cream Socials At Church.
South Amherst Was The Neatly Lined Houses Along Main Street.
Along Annis, Quarry, North And South Pyle Roads.

It Was Riding Your Bicycle Past The Houses Along Fern, Elm, Church, Maple And Leonard Streets.
Past The Houses On Buckeye, Erie And Juanita Streets And Maroy Drive.
Past The Houses On Charles, Vivian And Kenwood Streets.

And It Was The People Who Lived In Those Houses.
The People Who Nurtured Us.
Who Helped Us Grow. Who Encouraged Us To Move On.
South Amherst Was Defined By Its People.

Twenty-Five Years Ago…
At A Banquet Much Similar To This One…
We, The Class Of '59, Came Together.
We Came From California, New Hampshire, Virginia, Texas And From All Over Ohio.
Most Of The Class Of 1959 Were Here Then.
And When Asked Why We Came?
The Reply Was Much The Same.
"We've Come Home."

So, We Think, No We Believe …
Home Is South Amherst.
We Know, Home Were The People Of South Amherst.

From A Letter - Dated July 7, 1993…
"Fritz McDonough Was Right When He Told Me We Didn't Know How Good We Had It At SA… And I'm Inclined To Agree With Him When He Said South Amherst Was Camelot".
Jack Wilhelm, Football And Track Coach South Amherst High School.

From A Letter - Dated June 2, 2000…
"South Amherst Gave Us The Opportunity To Let The Poet In Us Speak Softly And Double The Pleasure. When We Have Someone Or Someplace To Love, It's A Well-Deserved Sense Of A Goal Reached."
Fritz McDonough English Teacher & Drama Coach South Amherst High School.

From A Letter, Dated August 6, 1984…
"When I'm In The Remotest Places On Earth, I Always Bring Up The Fact That I'm From The Sandstone Center Of The World…As The Leader Of An Exhibition To A Rural Village In China, I Had The Honor Of Presenting A Toast To The Heads Of The Village. A Fellow Geologist Whispered Over My Shoulder, "What's A Little Girl From South Amherst Doing In Such A Lofty Position? I Responded, A Little Girl From South Amherst Has Every Right! I Think It Was A Great Place To Grow Up."
Dorothy Lalonde Class Of 1959 South Amherst High School.

So, We Don't Wonder So Much Anymore.
You Know, Like The Quarry Town Review "Wondered" Every Year…
Wondered What Would Become Of Its Graduates?

We Think… No, We Believe…

That South Amherst Then And Now Is Not Just Any Typical Small Town In America.
It Was And Is A Special Place.
No Illusion Or Dream.
But A Unique Place.
Made Up Of The Voices Of Very Special People, People Such As…
The Foors, The Schneiders, Fazeys And Flowers…
The Dostals, Sacketts, Costanzos And Vilagis…
Biggs, Laws, Makruskis, Alsops And Dutys…
The Joneses, Springers, Gaumans And Balzers…
The Ruths, Walkers, Heveners, Kalos And Jamies…
The Glassers, Dickinsons, Yarmouths And Eberhardts...
The Kriegs, Kilmers, Hysters And Curriers…
The Shinskeys, Wirths, Engles And Zaborniaks…
The Copes, Hymans, Bodnars, Sacketts And Discenzos…
The Winarskis, Dulmages, Vargos And Smiths…
The Owenses, Branscums, Hammonds, Thompsons And Troxells…
The Sorokas, Lupes, Amenhausers And Singleys…
The Dudashes, Lutzes, Krebs And Kruecks…
The Starrs, Dewitts, Deichlers, Ganioks, Gargaszes And Ellises…
Well, You Get The Point And Countless Others, Far Too Many To Mention…

A Community Of Voices That Year-In And Year Out Taught Us That…
Doing The Decent Thing Was The Right Thing To Do.
Urging Us To Give Back More Than We Take.
Reminding Us Of Our Responsibility To The Generations To Come.
Imploring Us, In The Most Subtle And Quiet Way, That Through Our Acts Of Kindness…
And Our Deeds Of Generosity…

South Amherst Will Continue To Be That Very Special Place, Indeed.
That Place… We Don't Wonder About Anymore.
But That Place We Believe In Now… To Be The Place We Call Home.

From A Letter Dated June 8, 2009:
"I Have Been So Very Fortunate In My Life -- Wonderful Family, Friends And Mentors. Thanks To My Lifelong Partner, Claudia, I Have Been To Some Very Amazing Places---Some Very Big, Some Very Important. Thanks To Her, I Have Met Some Important People--Some Very Influential People. But For Me, I Have Never Been To A "Bigger" Place Than The Town Of South Amherst. I Have Never Had So Many People Have So Much Positive Influence On My Life Than The People Of South Amherst. I Have Never Forgotten That -- Not Once."
Denny Dulmage Class Of 1959 South Amherst High School

South Amherst, You Have Served Us Well.
A Place To Work And To Play.
A Place To Learn, To Go To Church And To Make Friends.
A Place Where Someone Was Always There To Help Us Grow.
But, Mostly A Place To Come Back To.
A Place We Call Home.
HOME!

Here's To The School We All Love.
We Love Her Green And White,
Her Honor,
Loyalty,
Truth And Love…
We Sing It Both Day And Night.
The Hours We Spent In Her Halls…
Are Fond Memories 'Tis True…
And Her Alma Mater We Will Sing…
South Amherst, We Are For You.

Ladies And Gentlemen, As We Knew Them…..
The South Amherst High School Class Of 1959…

Patty Allsop
Audrey Beko
Liz Gochnour
Karen St. Peter
Donnie "Doc" Discenzo
Gerry "Mouse" Innes
Roy "Rough House" Jones
Jim "Night Train" Lane
Jim "Romeo" Riddle
"Silent" Joe Shairba
Ralph "Smitty" Smith
Ken "Pudge" Wilhelm
Jim "Little Man" Vargo
Dennis "The Menace" Dulmage

In Absentia-Deceased

Dorthy Lalonde
Ronnie Dickison
Daniel Makruski
Mike Sislow

In Absentia

Carol Amenhauser
Lorna Ellis
Ruth Huya
Linda Lane
Reggie Martin
Doris Russell
Helen Sorowski