September 2010 - Welcome Home!

HILL CREST HIG H SCHOOL CL ASS ES OF 1961-65
50 TH REUNION
INSIDE:
2 & 3 & 4—Sandy
Shaw and Patricia
Irwin reconnect
5—Posture and
Appearance; What
teacher said this?
6—A few ‘candid’
snaps—Impact ‘63
7—Remember
their favourite
expressions?
8 & 9 —A Famous
Hillcrest Hawk—
Murray Kuntz
10—The Hillcrest
Song and Yells
11—What does
Hillcrest mean to
you now?
12 & 13—Hillcrest
High Schools—
around the world
14 & 15—School
spirit continued...
16 & 17 School
Football and
Pigskin Parades
18—Beach Boys
—”Be True To
Your School”
19—A Trip Down
Hillcrest’s Memory
Lane
20—The 1963-64
Yearbook Staff;
Quiz Answers; &
Yearbook DVDs
21—Muriel
Johnston Blaine—
I’m a survivor!
22 & 23—
The Staccatos’
Peter Fallis &
Brian Rading—
two more Hillcrest
rockers
24—The Boys of
11B—before the
girls joined them!
Hillcrest 50th Reunion Website: http://www.hillcrestottawa50th.ca
V OLUME
1
IS SUE
4
S EPT EM BE R
2010
Where have all the pom-poms gone?
Hillcrest’s 1963-64 Cheerleaders in their white sweaters, plaid skirts and
stylized “H” suspenders-.Back row, left to right: Mickie Cox, Marilyn
Reid, June Godfrey, Sue Broadbridge and Wendi Lauder. Front row, left
to right: Norma MacFeely, Lynne Mundy, Sandy Hall and Bonnie Sye.
SCHOOL SPIRIT—DEAD OR DIFFERENT?
In the July edition, we featured a photograph extracted from microfiche of a 47-year-old issue of “The Ottawa Citizen”. Gord Gilbart
(Bryan’s dad) presented the winners — the nine Hillcrest beauties who
you see above — with a trophy that the Cheering Squad had won at the
(2nd Annual) CFRA Hi-Fi Club Championship held at the RA Centre on
Riverside Drive in the Fall of 1963. In those days, the cheering squad, or
cheerleaders as we are more used to calling them, was a major part of
developing ‘school spirit’ at sports games and other large events.
But as we cited in the article above that photo (“Hillcrest’s track
and field teams are tops; school ranks highly in many other sports”, Page
13), today, “Hillcrest also has a cheerleading squad and while they don't
cheer at any games, they participate in regional tournaments.”
That comment has led to thoughts about school spirit and what it
(Continued on page 14.)
My best memory was making friends with Pat
By Sandra Joyce Shaw (Class of 1964)
I must admit up until a few days ago I hadn't thought of Hillcrest at all.
When I received the call about the up and coming reunion memories came flooding back,
some good, some not. In thinking about it, though, I don't suppose there is a teenager anywhere
who has totally positive recollections about their high school.
One of my best memories of Hillcrest comes from the year I met and became friends with my
neighbour, Pat Irwin.
I had come to Hillcrest in Grade 11, which was difficult for many reasons, but meeting Pat
made leaving my friends at my former high school less difficult. We became fast friends.
We spent much time together, had lots of fun and got into lots of trouble, particularly with
Pat's mom.
The days and years flew by and at the end of my year in Grade 13 and Pat's year in Grade
12, we were horrified to find that Pat's dad was being transferred to Washington D.C. After many
tears, vows to keep in touch and sorrowful goodSHAW
byes, Pat's family left.
SANDRA JOYCE
"SANDRA"
********************************************************
I often thought had we got in
"Don't take life
too seriously;
touch, then our friendship would
you'll never get
have resumed much earlier.
out of it alive".
Ambition: Public
********************************************************
School teacher
Initially, we kept in contact but, as always,
Destination:
time
changes
everything. I had met my future
Teaching him to
husband,
was
preparing to go to Ottawa
say "I do!”
Teachers' College, and Pat and I lost contact.
I got married, started teaching and was totally unaware that Pat was at Queen's University in
Kingston.
I often thought had we got in touch then our friendship would have resumed much earlier.
Again, though, time marched on. I had three children, retired and had grandchildren before Pat and I
reconnected. I thought of her many times but had no way of knowing where or even who she was.
She was in the same situation because both our names had changed.
I had heard that there were sites on the computer that helped you find people. One day I was
on the computer and happened to find one of these sites. I don't know how I did it because I am
definitely technologically challenged but I found a person in Seattle, Washington, whose name
matched Pat's mom. I guess the name Washington rang a bell, so I called and asked this lady if she
knew anyone called Pat Irwin. I told her she would probably think I was crazy but I was trying to find
a long, lost friend. Amazingly, unbelievably, this was Pat's mom. She gave me Pat's phone number
and the friendship resumed.
My husband and I visited Pat and her husband Jeff in Vancouver; she and Jeff came and
visited us in Ottawa. We met another time in Montreal. We now e-mail at least once a week, talk on
the phone, exchange photos of kids and grandkids and try to come up with other occasions to get
together. Hopefully, the reunion will be give us another opportunity to connect.
Anyway, I think we are both happy for the reconnection and I'm sure we will continue to stay
in touch.
2
A friendship is rebonded after years of lost contact as Sandra Shaw and Patricia Irwin enjoy a day
on the beach in sunny British Columbia—near Patricia’s home in the City of Surrey—
as well as a trip back to the old Alma Mater when Patricia visited Sandy, who still lives in Ottawa.
All of a sudden and out of the blue, I got a call!
By Patricia Irwin (Class of 1965)
My father was in the air force (RCAF) and got transferred to Washington, D.C. in 1964, and
so I had to leave Hillcrest at the end of Grade 12 and completed one year of college in Virginia to
make up my Ontario Grade 13; then went to Queen’s in Kingston and worked in the States in the
summers until I graduated in 1968.
My Dad left the service in 1968 and moved to Seattle, Washington, where he worked for
Boeing as an aeronautical engineer and retired down there. My parents are still alive; Dad is 89 and
my Mom will be 90 this September. After graduating from Queen’s, I moved out to British Columbia
to be closer to my parents and younger brother and sister, who were with my parents in Seattle and
my brother Bill and I remained the ‘Canadians’ both taking up residence in B.C. (Bill attended Hillcrest in Grade 9 and was good friends with John Benoit at that time. He now lives in Lillooet, B.C. )
I worked for many years in the social services field, am married, have two daughters and
three grandkids and now that I just retired, I will be more active on the computer and may actually
sign up for the ‘Classmates.com’ website.
I never got to go to my high school graduation and I remained out-of-touch with everyone in
Ottawa for many years and have often wondered what had happened to so many of my classmates.
I looked at the ‘Classmates.com’ website but never got around to paying the fee and actually
looking .... It was a great experience, when all of the sudden, out of the blue, I got a call from Sandra
Shaw! We have rekindled our friendship! It has been wonderful to reconnect with her and meet her
husband Joe and her family with the seven grandchildren!!!!
(Continued on page 4.)
3
Patricia’s story-(Continued from page 3.)
Sandra and I were close friends at Hillcrest and she lived only two doors away from me! We
used to hang out at her place every Friday after school making our own version of “royal burgers”
and listening to Roy Orbison records and back combing our hair. I was always envious of Sandra as
she could get her hair to stay so much higher than mine!
I remember Vic Peterson as he lived down the street from me and he took me to a prom once
and Mr. Benoit...he and his family lived across the street. I washed his kitchen floor every Saturday
in Grade 10 along with various babysitting jobs! He was always out playing catch with his sons on
the street! My parents kept in touch with them for years even after they moved to Niagara Falls but
they haven’t heard anything for a long time now.
I remember being in that play the first year Hillcrest started but then I got a part-time job at the
A&P store the next year and with my first paycheque went to the hairdresser and had my hair dyed
platinum blonde and, unfortunately, turned
my attention to boys and my wonderful “A”
average slipped considerably and that was
the end of my participation in the drama
club which I still regret to this day!.
************************************************
Unfortunately, (I) turned
my attention to boys and
my wonderful “A” average
slipped considerably.
************************************************
My first real boyfriend (for 6 months) Patricia—before and after spending her first pay cheque.
was Stuart Spence and we used to drive
around with Wayne Kay and his girlfriend, Susan, in Wayne’s father’s car and Stuart got to use his
father’s 61 Buick at times, which was real cool, too! Don’t know what happened to them or Don
Easterbrook, who was also my buddy, and Virginia Roshka, who married Paul Blondin, as I lost
touch with her as well! I met Virginia at Ridgemont in Grade 9 and we remained friends all through
the Hillcrest years as well!
Now that I have been “found” by Sandra and Graham and Lynne, I am curious to find out more
about other Hillcrest friends and am in consultation with my hubby regarding a trip out to Ottawa
next May for the 50th!!!
Patricia’s other
friends from
Hillcrest between
1961 and 1964
when she left
to go to Virginia.
From left to right:
Stuart Spence,
Wayne Kay,
Don Easterbrook
and Virginia
Roshka.
4
Did fancier clothes make for better student behaviour? Yes!
Research backs up Principal B.L. Bradley’s ‘Dress Policy’!
Winners for April 1962 “Posture and Appearance”
contest were: (left to right) Lynne Mundy, 11B;
Frances Gale, 9J; and Melody Mayson, 10C.
During Hillcrest’s first year (1961-62), Hillcrest
Principal B.L. (Beuth) Bradley placed a lot of emphasis
on appearance harping back to the ‘Good Old Days’
when students ‘dressed properly’.
As we saw on page 23 of the August edition,
we had to suffer periodic “Dress-Up Days” which were
premised on the underlying belief that students and
teachers tend to behave the way that they dressed—
a belief that has subsequently been backed up by
research that shows that students tend to act the way
they are dressed with less discipline cases on days
when they were dressed up and more when they
‘dressed down’.
While Mr. Bradley may have had the right
idea—wanting his students to look good—it was felt by
many that he carried it to extremes, not allowing “Hard
Times” hops, which were popular in the 1960s. There
was no such thing as “Dress Down Days”.
While there was a “Posture and Appearance”
contest each month for the girls, there wasn’t one for
the boys. And only 30 girls could win the contest each
year—not exactly an inclusive policy but then we must
remember that sexism was part of the culture then.
Do you remember hearing these teachers saying this?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
“Why, I’m growing ulcers on top of ulcers.”
“Oh, come on now, you Latin students
ought to know this!”
“Who’s that fool back there
drumming his fingers?”
“Anybody who can’t prove this shouldn’t
have gotten out of grade eight!”
“But it’s absolutely imperative that you
know this. Sometimes I think it’s L.M.F.
(lack of moral fibre)
“I can become anything I want
with my system of studying!”
a
N. CARAGATA
c
b
R. SAMUDA
a
b
c
d
e
f
a
b
c
d
e
f
a
b
c
d
e
f
a
b
c
d
e
f
a
b
c
d
e
f
a
b
c
d
e
f
d
C. FERRIGAN
e
R. BYERS
5
(For answers, see page 20.)
A. G. PETERSON
f
L.A.P. MELOCHE
A FEW CANDID ‘SNAPS’ FROM IMPACT ‘63
How many faces and their names can you remember?
6
Remember her / his favourite expressions?
Okay, 50 years have nearly gone by, and you
haven’t seen some of your old Hillcrest High
School classmates for many years...so let’s
test your memory cells.
Who had these favourite expressions?
A
Match the expression with the picture of
the student who used to say it and can you
remember their name, too.
E
And no using your old yearbook or the 1962
edition of Hillcrest Hi-Lites!!!!
1. “No on else got the math
homework? Oh, good!
B
2. “I couldn’t help it, sir!”
F
3. “Aw, come on, eh!”
4. “I got a letter today!” (from
K.M.)
C
5. “Oh fiddle!”
6. “I quite agree with you but I
must admit you’re wrong.”
G
7. “Oh, my goodness!”
8. “You don’t say!”
D
(For answers, see page 20.)
7
H
One of Hillcrest’s Famous Hawks—Murray Kuntz
If you haven’t seen the page on the Hillcrest 50th reunion website on “Famous Hawks”
yet, you should. Hillcrest graduates have included professional football and hockey players,
Olympic swimmers and track athletes, television and radio journalists, hosts and DJ’s (or
VJ’s in more modern parlance) as well as a couple of rock stars in the Canadian music scene.
(See the July edition, pages 22 and 23 for “The Esquires” or pages 22 and 23 on “The Staccatos”. )
There’s one more to add
to the list that the younger grads
(post-1965) might not have
known—Murray Robert Kuntz,
KUTZ, MURRAY ROBERT
a member of the Class of ‘64.
"Murray"
Born in Ottawa at the end of
1945, Murray attended Hillcrest
Quote: "Full of nonsense, free
during 1963-64 before becoming a
from care, there isn't much he
professional right winger between
wouldn't dare.”
1966 and 1977. But before his
Ambition: Commerce.
hockey career, Murray was a
Destination: Athlete.
quarterback for the Ottawa
Sooners in the Eastern Canadian
Junior Football League during and
after Grade 13, when he played for the Hillcrest Hawks Senior Football Team in 1963-64.
(See photo below.) And one game certainly stands out.
On Saturday, October 24, 1964, the Sooners were hoping to break a run of bad luck
over three years with Montreal’s Notre Dame de Grace ‘Maple Leafs’. Montreal had opened
the scoring which was increased after a rare defensive holding penalty was called on the
Sooners but Ottawa came right back to cut their lead with a hand-off by Quarterback Murray
IMPACT '64
(Continued on page 9.)
HILLCREST HAWKS SENIOR FOOTBALL TEAM—1963-64
8
A Famous Hillcrest Hawk-.
(Continued from page 6.)
Kuntz. Despite having the convert called for too many men on
the field, the Sooners moved ahead on two six-pointers by
Kuntz and Bob McCarthy with one of them being the game’s
nicest touchdown —a 45-yard strike to open up the scoring in
the second stanza. The next touchdown was all his as he dove
over from the one yard line to give Ottawa a 20-7 lead. Montreal
came back reducing the lead and added to the Sooners’ misery
by evening up the score in the last 15 minutes of the game,
adding the convert to dash Ottawa’s hopes at 21-20.
But hockey was his preferred game and like so many
other young men, Murray started in Junior B hockey with the
Brockville Braves in 1964-65, followed by a year with the Ottawa
Montagnards, where he excelled before embarking on a pro
career, according to the “Legends of Hockey” website. That
was followed by part of a season with the Toledo Blades where
he scored five goals and four assists in only ten games—
enough to get him onto the New Haven Blades roster in the
EHL for the next four seasons where in 207 games, he scored
132 goals, and 148 assists for 280 total points with only 138
minutes in the penalty box. And that doesn’t include the three
season playoffs where he played 31 games, scoring 10 goals,
Murray Robert Kuntz, an all16 assists for 26 total points with only 11 minutes sitting in the
round athlete—high school
‘sin bin’. 1966-67 was his best season and the highest output in
football player for Hillcrest
and baseball pitcher for Alta
his career.
Vista, winger for the Elmvale
Next was a year with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the
Cardinals, quarterback for the World Hockey League after the Buffalo Sabres signed him up in
Ottawa Sooners, and hockey
September of 1970 and assigned him to their farm team in Utah.
player at the Junior B / EHL /
He spent the next two seasons with the Cincinnati Swords of
WHL / AHL / NAPro and NHL
the American Hockey League helping his team to win the Calder
levels—and Murray today
Cup in 1973. Then he was transferred to the Sabres top farm
(below) at Surgenor Pontiacteam—Rochester—for the 1973-74 season when he led the AHL
Buick on St. Laurent Blvd.
with 51 goals and 31 assists and was named to the league’s
first all-star team.
In 1974, he reached what every young Canadian hockey
player dreams about—signing up with an NHL team—and, in his
case, the St. Louis Blues, which acquired him a few weeks after
his big season. Now, at 28, he had made it to the top but ‘fame’
was fleeting as he only played seven NHL games. Within two
years, his hockey career would be over after two seasons with
the AHL and the NAPro. But there is life after a career in any
sporting field and Murray settled back in the Ottawa area
where he has been in car sales management for many years.
And he is highly thought of by many of his fellow
students from his years at Hillcrest as one of its “Famous
Hawks” for his accomplishments not only in football but
professional hockey as well. We hope to see Murray at the
reunion next May and applaud his success.
9
10
What does Hillcrest mean to you now?
While “Classmates.com”, “Facebook” and various other websites are making money hand
over fist getting many people plugged in to the “good old high school or college days”,
we might want to stop and consider what Hillcrest High School in Elmvale Acres, Ottawa,
really means to us: a giggle reading the old yearbook we found in a box in the basement?
a sigh and a “Gawd, did I really look like that way back then?” or a shrug and a murmur,
“Just another of the high schools I went to a long time ago, so who cares?”
The nostalgia business is a growing one—baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) started to
retire four years ago and will ease out of the workplace for the next 13 years. Why is it that in
a time of incredible technological and scientific advances, millions of people are investing
time and money pursuing nostalgia?
Many of us who entered Hillcrest on Day One, Tuesday, September 5th, 1961, are retired or
retiring soon. Why are we developing a
growing interest in and affection for the
Motto: Learning Advances
past?
Secondary: Years 9—12(13)
Established: 1961
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Students: 1200
Website: http://
www.hillcresths.ocdsb.ca/
Perhaps the late American author,
Sebastian de Grazia, Pulitzer Prize winning
author of “Machiavelli in Hell”, summed it
Doctrina
up best in his book, “Of Time, Work and
Promovet
Leisure” (1963): “When men find their
present and future painful to behold,
they search for new ideologies and, oftentimes, like the man with the toothache who believed
that the time he had no toothache his happiest, they glance backward to a golden age.”
De Grazia interpreted action to recapture and relive the past as one way of adjusting to
culture change. No generation has seen so much change in their lifetimes as the baby
boomers born between 1946 and 1964. Maybe, before we get overwhelmed with the
seriousness of our nostalgia-itis, we should try to gain some perspective and objectivity.
Philosophical statements aside, we, as Hillcresters, are not alone. There is not just ONE
Hillcrest High School- there are 19 others (including a middle school) as well as many
junior highs, elementary and other kinds of educational institutes bearing the name. While
many are in the United States, there are also Hillcrests elsewhere in the world. (See Pges 12
and 13.) They mean a lot to many different students and alumni of many different ages in
many different countries around the world...and we hope that Hillcrest High School in Ottawa
means something to you—as it did then and as it may now!
11
Hillcrest High Schools...
HILLCREST
Ambition,P
Success,P
The Best,P
Hillcrest
Hillcrest
Middle School
Home of “The Patriots”
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1981
Location: Evergreen,
South Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Students: 1250
Website:
http://www.hillcresthigh.net
Home of “The Hawks”
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1960s
Location: Inglewood,
Los Angeles, California
Students: Not available
Website: Inglewood School
District Website
Home of “The Mustangs”
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Now amalgamated with
Belleville High School
Location: Cuba, Kansas
Students: (were) 50
Website: -
Home of “The Hornets”
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1958
Location:
Springfield, Missouri
Students: 1200+
Website:
http://hillcresthornets.org/
Home of “The Vikings”
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1966
Location: Memphis, TN
Students: 973
Website: http://www.mcsk12.
net/schools/hillcrest.hs/site/
index.shtml
Home of “The Panthers”
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1938 and renamed to Hillcrest in 1958
Location: Dallas, Texas
Students: 1697
Website: http://
www.hillcresthsdallas.org/
Home of “The Falcons”
Secondary: Grades 6-8
Established: 1990
Location: Glendale Arizona
Students: 700+
Website: https://
hillcrest.dvusd.org/
index.php
Hillcrest High School, Thunder Bay, Ontario—Now Closed
Motto: Set our minds
on things above
Private Christian School
Established: 1942
Location: Jos, Nigeria
Students: 235
Website:
www.hillcrestschool.net
Hillcrest School
Secondary: Comprehensive
Established: 1960s
Location: Dudley,
West Midlands, England
Students: 183—11-16 year olds
Website: http://www.hillcrest.
dudley.gov.uk/index.html
12
...around the world!
Motto: Believe
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1992
Location: Ammon, Idaho
Students: 1320
Website: www3.d93.k12.id.us/
schools/high-schools/hillcresthigh.aspx/
Motto: Soaring with unity,
pride and excellence
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1967
Location: Country Club Hills, Ill.
Students: 1220
Website: bhsd228.schoolwires.net/
hillcrest/site/
Motto: Creating Learning for Life
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1980
Location: Queens, New York
Students: 3058
Website: http://
www.hillcrestweb.
com/index.html
Motto: Truth, Honor and Loyalty
Secondary: Grades 9-12
Established: 1960
Location: Simpsonville, SC
Students: 2217
Website: http://www.greenville.
k12.sc.us/hillcrest/index.asp
Mascot: Ram
The Home of the Huskies
Secondary: Grades 10-12
Established: 1962
Location: Midvale, Utah
Students: 1500
Website:
http://hhs.canyonsdistrict.org/
Motto: The Circle of Courage
Secondary: Grades 7-12
Established: 1960s
Location: Kenosha, Wisconsin
Students: 53
Website:
http://hillcrest.kusd.edu/
Hillcrest International Schools
Classes: Years 4 to 13
Established: 1964
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Students: 650
Website:
http://www.hillcrest.ac.ke/
Hillcrest High School
Formerly: Port Arthur Technical Institute
Location: 96 N. High Street, Thunder Bay
School Type: Secondary City
Building Size: 120,000 ft² Lot Size: 6.1 acres
Established: September, 1928
Additions: 1953/56/59/60/61/68/71
Closed: June, 2009
Motto:
Adspirat Fortuna Labori
Motto: Circumspice
(Fortune favours endeavour)
Secondary: Years 9—13
Established: 1972
Location: Hamilton, N.Z.
Students: 1650+
Website:
www.hillcrest-high.school.nz
(Look Around You)
Secondary: Years 8-12
Established: 1976
Location: Hillcrest, S.A.
Students: 850
Website: www.hhs.co.za
13
The original Hillcrest Cheerleading Squad of 1961-62 Front row: June Godfrey
and Barb Haines;
Middle row: Sandy Hall and
Mickie Cox;
Top: Judy Ann Barkley the squad that helped
Hillcrest’s first year students
to develop school spirit in
its more traditional form
during many of the
sporting activities.
“We’re from
Hillcrest and
we couldn’t be
prouder, If you
can’t hear us now
then we’ll shout
a little louder-"
Enhancing school spirit-
(Continued from page 1.)
was then and what it is now. Cheerleaders were a huge part of school spirit in the 60’s...will they
ever be back in that role? Or are the schools better off without them?
As we enter those glass doors under the front portico next May, we need to keep in mind that
we are entering our old Alma Mater in 2011 and not 1961. Yes, it may look the same (We don’t!) but
it will have a different air to it.
Current Hillcrest Principal Reg Lavergne mentioned at a reunion organizing committee meeting recently that school spirit as we remember it in the 60’s and 70’s does not exist anymore. The
reunion may mean more to us, the older grads, than it will even to the younger grads and probably it
will be of little interest to current students except for those who might visit the Memorabilia rooms
and blurt out, “Look at that outfit! I’ve seen old photos of my grandfather wearing clothes like that!”
Hopefully, some of the teachers will be tying some spring term assignments to the 50th
anniversary that could spark some interest, but for most of the current student body, school spirit
is encouraged by (I have to admit more meaningful and significant) events like “Spirit Week”, when
students rally together to raise funds for causes that are deemed worthy. In April, Hillcrest held its
16th Annual Cancer Drive, according to the school’s website, and raised $49,411 in four hours!
Additional fundraising events throughout the year brought that total to $55,787.97!
So can (or should) school spirit be enhanced by a return to the baby boomer’s heyday, when
there were 20,000 registered cheerleaders in Ontario, according to an article in “The Star” back in
September 2009? When we sat in the bleachers or stood on the sidelines of a football field cheering
on a bevy of young beauties in miniskirts, were we cheering the teams or showing our ‘support’ for
some of the school’s more popular young lassies? Or a bit of both?
(Continued on page 15.)
14
Enhancing school spirit-.
(Continued from page 14.)
Attendance at high school regular season games in Ontario (and probably the rest
of the country) has declined significantly over the years, the aforementioned article revealed,
while in the United States, “It’s huge, a spectacle and creates loads of excitementO.club
cheerleading is the big thing,” according to Chuck Holland, past-president of the Ontario
Cheerleading Federation.
Cheerleading has virtually disappeared from Ottawa high schools, but school spirit
is there, albeit in another form. If they’re so inclined, HHS alumni visiting this upcoming
spring can do something to contribute to that spirit Oprofits (if any) from the anniversary
celebration could potentially be used to support, for example, the “Hillcrest High School
Sports Infrastructure Initiative”. The Sports Infrastructure Initiative is a joint project of Hillcrest
High School and the Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club (OISC), aimed at rejuvenating outdoor
sports facilities at the school through the installation of a lighted, multi-sport, artificial turf playing
surface and an artificial turf ‘mini-field’ inside a dome. The project, designed to coincide with the
50th Anniversary of Hillcrest in 2010–11, will markedly improve playing conditions for a range of field
sports and other activities while providing a much-needed facility in Ottawa’s urban core that can be
used by both Hillcrest and other OCDSB schools, as well as by a range of community sports
organizations (e.g., soccer, football, rugby) through rental agreements administered by the OISC.
To Hillcrest’s lovely cheerleaders (as you can so readily see) from those first years, dig up
and dust off those old pom-poms (and your wallets, if you’re able) Oand use them to lead the alumni
at the 50th Anniversary in something students past and present can cheer about. Surely that will
support and help boost school spirit in our old Alma Mater.
And in the 1964-65 school
year, the Cheerleading
Squad consisted of:
Back row (left to right)—
Sue Dempsey, Bonnie Sye,
and Barb French;
Middle row—Norma
MacFeely, Judy Neales,
and Jackie Roberts;
Front row—Enid
Evenchick, Pat Dolan,
and Norma Munson.
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SCHOOL FOOTBALL AND PIGSKIN PARADES
By Doug Milton
(Editor’s Note:- The following article, which appeared in the September 24, 1960 edition of
“The Ottawa Citizen”, is reprinted courtesy of Postmedia Network Inc.)
Yesterday’s (Sept. 23, 1960) participants in the Pigskin Parade were lucky fellows and not
necessarily because they were the heroes of some 6,000 at Lansdowne Park. (See photo below.)
It has nothing to do with that recent tempest surrounding Football Friday – which by the way,
still has me puzzled. Don’t know about you but I would like to know why this physical education
committee supposedly frowns on activities of such nature.
The whole story hinges around research into The Citizen’s files on the Pigskin Parade.
It’s an interesting story and possibly an “ancient history” lesson for some of yesterday’s fans.
Pigskin Parades, enthusiastic kickoffs – sometimes too much so – for scholastic football,
have been part of the scholastic scene since 1951 with the exception of one year. Too much of
that enthusiasm was the culprit forcing a year’s suspension the season before Campbell Stadium
opening. (See photo below at right after Laurentian High School was closed down in 2004.)
Originally a Night Show
It was originally a night extravaganza, and, believe it or not, outdrew the best crowds of the
Rough Riders one season. Its inaugural also had an entirely different format and hence the “lucky”
attached to yesterday’s 14 teams – half of this year’s total number of squads but more than twice
the number of entries in that first one.
Six senior league teams, St. Pat’s, Glebe, Nepean, Lisgar, University of Ottawa and Tech,
traded touchdowns in that first Parade as North and South. They each appeared twice against
different opponents.
However, they played only one game, not the seven separate 12-minute skirmishes
yesterday. That is, the teams that followed the first pair took over the ball at the point where
the previous action ended. In a bit simpler terms, the regulation meant that a team could go into
action on defence with the ball on its own one-yard line.
Imagine a situation like that under today’s unlimited interference, which, incidentally,
the schools are using for the season and “are happy that the pros have seen fit to come along”
according to convener Lou Labrosse. (Photo at centre above.) Needless to say, even then, the
regulation didn’t last.
That first Parade, too, had some well-known names battling as South scored a convincing
32-8 triumph. South was Nepean, Glebe and St. Pat’s.
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Some Well-Known Names
Lisgar had Brian Wherret, a teammate of several of the present-day Roughriders and Bruce
Nordquist, today coaching Glebe Juniors. On the school’s Junior “B” title team under Don Loney
the same year was Tim Reid, one of the senior intercollegiate Football League’s top fullbacks with
Varsity, and now in Europe on a Rhodes scholarship.
University of Ottawa showed Bob Pelletier, now guiding fortunes of the school’s Intermediate
League team. Glebe had Pete Zarry, a star with Queen’s, and Rod Miller, the latter still winning
headlines at the Britannia Yacht Club and has won the National Capital Regatta with Don Barwash.
(Editor’s Note: Vic Peterson, Wendi Lauder and Lynne Mundy worked with Rod Miller a few
years later at Elizabeth Park School, C.F.B. Uplands.) There were also former Roughrider and
B.C. Lion Ron Baker, then at Tach; and, Bob Black, later at Carleton; St. Pat’s Dick Porter and Dick
Cardill, the latter still holding a junior track sprint mark; and, Lisgar’s Wally Lacosta, if memory
serves, a good place-kicker with Queen’s.
Well, so much for the history and now we’re ready for the season at hand.
Odds and Ends
It’s getting to be almost as difficult keeping track of the coaches as it is the various leagues
which get down to serious business next week. Bernie Black is at his third school as is Lisgar’s new
athletic director, Joe Leggett. Both started Ottawa High School careers at Tech; Leggett later
moving to Laurentian.
Of course, the two athletic directors have nothing on Mike Blum who raised more than a few
eyebrows when he appeared with Joe Upton’s Laurentian Seniors yesterday. Mike was the most
valuable Junior “A” player at Lisgar a couple years back and last year with George Brancato’s
St. Pat’s squad.
Leggett is one of two new athletic directors, and both, incidentally, popular appointments.
The other is Carleton alumnus John King, who took over from Ross Beck at Tech when the latter
moved to organize fortunes at Woodroffe. King was convener of the high school and Ottawa Valley
rack meets last spring.
Turning out in Rocky Robillard’s Fisher Park backfield was a familiar name of a few years
back in Jack Morrow. Morrow, one of twins, was a scoring champ at Tech a few years back under
Gene Robillard.
Talking of Robillards there are no less than four connected with the school grid wars this
year. Rocky has defending Senior champion Fisher Park and Gene has the Junior “A” Rideaus
playing for the first time next week. Third is Ed who is helping Guy Berthiaume with Eastview
Intermediates and the fourth is Matt, helping brother Rocky with the scarlet and white.
(Editor’s Note: Hillcrest didn’t enter a team into the Pigskin Parade until Sept. 17, 1963.
See Page 8 for a photo of the Hillcrest Hawks in the story on Murray Kuntz.)
Best remembered for being a sports broadcaster with CFRA and
CJOH and play-by-play announcer with the Ottawa Rough Riders,
Rock “Rocky” Anthony Robillard, (1922-2008) was educated at
Lisgar Collegiate and St. Pat’s College and McGill University, where
he graduated with a science degree in physical education in 1950.
A member of No. 429 Squadron, he served with the army and air
force from 1942 to 1945. A gifted athlete and humble recipient of
many athletic awards, Rocky also competed on the intermediate
track and basketball teams, while at McGill. After stepping down
from his coaching duties at McGill, Robillard moved back to his
hometown to embark on a teaching and administrative career at
the University of Ottawa, St. Patrick’s and Fisher Park schools,
Ridgemont and Highland Park high schools. Seen in earlier days
(photo at left), Rocky passed away on October 27, 2008, aged 86.
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Be True to Your School
(Beach Boys—September 1963)
When some loud braggart tries to put me down
And says his school is great
I tell him right away
Now what’s the matter buddy
Ain’t you heard of my school
It’s number one in the state
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school
I got a letterman’s sweater
With a letter in front
I got for football and track
I’m proud to wear it now
When I cruise around
The other parts of the town
I got a decal in back
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school
On Friday we’ll be jacked up
on the football game
And I’ll be ready to fight
We’re gonna smash ’em now
My girl will be working on her pom-poms now
And she’ll be yelling tonight
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school
Be True to Your School
Single by: The Beach Boys
From the album: “Little Deuce Coupe”
Recorded on: September 2, 1963
Released on: October 14, 1963
Genre: Surf Rock
Length: 2:09
Label: Capital Records
Writer(s): Brian Wilson and Mike Love
Producer: Brian Wilson
Rah rah rah be true to your school
Rah rah rah be true to your school
Rah rah rah be true to your school
Rah rah rah be true to your school
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A trip down Hillcrest’s Memory Lane...
Who are these three students (photo at
left) and why are they holding hands?
Clue: the year was 1964 and it had
something to do with a musical review.
These three beautiful young ladies (photo
below) had something to do with a special
week being held at Hillcrest in 1964.
Do you remember their names?
Clue: The same kind of week is held
annually in Brazil 40 days before Easter
but it has a very different dress code.
And seeing that we have
posted some photos of
our former classmates
on the various cheerleading squads between
1961 and 1965, I don’t
want to be accused of
being sexist, so, ladies,
here are five ‘hunks’ of
the 1963 Hillcrest eightmember wrestling
team that went to the
Ottawa HS Wrestling
Tournament.
(Am I allowed to say
“hunks”? Is that PC?)
Do you remember
their names and what
category they won in?
And everyone knows
the name of the guy in
the gym suit at right!
Eh?
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YEARBOOK STAFF—1963-64
If it were not for the efforts of these 12 hard-working students back in 1963-64, you would not be able
to read our humble monthly newsletters — the Hillcrest High School Yearbook Staff — 1963-64
Back row: Left to Right, Philip Rossy, Cathie Leard, Linda Polly, Norma Maines, Ron Pierce.
Front row: Karla Crane, Virginia Roberts, Wendi Lauder (Editor), Lynne Mundy, Gail Green, and
Cathy Syberg. Insert: Barb Beattie. Hats off to these students for making this newsletter possible!
ANSWERS TO MEMORY QUIZES!
Do you remember...from page 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
e—Mr. A. Peterson
c—Mrs. Connie Ferrigan
a—Mr. N. Caragata
d—Mr. R. Byers
f—Mr. L. Meloche
b—Mr. R. Samuda
Remember there favourite expressions?...
from page 7
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
G—Linda Scovill
B—Bonnie Shanks
D—Martin van Sickle
E—Noreen Spanier
H—Cathy Syberg
C—Hal Bolton
F—Diane Usher
A—Diane Young
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Lost your yearbook?
Get it on a DVD now!
The Hillcrest 50th Reunion
Organizing Committee is finally ready
to offer some yearbooks on DVD.
You can pay through the website
(http://www.hillcrestottawa50th.ca),
and be sure to fill out the order form as
well (on the IMPACT! page) to request
the issues of IMPACT that you want.
Special prices apply to
purchases of multiple yearbooks,
so be sure to select ONLY the package
that you wish to purchase.
As the reunion website has
only one page available for on-line
purchases, all items are labelled ,
"Ticket", including the yearbooks,
so don't be confused by the label!
I’m a survivor—from going to Hillcrest
to breast cancer to living with teenagers!
By Muriel Catherine Johnston Blaine (Class of 1964)
In 1963, I was carrying out a multi-year ‘pout’ because my family decided we should
live in Ottawa and I was forced to leave my 'rural roots'! (I wasn't a particularly pliable
teenagerP my dad even got me my first job at Woolworth’s in Elmvale Shopping Centre to
get me out of my 'pout mode'!)
I actually worked very hard as well to prove my ‘pouting’ points by working just hard
enough academically to get a pass! Looking back now, I sure would have done many, many
things differently.
I have never regretted my teaching career. Wendi (Lauder) and I started at the same
school in Ramsayville, but she was in another building—in the middle of nowhere! A few
years later, I moved to Blossom Park Public School, then on to C.F.B Rockcliffe.
I got married in 1972 and became mother to a six-year old stepson. We lived in Toronto
for a period of time then I got a teaching position just outside of Lindsay. (A very large
school but back to my 'rural roots'!) Our family grew by one more son and one daughter.
Sadly, in 2002, my daughter and I looked after my husband as he was diagnosed with
lung cancer and died that summer. The following year I was diagnosed with cancer, but I'm
now a seven-year survivor and going strong!
I did retire from teaching in 2003...after spending about 15 years in Grades 7 and
8...loved every minute of it! Two of my three children are here in Lindsay, and my stepson
and his family are in Florida. I have four grandchildren, three are teenagers...hmmm...but
teenagers do become 'people' eventually!!
My sister (also a BC survivor in NS) talked me into dragon-boating with a local breast
cancer survivor group (www.thedragonflies.org) ...I love it but with one hiccup...I don't swim,
so my PFD is glued to me! I also have taken up golf...using the term looselyPbut I do enjoy
it. (See photo at bottom left of Muriel and two ’Dragonflies’ friends putting up a poster.)
We have a very active Boys and Girls Club here in the City of Kawartha Lakes (another
name for Lindsay and the rest of the county) and I have the privilege of serving on the Board
of Directors.
Bottom line...life is good for me and I sure hope it is for you. A cancer diagnosis does
take time to work through and complete the treatment...and there are actually days you don't
even think of the BIG 'C'!
I have put the reunion dates on my calendar - now my next mission is to dig out my
Hillcrest yearbook...it has travelled many miles but I think I still have it!
JOHNSTON,
MURIEL CATHERINE
"Muriel"
Quote: "A zest for living
A talent for friendship.”
Aim: Teacher.
Destination: Card shark.
Pet Peeve: Sitting at the
back of Trig. class.
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From Hillcrest to “The Staccatos” to the
Better known as the “Five Man Electrical Band”, the group originally started in 1963, in
Ottawa, and were known as “The Staccatos”. The original line-up featured singer/disc jockey Dean
Hagopian, (vocals; 1963-64), Rick 'Bell' Belanger (drums), Les Emmerson (vocals, guitar), Vern
Craig (guitar; 1963-68), Mike 'Bell' Belanger (2nd drums; 1968-73), Ted Gerow (keyboards; 196873) and two Hillcrest High School students—Brian Rading (bass; 1963-73) and Peter Fallis (196365), who had become so involved with the
then fledgling group that they put their
education aside— temporarily for Peter
who was by then in Grade 13 but not so
for Brian, then in Grade 12.
Breaking into the North American
music business is an arduous task at any
time—even in the smaller Canadian
market. Their first single was “Small Town
Girl” that got picked up by Capitol Records
followed by “Moved to California” in 1965
and “Let’s Run Away” in 1966 along with
“It’s A Long Way Home” and “C’Mon
Everybody” that same year.
The group had to work hard to get a
fan base, a contract with Capitol Records,
carry out promotional activities and, most
importantly, do live work—the main source
of a beginning band’s income. They ended
up doing some radio jingles for Coca-Cola
and shared half an LP, called “A Wild Pair’”
with another up-and-coming group, “The
Guess Who”.
Gigs in Toronto’s Yorkville Village
increased after the release of “Half Past
The members of “The Staccatos”, in 1964—Vern
Craig, Rick Belanger, Brian Rading and Peter Fallis—
with Brian and Peter still students at Hillcrest when
their band began is journey to becoming one of
Canada’s best-known groups.
Midnight” in 1967, which became a national hit and
won the group a JUNO award for the Best Produced
Single. One highlight later that year was playing for
Her Majesty the Queen at a special ‘Canada Day’
event in Ottawa, with the group wearing green trousers
and black sports coats from Delfino’s on Bank Street.
While it was a lot of fun on top of the hard work, Peter
left the group and went back to school. Brian, on the
other hand, stayed with the band under both names
until 1973.
(Continued on page 23.)
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“Five Man Electrical Band” and beyond!
(Continued from page 22.)
The Canadian market was limited and the group tried to
break into the larger market south of the border in late 1969.
Extradition was hanging over their heads as US laws were hard
on letting foreigners into the country seeking work. Even their
contract with Columbia records wasn’t enough and the group,
still known as “The Staccatos”, retreated to Ottawa “without a
record deal and a very cloudy future”, according to the FMEB
website. The group was seen as being too ‘Beach Boy’
sounding and their records did not sell as well as expected.
But tight harmony, incorporating current hit songs into
their repertoire, and virtually ‘living on the road’ got them back
to Los Angeles, albeit with a new name—”Five Man Electrical
Band”. A new manager, a new label and a cut that got featured
in a film starring Alan Alda put them on a road to success albeit
a road that was going to be short. Singles such as “Hello
Melinda, Goodbye” and “Signs” failed to get them higher in the
charts and it was back to Ottawa again; however, a persistent
manager, another new label and the release of “Goodbye and
Butterflies” in May 1971 with its controversial cover art, was still
not enough to get them where they wanted to go.
DISCOGRAPHY
Studio albums
1966 — Initially (as The Staccatos)
1967 — A Wild Pair (Split album:
one side by The Guess Who; the other by The Staccatos)
1969 — Five Man Electrical Band
1970 — Good-byes and Butterflies
1972 — Coming of Age
1972 — Sweet Paradise
1975 — The Power of the Five Man Electrical Band
1995 — Absolutely Right: The Best of Five Man Electrical Band
2008 — Half Past Midnight: The Staccatos and Beyond
2009 — The Staccatos—Five Man Electrical Band: First Sparks
2010 — Good-byes and Butterflies (Pacemaker CD Release)
Singles
1965 — "Small Town Girl", "Move to California"
1966 — "Let's Run Away", "It's a Long Way Home",
"C'Mon Everybody"
1967 — "Half Past Midnight"
1968 — "Didn't Know The Time",
"It Never Rains On Maple Lane/Private Train"
1969 — "Moonshine (Friend of Mine)"
1970 — "Hello Melinda, Goodbye"
1971 — "Signs", "Absolutely Right"
1972 — "The Devil and Miss Lucy", "Money Back Guarantee”,
"I'm a Stranger Here"
1974 — "Werewolf"
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Hillcrest’s Brian Rading — a key
member of “The Staccatos” and
“Five Man Electrical Band”.
Brian recalls bringing a case of beer
back to the band to begin the grieving
process in their wind-down only to find that
“Signs” had started to climb in the charts,
selling more than two million copies worldwide. The next two years would be their
heyday as Brian reflected on their hard
climb to success: “The band was very
tough. We had been a bar band—a fivenights-a-week band. That’s where we
came from. We had no choice but to be
strong. We lived hard and we played
hard.”
And that took its toll as the group
lost Brian and Mike and would fold by
1975.
In 1986, they reformed for a one-off
benefit concert that has led to an annual
Eastern Canada tour and the release of a
CD in 1995. Brian now lives in Gatineau
and Peter will share some of the events of
his post-Hillcrest years with us in an
upcoming edition of the newsletter.
The Boys of 11B—before there were any girls!
September 1961—The boys of Edmund Benoit’s 11B—before ten girls from 11A were transferred in —
and what an extremely handsome bunch of young men if ever there was one! Back row, left to right:
Ray Jewers, Wayne Kay, Bryan Gilbart, Peter Fallis, David Bennett, Tim Murphy, Bob Thiessen, Andy
Graham and Keith Olson. Middle row: Edmund Benoit, Roy Irons, Roy Shaver, Greg Dehart, Stewart
Spence, Graham MacDonell, Grant Jones, Don Easterbrook, Mike MacDonell and Vic Peterson.
Front row: Stephen Rhoda, Bruce Fraser, Hal Bolton, Curtis Martin, David Cameron, Andy
Armstrong, Terry Steeves, Alistair “Alec” Deighton and Jean L’Heureux.
Testing your memory on the boys of 11B
Can you remember who had these nicknames: “Grannie”, “Moose”, “Happy”, “Friar”?
Who became a head boy as well as a founding member of the rock band “The Staccatos”?
Who was Patricia Irwin’s first boyfriend? Good buddy? Which guy had access to his dad’s 61 Buick?
Which two guys were twin brothers? Where does one of them live now? (Hint: He wears a kilt!)
Who became an actor and had a bit role in a James Bond movie as well as in “A Bridge Too Far”?
Which other two guys from 11B became head boys? Who were the head girls for the same years?
Who participated on the Ontario—Quebec Exchange Student Visits for two weeks in July, 1962?
At least four became teachers...which four? Who also taught with Wendi Lauder and Lynne Mundy?
Who became an accountant and has a practice in Calgary, Alberta, and was Mickie Cox’s boyfriend.
When Hillcrest had the auditorium built it became the second home to a techie guy. Who?
Whose yearbook entry said he would have a career in the Royal Canadian Army? And did!
Which student was an American who finished high school at a US base near Paris, France?
Who was a wrestler in 11B and part of a team to win the first award for Hillcrest in wrestling?
The 50th Reunion Newsletter is produced for Hillcrest High School Graduates from the first years—1961-65;
however, we welcome articles from graduates of any year. Please send them to: [email protected]
Editor: Graham Evan MacDonell
Student, 1961-62
Editorial Assistance: Lynne Mundy Bowes
Class of 1964
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