Since 1789, there have been 60 presidential elections. And after each election, millions of voters were happy that their candidate won, and millions were disappointed.
There were comments favorable and unfavorable about the results, but the next morning the sun came up, and the country had to deal with the reality of the situation.
It's easy to be a good citizen when your side comes out on top. But in the tradition of our country, paradoxically, being a good citizen when your side comes up short is the price we pay for the freedom that our democracy has provided.
As for our own traditions, we offer the 142nd edition of the Prep '58 blog....
We heard from....
We get stories and reports from the '58 gang on a regular basis, but occasionally a month goes by without receiving any new stories. When that happens, the Editor provides a story about what's going on in his family. I hope you don't mind.
No grass grows under Bill or Peggy Wittman's feet!
We held a Zoom Cuppa session on Nov 11th and got a good crowd. Bernie Whalen VT, Dennis Bier TX, Jim Heaney MD, Dick McConville MA and Bill Wittman and Rich Campion from Canada were on the call along with Dave, Vince, Peter Donnelly, Bob Pipchick and Bob Filoramo.
An organ recital started us off, and based on what was reported, we are in pretty good shape for a bunch of Octo's. There was agreement that "I'll see you in 9 months" is a good thing to hear from your doctor.
Vince "pre-announced" the availability of a photo video of images from Bill and Peggy Wittman's 3+ week vacay to England a few weeks ago. Bill went on to tell us a bit about the trip and the process of putting the video together, which involved collaboration with Vince. You can see the video here.
Dick McConville reminded us of the exploits of his G'son Peter, who is a You Tuber with some wild videos, including one in which he visited all 50 states in 5 days, 13 hours and 10 minutes, beating the former record by 3 hours and 10 minutes. Here's a link to that trip.
There were recollections of the period when Viet Nam was dividing the country into war hawks and doves. Bob Filoramo told us that as best that he can determine, only a few were drafted into the war, although some were in the military at the time, just not in a war zone.
Peter told us a story about Joe Louis, Frank Sinatra and the Reagans, that wound with a mention that Joe was buried in Arlington Cemetary, and thanks to Frank Sinatra's efforts, his tombstone was brown as opposed to the stone grey of the others.
Vince mentioned that there will be an adjustment to the meeting calendar, which will move the dates a week later in December. He promised to get a note out on the change.
You can see the video of the Zoom call here.
Seven of us got together on Tuesday, Nov 12th at the Reo Diner. Peter Donnelly, Frank Geremia, Bob Pipchick, Dave Connolly, Bob Filoramo and his son Marc and Vince made it.
We got started with a bit of a political discussion surrounding the results of the election, which we will not report here. Suffice it to say that there were strong opinions and preferences stated, although the discourse remained respectful.
Next came a "who is the oldest / youngest..." in the class, but we only knew that John Ricci was the youngest among us. More research needed on who is the oldest. We heard from Dave about a few 90+ YO's who were still active in senior racing events.
Thanks to George Armbruster, we now have 38 Bio's!
George sent a message that he was considering sending in his Bio, and asked if I could "keep after him" until he finished it. No one has to ask me that twice.
George sent it in and Vince & Stephanie delivered his Bio Cookies, as promised, with a big Thank You!
We are closing in on 40 Bio's, but we need your help to get there. We hope every one of the '58 gang would make the effort to send in a Bio. It takes no more time to put your story together than it would to tell it to your grandkids, so how about it? Add your story to the list.
It was Bill Kretzer's suggestion a while back that started the whole After '58 program...
"I think there would be a bushel of interest in interviews with each & every ‘58 graduate. I for one, since I went away to college and never returned to NJ, didn’t keep in touch as much as I should have and would be curious to hear how everyone’s life turned out."
Since Bill sent in his story, we have received 37 more... We hope you will pick up on Bill's suggestion and send in your own story in an email to Vince.
Take a look at the whole collection of Bio's so far.
We have come a long way since Cos first suggested a Prep '58 Reading Library, but we still have plenty of room on our "shelves".
We recently received reviews of several books from Bob Filoramo. Our thanks to Bob.
The first is Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain. Bob says that Twain considers it his best book. It took him 12 years to research and write it. Most people know the events in the story from her humble beginnings in small towns to eventually having the Dauphine crowned leader of France. It recounts her imprisonment, and ultimate death. You can read Bob's review here.
Bob also sent in reviews of a set of 5 books by Dean Koontz, depicting the exploits of rogue FBI agent, Jane Hawk. The five novels are " The Silent Corner'; "The Whispering Room"; "The Forbidden Door"; "The Crooked Staircase"; and "The Night Window". Bob said he was rereading the sequence.
"The five novels are filled with episode after episode of Jane besting and destroying some of the most evil, sinister characters one can imagine. They can be read separately or in sequence."
You can read Bob's full review here.
We have more than 3 dozen books in the library, but we're pretty sure you have been reading, so consider sending in a review of a paragraph or two on a book you especially liked.
We heard from....
We have plenty of space in the Blog for a lot more stories, so don't hesitate to do a little bragging about your family and friends.
Ann Malinowski (Peter Donnelly's sister)
We heard from Ann that Peter was honored by Lincoln High School for the work he did over many years to help Lincoln HS teachers in their pursuit of higher education.
Here's her story...
"On Sunday, October 13, 2024, Peter Donnelly, our fellow classmate, was honored at a dinner sponsored by the Lincoln High School Alumni Association. Yes, Peter is a Prep alumnus, but his positive influence extended far beyond the boundaries of Grand and Warren. The tribute to Peter was in recognition of his contributions to the Lincoln HS educational community.
While serving as Director of Graduate Studies at New Jersey City University, Peter assisted numerous members of Lincoln’s faculty and staff as they pursued specific certifications, in addition to graduate degrees. Without solid, dedicated, highly qualified educators, no school is going to be successful.
Peter’s personal touch and close working relationships with both the NJCU faculty and graduate students helped to nurture numerous Lincoln teaching careers, and subsequently their students benefited. Many of those teachers have never forgotten Peter’s guidance and support and were delighted to acknowledge their appreciation in person.
In addition to his lovely wife, Christine Agir Donnelly. and their son, Angelo, Peter’s seven siblings attended the celebration to honor him. During his remarks to the audience, Peter shared the story that over a century ago, his Dad was a proud Lincoln alumnus.
Indeed, life has come full circle. “Lincoln, Lincoln and victory! Hail! Hail! Hail!”
Jeanette Braswell, Angelo Donnelly, Christine Agir Donnelly, Peter Donnelly, Larry Odoms
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Bill and Peggy Wittman Visit England
They visited friends in England recently, and in the 3+ weeks they were there, Bill captured brilliant images of the history and grandeur of England as well as the beauty of the English countryside. The photography is remarkable!
Bill and Peggy selected the best photos from the trip for a video that they are sharing with us on the '58 Blog. You can see the video here.
Thank you, Bill and Peggy.
Enjoy!
Vince Grillo
Did You Know???
We found this on the Prep '58 Blog, buried in the technical documentation about what can and can't be published on the blog. The distribution chart caught the eye of the editor.
We certainly appreciate efforts to spread the Prep '58 word, but we were a bit curious as to who was reading the Blog and how they found us.
Any thoughts???
Zoom Cuppa
An organ recital started us off, and based on what was reported, we are in pretty good shape for a bunch of Octo's. There was agreement that "I'll see you in 9 months" is a good thing to hear from your doctor.
Vince "pre-announced" the availability of a photo video of images from Bill and Peggy Wittman's 3+ week vacay to England a few weeks ago. Bill went on to tell us a bit about the trip and the process of putting the video together, which involved collaboration with Vince. You can see the video here.
Dick McConville reminded us of the exploits of his G'son Peter, who is a You Tuber with some wild videos, including one in which he visited all 50 states in 5 days, 13 hours and 10 minutes, beating the former record by 3 hours and 10 minutes. Here's a link to that trip.
There were recollections of the period when Viet Nam was dividing the country into war hawks and doves. Bob Filoramo told us that as best that he can determine, only a few were drafted into the war, although some were in the military at the time, just not in a war zone.
There was discussion about the NYC marathon, and the performance of some of the handicapped contestants in the race. Dick McConville mentioned a 'little person' who did the entire race on a skateboard.
Peter told us a story about Joe Louis, Frank Sinatra and the Reagans, that wound with a mention that Joe was buried in Arlington Cemetary, and thanks to Frank Sinatra's efforts, his tombstone was brown as opposed to the stone grey of the others.
Vince mentioned that there will be an adjustment to the meeting calendar, which will move the dates a week later in December. He promised to get a note out on the change.
You can see the video of the Zoom call here.
If you can't make it to an in-person Cuppa, you can join the gang in a Zoom Cuppa session, wherever you are. We have plenty of room, and there's no entrance fee. We're keeping track of our 'Zoomers' locations - let's get your location on the map.
The next Zoom Cuppa is scheduled for Monday, Dec16th @ 12:00 pm EDT. This is the 3rd Monday, which is a change, but it brings the edition closer to Christmas. Vince will send out the meeting invitation with the pass code to the meeting. Please keep the email!
Prep '58 Cuppa Club
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| Missing: Marc Filoramo |
We got started with a bit of a political discussion surrounding the results of the election, which we will not report here. Suffice it to say that there were strong opinions and preferences stated, although the discourse remained respectful.
Next came a "who is the oldest / youngest..." in the class, but we only knew that John Ricci was the youngest among us. More research needed on who is the oldest. We heard from Dave about a few 90+ YO's who were still active in senior racing events.
From there we got onto cruises, with Frank Geremia telling us of his first cruise as an auditor. He and wife Agnes have taken 100's of cruises and are still enthusiastic for their next one.
There was mention that the Jersey Journal, which was founded 157 years ago, and was the hottest paper in Hudson County when we were in Prep, was closing down their print operation in early 2025, as was the Star Ledger.
There was mention that the Jersey Journal, which was founded 157 years ago, and was the hottest paper in Hudson County when we were in Prep, was closing down their print operation in early 2025, as was the Star Ledger.
From there we wound up at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, where Frank met Jackie Robinson at an event that he won a ticket to when he was an altar boy. Some of the gang remembered Prep football games at the stadium.
After a photo of the gang, and the check, we got back into our cars and on the road home.
Please join us at our next Cuppa Club lunch on Tue, Dec 17th at noon EDT at the Reo Diner in Woodbridge.
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George sent a message that he was considering sending in his Bio, and asked if I could "keep after him" until he finished it. No one has to ask me that twice.
George sent it in and Vince & Stephanie delivered his Bio Cookies, as promised, with a big Thank You!
We are closing in on 40 Bio's, but we need your help to get there. We hope every one of the '58 gang would make the effort to send in a Bio. It takes no more time to put your story together than it would to tell it to your grandkids, so how about it? Add your story to the list.
 |
| Geroge gets his Bio Cookies |
"I think there would be a bushel of interest in interviews with each & every ‘58 graduate. I for one, since I went away to college and never returned to NJ, didn’t keep in touch as much as I should have and would be curious to hear how everyone’s life turned out."
Since Bill sent in his story, we have received 37 more... We hope you will pick up on Bill's suggestion and send in your own story in an email to Vince.
Take a look at the whole collection of Bio's so far.
G'pop Bill Wittman
Wittman Family Applesauce Tradition"Around 1975 Peggy had an interest in preserving the historical ability to store food for the winter.This took the form of our family picking apples at a farm, transforming them into applesauce and putting-up the result in sterilized jars.We continue the annual tradition, along with our four daughters and their families.The process is helped with a mechanical apple peeler, patented Jan. 24, 1882.All the grands go through the ritual of learning to use it.This year Jolie mastered the machine – and is now even more a-peeling.Our youngest, Crue, can’t wait for the sauce."‘Our Applesauce Rocks’
We started the Blogtoons feature to share some of the humorous cartoons we get from time to time.
This is technically not a cartoon, but it got a chuckle out of the Editor.
Most of them are from '58 guys, but occasionally the editor will get a few from others...
If you come across one you think the gang would get a chuckle from, send it in.
We recently received reviews of several books from Bob Filoramo. Our thanks to Bob.
The first is Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain. Bob says that Twain considers it his best book. It took him 12 years to research and write it. Most people know the events in the story from her humble beginnings in small towns to eventually having the Dauphine crowned leader of France. It recounts her imprisonment, and ultimate death. You can read Bob's review here.
Bob also sent in reviews of a set of 5 books by Dean Koontz, depicting the exploits of rogue FBI agent, Jane Hawk. The five novels are " The Silent Corner'; "The Whispering Room"; "The Forbidden Door"; "The Crooked Staircase"; and "The Night Window". Bob said he was rereading the sequence.
"The five novels are filled with episode after episode of Jane besting and destroying some of the most evil, sinister characters one can imagine. They can be read separately or in sequence."
You can read Bob's full review here.
We have more than 3 dozen books in the library, but we're pretty sure you have been reading, so consider sending in a review of a paragraph or two on a book you especially liked.
