I remember....
Submitted by Susan Mascette Brandt-- 08/15//01
Today is the 15th of August, and I'm awash in memories about the highpoint of
a Solvay summer when we were growing up. I remember parading in the streets
outside St. Cecilia's, the girls in homemade blue gowns with sashes and circles
of flowers on our heads and the boys in cassocks, singing hymns in Italian, no
less ("Oh, Sancta Virgine, prega per me"). Little old Italian men would carry a
huge statue of BVM wearing a special cloth cape (blue, of course), and people
would pin dollar bills to her cape as they went by. We'd shudder as the 15-gun
salute would go off. Then there were the glorious three nights of the Geddes
Veterans' Field Days (in those days, no one thought it odd that a veterans
organization would do a big celebration for a Catholic holiday!). My Dad, the
wonderful Zinzi, was always in charge of the beer and hot dog tent, which he
managed to fill with equipment marked "Property of N.Y.S. Fair". Sorry for
rambling on, but I'm feeling very nostalgic about my long-gone youth today!
Submitted by Ann Fougnier-- 01/09/01
Close
your eyes....And go back.... Way back.......
Before the Internet or the MAC Before semi automatics and crack Before SEGA
or Super Nintendo...
I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk.
Sittin' on the porch Hot bread and butter.
The Good Humor man Red light, Green light.
Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets Penny candy in a brown paper bag.
Playin' Pinball in the corner store.
Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch Jacks, kickball, dodgeball.
Mother May I?
Red Rover and Roly Poly Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds
Jolly Ranchers, Banana Splits Wax Lips and Mustaches
Running through the sprinkler.
Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons Fat Albert, Road Runner, He-Man, The
Three Stooges, and Bugs
Or back further, listening to Superman on the radio
Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar.
When around the corner seemed far away, And going downtown seemed like going
somewhere.
Bedtime
Climbing trees
An ice cream cone on a warm summer night Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry
or maybe butter pecan
A lemon coke from the fountain at the corner drug store
A million mosquito bites
Cops and Robbers Cowboys and Indians
Sittin on the curb Jumpin down the steps Jumpin on the bed.
Pillow fights
Runnin till you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from playin'....
Eating Kool-aid powder with sugar.
When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyers)
and the only time you wore them at school, was for "gym"
When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up, if you even had one.
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When nobody owned a purebred dog.
When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a miracle.
When milk went up one cent and everyone talked about it for weeks?
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.
When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their
hair done, everyday.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without
asking, for free, every time. And, you didn't pay for air. And, you got
trading stamps to boot!
When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the
box.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry
groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real
restaurant with your parents.
When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed, and did!
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate
that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by
shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much
bigger threat! and some of us are still afraid of em!!!
Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
"Race issue"; meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly"
Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
Being old, referred to anyone over 20.
The net on a tennis court was the perfect height to play volleyball and
rules didn't matter.
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb.
It was unbelievable that dodgeball wasn't an Olympic event.
Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a slingshot.
Nobody was prettier than Mom.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big
people"rides at
the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute ads for action figures.
No shopping trip was complete, unless a new toy was brought home.
"Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense Spinning around, getting dizzy
and
falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
War was a card game.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group.
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up"
life...
I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!!!
2001
I remember:
-Boyd, after Sacred Heart, and what a truly great 7th grade teacher Richard
Fellows was...
-Going to Fran D.'s house, before school, to sing Pat Boone's "Why Baby,
Why?" and assorted Chuck Berry songs, with Fran and the Borell
boys...
-Intermediate...vaguely...what's one year?...
-The freedom of Solvay High, after the physical and psychological trauma of
CBA...
-Always being "the youngest"...
-Not taking typing, because it was "for girls"...damn!...
-Not taking French, because my sister said it was hard... and summering the
last twenty plus years in French Quebec, learning the language on the
streets...zut!...
-Harcourt's physics class, which consisted of eight lost souls...Hooke's Law
is undeniable...
-John Testone, under his desk, for Beowulf..."in the darkness dwelt the
demon sprite, Grendl!"...
-Trying to be "suave" (that was the term) not cool...
-How close my cousin, Don Pippitt, and I were...
-Zeck's, for a power lunch of a hamburger, chips and beer...
-Tiernan's, and the Top o' the Hill...
-Suffering, from acute testosterone poisoning...
-Riding "shotgun" in Ron Davia's old Ford, with the broken
door, to Pi Phi Mu meetings...
-Contemplating mu
-Falling out of Ron Davia's old Ford, as Ron took a corner at about 35...
-Not a whole heluva a lot after that...which probably explains a great
deal...
Cheers to all,
--- Bob Zajac 12/20/00
Things I can't forget....
Ma's and Pa's store....
Demetri Ascioti ('62) collecting potato chip bags so we could win a
"sock hop" from WNDR.
Coach Jay O'Connor.....
Mrs Hermmance.....art teacher.
Bill Stankewicz DJing at the "old" High School....
Arnie Luckette's Bonniville, XKE, Vette......
Pat Pasco's ability creative way to use the English language...
Parties at Don DeVerso's house.....
Terry Foxton....the kid who wore the "nickers"
Davey George's Vette......"Mr. Blue"
The Noz, Barry Decker, Joe Tedesco, and myself "pushing" fireworks
in the 7th grade.
Who can forget Freddie Myers...
---Dan Scaia 12/15/00
Theta Omega, Delta Sigma, sock hops, sorority dances----yes gone are the days
of splendor in the grass
---Arnie Luckette 12/13/00
What a great place/way to grow up! It seemed like virtually everyone in
Solvay was either related to you, or had a grandparent who had "come over
on the boat" with yours. We had teachers at Solvay High School who had
taught our parents, we had cousins in our graduating class, we had classmates
whose parents had been our parents' friends since Boyd or Prospect School. You
always knew who you were and where you came from in Solvay. While it was
frustrating when we were 16 (you could never behave badly because any adult who
saw you probably knew your parents), it gave us all a sense of grounding that
has stood us well over these past 35+ years. I wouldn't change my Solvay roots
for anything.
---Sue Mascette Brandt 12/12/00
The Woods Road ice rink and the winter fun we had. Now I can't imagine
how kids can stand being out in the cold for any length of time.
---- Russ Graziano
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