Blast from the Past-Thanks, Tim Trujillo

Yes, it was bound to happen. Another of those old photos has surfaced...this one didn't make it to the memory art boards seen at the Friday night mixer, but it's a keeper none-the-less. Tim Trujillo e-mailed this one in...Tim writes that these lovely ladies are (left to right) Penny Fernandez MacDonald, Patty Pino Amato, and Cherie Ludlow Chapparo, formerly of the Corwin Junior High cheerleading squad, and the photo was taken the last day of 9th grade on the Corwin playground. Lookin' good, girls!
Do you have old photos? The "Blast from the Past" will be a regular feature on this blog...

Thanks to all who are sending photos of the 45th reunion - Maryellen Koller Mencimer and Betty Lucero Turner sent me great photos today. Have patience...these puppies take a while to download, but I promise - they'll all get here eventually! In the meantime, enjoy! And GO! dig up those old pictures, WILDCATS!

More Friday Night Mixer Pics - Thank You, Sherry O'Brien Massarotti

The pictures on this posting almost didn't happen. When Sherry O'Brien Massarotti arrived at the Friday night event, she was stressing out. Mad at herself because she couldn't find her camera. Oh, yes, I felt her pain. Who hasn't had one of those days, right? You know the feeling, the memory is shot to shreds and we admit that getting older pretty much sucks...But then a small miracle occurred because when she opened her purse, there was her camera. It had been there all along. And I think we could all agree we're happy she found it.

Since Sherry and Jan (Fisher) Jones were able to attend just the Friday night event, Sherry made extra copies of her pictures and dropped them off to me on Saturday morning. When I returned to California, I scanned them in to my home computer - and Voila! Enjoy Sherry's photos below...

Going left to right: Jan Fisher Jones, Ethel Corcodilos Campagna, Ray Roseman (Jaci Tomsic Roseman's hubby), and Cathy Kopulos Wilkins. THANK YOU, ETHIE CORCODILOS CAMPAGNA, FOR YOUR HELP ON GETTING RAY'S NAME CORRECT...ETHIE'S HUSBAND, JERRY, WAS ALSO WEARING A BLACK SHIRT AND HE HAS A NEATLY TRIMMED BEARD, TOO. THAT'S MY EXCUSE FOR THE ERROR AND I'M STICKING TO IT :)

Raising a toast to 45 years, Sandra Nesslage Garner. On Friday night, Sandy and I laughed ourselves silly remembering way back in the day when her mom drove us to school on snowy mornings. A couple of times Mrs. Nesslage spun out on the ice and did some fantastic 360's along the old boulevard. She never freaked out about it, and we just went spinning along until her car was somehow facing the right direction again, then off she'd go. I thought she was the coolest mom ever.

Remember those gorgeous Pueblo sunsets? Looks like the old hometown's still got 'em. Over the shoulders of Kathy Brown Putman, Gale Hoover Hammond and Nancy Carhart Pope, the sunset is stunning.

Reunion Committee member Crete Crawford Wood enjoys a moment with her hubby, Chips.

Cherie Ludlow Chapparo and Bill Chapparo traveled from Mesa, AZ to attend the reunion. On Bill's right, Cheryl Vala Concialdi who lives in Pueblo.

Do these pretty women look like flowers picked fresh from the garden or what?! On the left - Claudia Otero Robinson and on her right, Flora Pacheco Trujillo.

Ron Genova brought his fiance, Debbie. After subjecting Debbie to an evening with these crazy Wildcats, is the wedding still on, Ronnie? Next to Ron and Debbie are David and Carolyn Daurio. Carolyn was behind the wonderful food we enjoyed on Friday night and at brunch on Sunday morning in the new Central cafeteria. Great job, Carolyn!

On the left, Gale Hoover Hammond and Linda Wicken Delone. It was fun catching up with Linda who has been teaching 3rd grade in the Colorado Springs area (unless my memory is failing me again). We chatted about mutual friends and social issues - lots of common ground. Linda lost her older brother, John, just a few days before the reunion. Our sincere condolences go to Linda and her family, and we're so happy that she was able to join us.

On the left is Jim Allen who showed us some pretty snazzy dance moves later in the evening (pictures will follow soon), is joined by Carol Todero Smith, Dan Smith and Leonard Dionisio.

A great looking group here: Joe Klune, Karen Coker Miller, Mike Miller, Nancy Ward Weldon, Mary Ann Caporicci Davis and Sherry O'Brien Massarotti.

Catching up...Charlie Tappero was here from Arizona. In the center, Linda Wicken Delone and to Linda's right, Rick Roblek.

Ok...What's Ron doing with all these ladies? Left to right - Cheryl Vala Concialdi, Kathy Brown Putnam (who also lives in Arizona - a popular place to retire perhaps?), Ron Concialdi, Toni Just and Jan Fisher Jones.

Larry Lewis still has a great smile.

Here's a friendly group having a good time - on the left is Lorraine Tortessi Reilich, Jerry Campagna (hubby of Ethel) and Jack Wilkins (hubby of Cathy).

More of the Pueblo sunset that came through the many windows at the Olde Towne Carriage House...a great backdrop for David Binkley, Jan Fisher Jones, Jim Wallace and Joe Klune.

There you have it, friends - another version of Friday night, thanks to Sherry O'Brien Massarotti.

Meanwhile, if I have mislabeled someone, please set me straight...that also goes for misspelled names. Thanks for visiting our Central blog - more pictures to come soon - and Go Wildcats!

Only in Pueblo

Here is one of those great "Only-in-Pueblo" kind of stories, and it happened as a result of the reunion weekend. This came from Tim Trujillo today, and it's way too much fun not to include here on the blog.

"After the reunion dinner on Saturday night, Robert Holland, Mike Cullen and I were discussing old times at Robert’s hotel room, when a disagreement came up about the location of the old Dundas bar. Mike said that he had stopped at a bar on Friday and went on to say that the bar could be seen from the freeway, then it was mentioned by one of us three that it was the Dundas bar. Mike then stated that it is located one block north of 29th street. Robert then disagreed with the assumption that it was the Dundas bar because he knew that the Dundas bar is south of 29th street. A hundred dollar bet was made between Robert and Mike as to the name of the bar that was visited by Mike on Friday. So we loaded into Robert’s rental and drove to where the old Dundas was located at 100 W. 23rd street. The bar found there is now called The Hangar and is indeed visible from the freeway. We then drove to the bar that Mike had visited on Friday and found that it was Parises tavern, also visible from the freeway. At that point, Robert said that he won the bet and Mike countered saying that he had won the bet. I think that this argument will continue through the next reunion. To me, the exact wording of the bet was never clear, so I was no help in settling the dispute. However, we were at a bar so we went in and found ourselves in the middle of a karaoke-biker-hiphop bar. We ordered a beer and quickly met the owner, Vicky Parise, who happened to be a 1965 graduate of East high school. She was very happy to talk to someone her age and sprung for rounds."

So - how 'bout it, guys? Anybody care to weigh in with their vote on who won the bet? If so, click on "Comments" below and give us your two cents' worth. Just as an add-on, I had dinner at The Hangar a few years ago and was told it was the "old Dundas" bar that we all remember well from high school days. Or..not. I just realized what I am admitting to...underage drinking? In high school? Naw, none of us were guilty of that - right??

Thank you, Tim, and I'm glad you're not out a hundred bucks. Good luck getting either of those other two to pay up...and you're so right...this argument will go on forever. But I'll tell you what... I'd have paid good money to see the three of you in a karoke-biker-hiphop bar. Yahooooo! er...GO WILDCATS!

P.S. Got a funny story? Or pics for the blog? Send it (them) along...e-mail to Gale Hoover Hammond at galehammond@aol.com.

Friday Night Mixer - Thank you, Tim!

Thank you, Tim Trujillo, for forwarding these pictures to use on our blog. Tim said he's not good at taking pictures - but I would have to disagree! Don't you love everybody's smiles? There wasn't a grouch in the group!

Here is Tim Trujillo flanked by Cherie Ludlow Chapparo and Gale Hoover Hammond
This is Jim Wallace's wife, Sue (and she is every bit as sweet as she is beautiful) along with Cherie Ludlow Chapparo and Gale Hoover Hammond, and ok, Cherie and I are sweet, too :)

Richard and his cute wife, Linda Trujillo smile for their picture.

Here's a happy group at this table: Mike Downs and his wife, Ann; Richard and Linda Trujillo; Ron Schneider and his wife, Lisa, who is being camera shy in this photo!

Catching up on some girl talk - Bella Vigil Padilla, Cheryl Vala Concialdi, and...help me, please someone...I can't remember who the pretty lady in red seen peeking out from behind Cheryl is....yikes! I am so sorry!! (UPDATE: FROM OTHER PICTURES THAT HAVE COME IN, I CAN NOW REPORT THAT THE MYSTERY LADY IN RED IS MRS. DUANE TAKAKI)

Here are Sara Cawlfield McDaniel and her guest, Richard Saucerman. (Oh, yes, those name tags helped a lot as you can see from my faux pas above!)

Fred Trujillo and Mike Cullen are catching up on old times while Pedro Chacon peeks over their shoulders!

Here is your basic Big Group Photo: Left to right and, seemingly paying zero attention to the camera is Jim Wallace, Joe Klune, Bill Chapparo, Charlie Tapparo, Loretta Douglas, Gale Hoover Hammond and Duake Takaki.

Wouldn't you love to know what Jack Bickerton and his lovely wife, Gail, were discussing during this picture? I think it was something like this: Gail: "I so wish I could've gone to Central instead of Centennial..." Jack: "I told you we had an awesome school!" D'ya think? Aw, maybe not...

Now, you just KNOW these two are up to no good...Pete Falletta and Robert ("I didn't want to be 'Bob' from Accounting!") Holland. Whatever they're talking about, Pete appears to be working hard on Robert...could we have a Big Deal in the works? Maybe Pete is recuiting Robert to work on the reunion committee...

Thank you, Tim, for the great pictures. More reunion pictures will be coming soon. And at the risk of repeating myself...Go Wildcats!

Friday Night Mixer - Thank you, Jack!

Thanks to Jack Tomsic for forwarding along some of the pictures he captured on Friday night. Yes, it was a media blitz. Holding on to the memories of the 45th reunion, flashes were firing away all through the night. Here is Reunion Committee member Crete Crawford Wood catching a quiet moment.

We were happy to again make the acquaintance of Marilyn Connelli who was Tom Sarconi's guest at the reunion.

Here's Jack Tomsic, the "thorn" between four "roses" (sorry, Jack, couldn't resist)...left to right - Nancy Ward Weldon, Gale Hoover Hammond, Jack's twin sister Jaci Tomsic Roseman, and Cathy Kopulos Wilkins.

Twin siblings, Jack Tomsic and Jaci Tomsic Roseman are some good-looking bookends for Nancy Ward Weldon.

On the left, Ethel Corcodilos Campagna, Jack Tomsic, Gale Hoover Hammond and Jack's wife, Michel all smile for the camera.

Left to right - Ethel's hubby, Jerry Campagna who made the trip with his wife, Ethel, Jack and Gale.

Leonard Dionisio, William (Bill) Hodges and Jaci Tomsic Roseman. Lookin' good guys!

Jack's wife, Michel Tomsic, next to Sara Cawlfield McDaniel. Great smiles, girls!

Pete Falletta looking happy to be hanging out with Cherie Ludlow Chapparo, Bill Chapparo and Linda Wicken Delone.

Michael Beck and Jaci Tomsic Roseman with some happy smiles.

Jack Tomsic and Sara Cawlfield McDaniel. Sara is glowing!

Jack Tomsic and Mike Cullen - these two boys have been friends since kindergarten!!!

Thank you, Jack, for some great images of the Friday night bash! Stay tuned for more fun pictures courtesy of Tim Trujillo. Go Wildcats!

And so it begins...

The venue? The Olde Towne Carriage House on South Victoria in Pueblo provided a perfect backdrop for the first gathering of the '65 Central Wildcats' 45th reunion on September 10, 2010. Reunion Committee member Nancy Carhart Pope sets up the "Welcome" table where alumni entered, picked up a name tag and Memory Book - and off they went into the night for great fun reliving old times at Central, enjoying a wonderful array of appetizers (provided by Carolyn Daurio - that would be Mrs. David Daurio - of the Tamarack Grill) and a cash bar that stayed lively all through the night.

Plenty of memorabilia - pictures, pennants, newspaper clippings from back in the day - were on hand. Now...the question is - what's the best way to display all this? Rich Sell brought in some fantastic art display panels, which were perfect.

Reunion Committee member Pete Falletta gets some assistance from Chips Wood, Crete Crawford Wood's hubby and an honorary Committee member -he was always right there to help us when we needed it. And believe me - we needed it! (just kidding, guys...you were all rock stars!)

Les Robinson, also on the Reunion Committee, hangs out as the D.J. brought in for the evening sets up and tests his sound system. He kept us rockin' out all night.

Pete Falletta enlisted the aid of the current Central High art classes to make some posters to welcome the Wildcats home...talk about coming full circle! How great is it that our 100-plus-year old high school is STILL in business and a force to be reckoned with! Pride in our school was not in short supply at our 45th class reunion.

There we are...the 1965 Central High graduates - as we looked then. And just in case we couldn't quite recall what "Whos-it" looked like way-back-when because we didn't recognize them now, Nancy Carhart Pope did an awesome job compiling the folding display of our Central yearbook photographs.

Still grappling with the set-up, huh guys?....ok - "How many committee members does it take to...."

...Ah...coming along nicely...and it's almost finished! Everyone enjoyed looking at old photographs representing nearly 60 years of our history - on display were the KINDERGARTEN - yep, that would be, count 'em, 58 years ago - class pictures from Jefferson Elementary, Carlile Elementary and Lincoln Elementary as well as Keating Jr. High memorabilia.

Nancy Carhart Pope was beyond organized - we saw proof of her years spent as a teacher in the Pueblo area. Nancy had lists for everything. Even our lists had lists. If not for her fantastic organizational skills, we'd have been hard-pressed to keep it together. It's safe to say Nancy kept us all from going quietly insane.

So that's how it all went down the first night in setting up after months and months of planning. Up next are pictures of Friday night sent in by Jack Tomsic and Tim Trujillo - thanks guys! Got pictures for this blog? We would love to see them...simply send to Gale Hoover Hammond at galehammond@aol.com. I will get them up on this blog asap! Bye for right now - and GO WILDCATS!

It was a magical weekend - there are so many fond memories, and there are even more pictures, which as promised, will be posted here soon. Check back this weekend for a sampling.

If there is a complaint about the reunion, it's only that there wasn't nearly enough time to catch up with old friends last weekend in Pueblo. In that light, Dr. Seuss may have said it best:




"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Dr. Seuss.

Welcome, Central High Wildcats Class of 1965. This is our new blog. Stay tuned for highlights and pictures from Central's 45th class reunion that took place in Pueblo, September 10-12, 2010.
GO WILDCATS!