The Reunion Team asked the Class of 1971 about what memories they have of things from their Irvington Days.
Ellen Armm
o Downtown Springfield Avenue.
o Sledding down 18th Avenue.
o Hanging with friends who are still friends today.
Steve Ball
o Olympic Park Pool and the ’58-’60 music.
o Night skating at Irvington Park and “necking” there.
o Irvington PAL Colts and their 1966 Championship.
o Irvington Center at night during Christmas time
o The water tower at Pabst
o Snow covered streets after the Blizzard of “60.
Patty Cataldo Ardente
o Football Games.
o Hanging out at the LaSalvia house.
o The library and getting yelled at for laughing and being too loud.
Noreen Coleman Ranz
o In the beginning of Sophomore Year, Gail Gross brought me to the first floor before the 8:30 am bell ring to meet this new kid from the Myrtle Ave School named Warren Gross because he wanted to meet me and ask me to be his Girlfriend!
o Making Color Guard at the end of Sophomore year.
o Sobbing my eyes out watching Franco Zefferelli’s Romeo & Juliet with Joyce LaSalvia and Lori McCauvic at the Castle theater.
o Seeing (& smelling) the Christmas trees lined up at the Dairy Queen every December on our way to “the Center”.
o Horrified seeing the sign in Watson’s Bagels that they raised the price from 4 – 6 cents.
o The electric neon flying Budweiser bird across from the Newark Airport
Dennis Crownover
o Most of my memories involved football. So does anyone remember the Dogwatch article for the first night game? I included it and the program for it. Also, I need to mention the traditional Thanksgiving parties at George Kleiner’s house. George your mom was a saint!
o Working at PAL club folding bingo tables, playing basketball and sneaking ice cream out of the freezer.
Julia DeAraujo Cino
o Bus rides to Away games, especially after winning
o Chancellor Avenue Canteen
o Hot Bagels from Watsons
Michael Emanuele
o Flemington Outdoor Education Center (6th Grade and as Counselor)
o Ski Club and trip to Innsbruck Austria
o Senior Play Dark of the Moon
o Milk Machines
o Giant Hoffman Soda/Pabst Bottle
o Castle Theater
Manny Fernandes
o Senior Play, Dark of the Moon + B31:B68
o Cast of the play doing the witch dance at Pizza Town on Route 22
o All Boy Homeroom 016
o Homeroom 016 marching into the assembly chanting “016”
o Senior Class play “Dark of the Moon”
Gail Fucci McKeon
o Tommy Zaverzence giving me a bike ride to South Mountain Reservation on his handlebars
o Falling on my Flagswinger tryouts and still making the squad
o Playing one of the Banshees in the Senior Play – Dark of the Moon
Kathy Goeb Brown
o Hanging out Irvington Park
o Being thrown in poo; after a swim meet in my cheerleading uniform – the uniform shrank and the colors ran.
o Walking to Irvington Center or taking bus downtown to shop
o Irvington Park in the snow: Sledding, Skating the Boathouse
o Irvington Center at night during Christmas time – my mother worked at Goldfingers for many years – lover the way they decorated.
o Watching cars on the Parkway from Nye Ave bridge
Rhonda Goldberger
o Stopping at Watson Bagels on the way to Canteen at Chancellor Ave. School
o Swim/diving lessons at Olympic Park.
o My mom teaching some of my friends how to sew.
o Going to camp in 6th grade and being a counselor in 11th and 12th grade.
o Working as a counselor during the summer reading program at the same camp.
Marilyn Gramm Pacheco
o As a young child, sledding on the hill on the Town Hall lawn; summers spent at the Civic Square Park across from Town Hall; walking to the center with stops at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard or a chocolate dipped ice cream cone
o Marching with the IHS Flagswingers in the Memorial Day parade
o Visiting Olympic Park on Sunday afternoons with family and also roller skating at the rink there
o A favorite pastime was skating at Irvington Park when not trying to warm up in the little building at the park
o Fall Football games which have a special place in my heart. So much fun cheering on the team
Howie Hyman
o Playing the kazoo with the Agorian singers playing Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel
o Selling hotdogs at the football games.
o Remembering Study folks from Mr. El Hajj.
· Visuals
o Milk machine on 40th near Chancellor
o The walk home from school on a day with recent snow fall – walking through my hometown.
o The Apple Machine
o The crowded halls of the high school. As a freshman, overwhelming, more comfortable and at home with each year.
Ed Izbicki
o Learning to swim at Olympic Park pool
o Jimmy Buff Hotdogs
o Dairy Cream Ice Cream
George Kleiner
o One memory happened when I was waiting to cross Clinton Ave from the library side. As I looked up the street past the school, there was a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle flying toward me. The uphill spectators started shouting and clapping as the car passed them. Frank Pospisil “Earth” was driving, the passenger was Kim England, and riding on the back over the rear engine was Roy Gross. Average weight 353! The VW was riding 2 inches above the roadway, especially when the car turned the corner onto Civic Square. I thought it would roll over, but the three of them leaned the other way, rode on two wheels for a second, straightened up, they never slowed down and kept going. That was funny by itself. Small yellow beetle convertible, 3 big heavy men, riding low and on two wheels during high-speed cornering. Remember Roy Gross? A head full of very orange colored hair. That day Roy was dressed in a Superman costume, red, yellow and blue. Hugh red cape flying in the wind behind that redhead!
Nancy Kuscher Eick-Mehrbach
o Cheering along with the HS Cheerleaders when I was 6. Then being asked to be their Mascot.
o Halloween parades at Orange Park & Civic Square. If you won you got a silver dollar!!!
o Best were the friends I made.
o Flagswinging and Majorette tryouts.
o Celebrating on the front steps after a win! Awesome times.
o Loved everything about HS
o The Great Austria Ski Trip! What fun.
Jane Liskowicz Smalley
o First female to earn a Varsity letter in baseball as scorer and statistician
o Celebrating Football wins on the steps of the High School
o Dances in the gym
Paul Lobozzo
o 1961, just arrived in America. I went to Mt Vernon Ave Elementary school. That’s where I became best friends with Elena Siniscal. I didn’t speak a single word of English, somehow without words we became inseparable.
o Myrtle Ave middle school. Playing 9th grade football and baseball. This is also the time my lifetime friendships were established with John Manning, Lenny Misuraca and Dean Braithwaite.
o Going to Junior Prom with Vita Venturi.
o I have lived in Bovino Italy, Nutley, NJ, Glen Ridge, NJ and Manahawkin, NJ. Whenever anyone asks me where I’m from. I proudly say Irvington, NJ
Robert Mayer
o Sledding at Hospital Hill
o The Dairy Queen on Nye Avenue
o The Sanford Theater
Karen Mericle Suter
o Orange Park every Fourth o f July
o Olympic Park – especially the pool and wading through the COLD water “bathtubs” to get from the locker room to the pool
o Archbishop Walsh/St Leo’s Canteen on Friday nights
o Ice Skating on Irvington Park Pond
o Annual Madison Avenue School Carnivals – and coming home with a goldfish in a plastic bad
o Olympic Park Roller Skating Rink… and the music provided by the guy playing the organ
o Sal’s Deli!, they did have the best jelly apples and the wooden cabinet candy display with the wax lips, those small color water filled was bottles, paper sheets with candy dots.
o Cards Galore – downtown – my favorite go to for gifts for friends.
o When staying overnight at my grandparent’s apartment on the corner of Chancellor and 43rd St: The sounds coming from Olympic Park – predominantly the Roller Coaster and screams, and also the groups of people leaving the Park and walking down 43rd to Springfield to get a bus.
o Living on Liberty Street during Elementary School years and hearing the cheers and band during the HS Football games. Sometime watching from Alice Podolak’s backyard.
Barbara Mikolajski Sznalski
o The corner store on Lyons Avenue and Lincoln Place. We would stop in on our walk home from IHS and get a soda in warm weather, in winter hot chocolate. Then finish walking home.
o Walking to Irvington Center and going to all 3 5&10 stores as well as Cards Galore.
o As a kid sliding down hospital hill in the summer on large cardboards.
Ellen Patrinick Girnius
o Football games
o High School Dances
o Growing up on Oakland St
o The library – so many memories
o Shopping in Irvington Center
o Sal’s Deli and the best Jelly apples
o Orange Park in the summer
Elizabeth Prusak Spring
o The Speedway Auto Store. The sign was made by my dad who was a sign maker
Beverly Reilly Ombres
o My best memories of IHS will always be the football games. I made so may friends through football and team members. And of course, the victory parties afterwards, win or lose lol/
o Friday night canteens at St Leo’s and Madison Avenue
o Being with a certain someone through it all. The best of times.
o The walk bridge over the parkway that we had to walk across to get to Myrtle Avenue Middle School.
o The Watchung mountains and how we walked for miles and hour to get there.
o Going to Camp Bernie in Hackettstown (with many friends who are on here)
Ken Ronkowitz
o Playing at and in The Brook and feeling like Huck Finn
o My constant companions on Adams St.
o Camp in 6th grade
o The annual carnival at Madison Ave. School
o Shopping at Sal’s on Orange & Madison Avenues to and from elementary school.
o Study Hall at IHS
o The July 4th event at the high school field
o Summer activities at Orange Park
John Sanclaria
o White Castle burgers after the games and dances
o Sledding sown Highland Terrace Street and bailing BEFORE running into Eastern Parkway
o Snitching beer from Pabst’s Blue Ribbon delivery trucks
Paul Stahl
o Juke Box near the lunchroom – very progressive
o Spirit at the football and basketball games – Agorian’s selling pretzels, cowboy Robin, the photographer.
o Starting IHS as a sophomore, running around like a chicken with my head off not knowing where class was, where my locker was, getting jerked around by the sophomores who started there as freshmen. “Where’s the gym? “On the 4th floor”
o Same homeroom 10th, 11th and 12th grade, same classmates, Miss Anne Gesner our homeroom teacher. Miss Surman who said she was going to be a nun but had a different call from God.
o My American flag shirt
o One of only 2 times disciplined by Mrs. Grotsky, Miss Grey the English department head sent me to Mr Weiner’s office because of that shirt. My dad was a BOE carpenter, and my mom was on the BOE. Mr. Weiner was their personal friend. He said she’s right, go home and change shirts and get a note to get back into class from my secretary.
Irvington High School Class of 1971 