A half-century ago…it seems like yesterday.
In the Cold War it was Leonid vs. Lyndon. In Vietnam it was Agent Orange vs. Ho Chi Minh. On TV it was Col. Hogan vs. Col. Klink, and at Liverpool High School it was Principal John Wilcox vs. students trying to sneak a smoke or skip a class…
Last class from Zogg
Liverpool High School Class of 1966 was the last class to graduate from what is now the unoccupied Zogg building at Fourth and Birch streets. The classmates will celebrate their 50th High School Reunion on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 and 17.
Class officers were Dan Ackley, Susan Caffrey, Barbara Stanley and Mary Lee Lepinske, and Susan and Barbara both plan to attend. “Dan Ackley is ill,” explained classmate Nancy Fetterly, “and Mary Lee Lepinske, along with a total of 57 classmates, are deceased.”
On June 28, 1966, at the Onondaga County War Memorial 398 LHS students received their diplomas.
Overall, more than 90 classmates will return. “We’ll have a total of about 150 counting spouses, significant others and guests with some classmates coming as far as Hawaii, California and the state of Washington,” Fetterly said.
Puppy love & proms
They’re all pushing 70 now, but at their reunion those classmates will revel in warm memories of puppy love, proms and athletic achievements.
With Top-40 AM radio still in its glory, the class of ’66 enjoyed some of the best pop music ever made. The tunes ranged from an upbeat “Last Train to Clarksville” to the morose “Ballad of The Green Berets,” from a manic “96 Tears” to a tender “Cherish,” from “Wild Thing” to “Winchester Cathedral,” from “Paperback Writer” to “Paint It Black,” from “Sweet Pea” to “Red Rubber Ball.”
“Sweet Charity” opened on Broadway while the U.S. bombed Hanoi and Haiphong and anti-war demonstrations erupted across the country in May.
It was an era of contradictions. In 1966, the National Organization of Women was founded in Washington, D.C., and Anton LaVey established the church of Satan in San Francisco. After a fun-filled five-year run on CBS-TV, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” aired its final episode on June 1, and spymaster Richard Helms became director of the CIA.
Reunion events
A Meet & Greet is scheduled from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill
7240 Oswego Road. Some of the class’s teachers — Tony Drago, Dick Senecal and Frank Sofia — plan to attend as well.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Village Historian Dorianne Elitharp Gutierrez, will discuss Liverpool’s history at the Liverpool Public Library’s Sargent Room. Lunch at Heid’s will follow.
The reunion’s main event takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Spinning Wheel, 7384 Thompson Road, in North Syracuse, at a cost of $50 per person
For reservations and to provide information for the 1966 Classmate Directory contact either Lorraine Church Bailey at [email protected] or Kathy Silva Hafner at [email protected].
Ramblin’ easily Sunday
The Easy Ramblers have coined a phrase to describe their refreshing blend of bluegrass, folk and Americana: “Easy Grass.”
Kinda timely, I’d say.
The Syracuse-based band will play a free concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at Liverpool Public Library. The basic trio, singer-mandolinist Maureen Henesey, bassist Dann Mather and guitarist-songwriter Eddie Zacholl, may be bolstered by guest artists such as banjoman Mark Allnatt, accordionist Scott Ebner or fiddler Brendan Gosson, all of whom perform on the easy Ramblers’ recent CD, “Country Livin.’”
Over the past six years, the Ramblers have appeared at the Westcott Theater, Bill Knowlton’s Bluegrass Ramble Picnic, the Tipperary Hill Music Festival and the Sterling Stage Folk Fest. They released “Easy Does It,” their debut recording, in 2011, and it won a Sammy in the Best Country category.
‘Straight shooter’
Zacholl originals such as “Song Miner” and “Straight Shooter” and “Pop’s Going to Camp” complement covers from the likes of Gillian Welch, Allison Krauss, Hot Rize, and The Infamous Stringdusters.
“With one listen you’ll come to realize there we in the Easy Ramblers have a special chemistry,” Zacholl said. “You hear craftsmanship, clever compositions, simplicity. Music that is old and new fun at the same time, layered with Maureen’s soaring vocal capabilities. Not pure folk or traditional bluegrass — should we call it Easy Grass?”
Sounds good to me!
The columnist can be contacted at [email protected].
