Classmate Bill Schruise dies (reprinted from the Post-Journal)

JAMESTOWN, New York - Bill Lee Schruise, 66, of 249 S. Main St., Jamestown passed away at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in his home.
A lifelong area resident, he was born Dec. 31, 1946, in Jamestown, N.Y., the son of Maxine A. West Schruise and the late Melvin H. Schruise.
Bill was a 1966 graduate of Southwestern Central School, and was a veteran of the U.S. Army serving from Jan. 26, 1966, to Jan. 25, 1968.

 Before his retirement, he was employed by the Chautauqua County Highway Department, where he worked from 1971 to his retirement in 2002. In earlier years, he had worked for the Canteen Vendco Company.
Surviving are his mother Maxine A. West Schruise of Lakewood, N.Y.; a son, Brian Schruise of Jamestown; and a sister, Sheila Brink of Sherman, N.Y.
He was preceded in death by his father, Melvin H. Schruise, who died October 17, 2005.
A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, in the Lind Funeral Home. The Rev. Donald E. Ray, retired chaplain of WCA Hospital, will officiate.
Friends will be received for one-half hour prior to the service in the funeral home.
The family suggests that memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Pro-ject, P.O. Box 75817, Tope-ka, KS 66675 or log on to www.woundedwarriorpro-ject.com.
You may light a candle in remembrance of Bill at www.lindfuneralhome.com.

SWCS classmate Phil Calavitta passes away

From the Jamestown Post Journal:

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Philip M. Calavitta, 66, of 43 Liberty St., Jamestown, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, in UPMC Hamot Medical Center, Erie, Pa., from complications of a heart attack.
He was born Aug. 12, 1947, in Jamestown, the son of the late Anthony and Rose Marie Trusso Calavitta.
Phil was a graduate of Southwestern Central High School, and a veteran of the U.S. Army. Prior to retirement, he worked as a manufacturing engineer at General Electric in Tennessee. Earlier, he worked at TRW in Jamestown, and Cincinnati Milacron.

Philip M. Calavitta

He was a member of the Lakewood Rod and Gun Club and the Jamestown Moose. Phil enjoyed hunting, fishing, motorcycle riding and was an avid football fan.
Surviving are his wife of 35 years, Nancy Miller Calavitta; a son, Christopher (Hillary) Calavitta of Toronto, Canada; a grand-daughter, Sofia Calavitta; seven brothers and sisters, Virginia (Milt) Rosenberg of Oxnard, Calif., Rosalie (Vinny) Coffaro and Anthony (Elizabeth) Calavitta both of San Jose, Calif., Nancy (Anthony) Petrucello and James (Marina) Calavitta, both of Jamestown; Theresa (Robert) Sisson and Rosemary (Donald) Nelson, both of Gastonia, N.C.; an uncle, James Trusso of Jamestown; his mother-in-law, Ruth Miller of Warren, Pa.; three brothers-in-law: Walter (Virginia) Miller of Pleasantville, Pa., Scott (Helen) Miller of Warren, Pa., and David (Cheryl) Miller of Russell, Pa.; two sisters-in-law: Kathleen Miller of El Mirage, Ariz., and Susan (Bo) Unen of Warren, Pa.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father in 1977; and his mother in 1997.
The funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Lind Funeral Home.
The Rev. John L. Kuhlmann will officiate.
The family will receive friends from 1-3 p.m. Saturday in the funeral home.
You may honor Phil's memory by making a donation to the American Heart Association at donate.heart.org.

'The Fracking War' novel, The Trojan newspaper and Harry Robie

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - It was about 47 years ago that the late Harry Robie - yes, that Harry Robie - complimented me on some bit of hack writing I had done in our Southwestern Central High School newspaper, The Trojan.

Harry - excuse me, Mr Robie - pulled me aside after that weird double history/social studies melange that many of us sat through our senior year. If you were in that class, you might remember the teachers rotating in and out like cuckoos in a Swiss clock.

The Trojan staff, circa 1966

I was reflecting/remembering about that conversation this morning because Harry (whoops) Mr. Robie had liked the Eavesdroppers gossip column that John Rupp and I penned for the newspaper. All these years later, I write a column for a daily newspaper in Geneva, NY, the Finger Lakes Times. Nothing like the Eavesdroppers - or The Trojan - but who knows how much those few words from Harry were pushing in the background when I went to college, got into newspapers (and got out before the collapse) and eventually taught journalism for nearly 30 years.

Had I not gone into newspapers and been a journalist, I doubt I would have ever finished my novel set to be published this fall called 'The Fracking War.'

We had good teachers (for the most part) at SWCS. Mildred Dennison taught us life-skill math. (I still balance my checkbook to the penny). 

Mrs. Stupka - the wife of football coach Ed Stupka and who ran off with the SWCS art teacher - scared me into reading George Eliot and a few other authors who I might have avoided. 

A Mr. Coleman (in 8th grade English) really set me on the fiction writing trail by having us all do short stories in class. He was another teacher who took me aside. He told me I should pursue writing, specifically fiction.

I wish I had followed his advice earlier in my life. Now I feel that biological clock ticking.

Right after our 20th high school reunion, I started writing a non-fiction book called The Class of '66. I have published some pieces of it already. Before John Rupp passed away, he wanted to jump in and we were going to co-author - just like The Eavesdroppers in The Trojan.

Harry Robie might have liked that. Mr. Coleman (if he had a first name, I sure never knew it) would likely be happy I finally got around to writing fiction.

If you want to take a peek at the first chapter of my novel, it's posted on my Kickstarter.com campaign page. Several Class of '66 classmates were kind enough to pre-order copies of 'The Fracking War' for which I am very grateful. 

I wish I could get copies into the hands of Harry Robie and Mr. Coleman. 

I wish.

Tony LoGuidice, former SWCS teacher, coach dies

JAMESTOWN, NY - I received notice from Sue Siecker Saullo this week that Tony LoGuidice - MR. LoGuidice to the SWCS Class of '66 when we were in the 7th and 8th grades - has died.

My fuzzy recollection of Mr. LoGuidice was learning some math from him and being quite intimidated by his teaching style.

One episode sticks out, too.

One afternoon a group of us had smuggled in squirt guns into class. It didn't take him long to confiscate all the squirt guns. But one student - who seemed a year or two older, he certainly was bigger - didn't want to hand his gun over. So Mr. LoGuidice squirted him in the face.

The student - whose name might have been Larry Cramer or Kramer - stood up and even in 7th grade was taller and stronger looking than Mr. LoGuidice. I had never seen teacher backed up by a student before that. But Mr. LoGuidice talked the student out of taking a swing.

Here's Mr. LoGuidice's full obituary from the Jamestown Post-Journal:

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Anthony P. LoGuidice, 76, of 8 Fairfield Ave., Jamestown, died Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013, in WCA Hospital, surrounded by his family.
He was born Nov. 21, 1936, in Dunkirk, N.Y., the son of the late Anthony and Jennie Arrigo LoGuidice.
He served in the National Guard and received his master's degree from Fredonia State. For 33 years, he taught science and coached football at Southwestern Central High School prior to his retirement. For several years, he was a member of the Jamestown City Council serving as a member of the Housing Authority and Urban Renewal Strategic Planning Commission. 

He was in-volved in property rehabilitation and the building of the new DPW

mechanics building on Steele Street. Anthony was a communicant of Holy Apostles Par-ish, St. John Catholic Church, a member of Liberty AC Club and a prominent member of REIA.

He enjoyed golf, gardening, hunting, fishing, his beloved dog, Bailey, and he was a huge fan of the Buffalo Bills. His family meant everything to him and time spent with them was very special.
Surviving are his wife, Theresa Fiorella LoGuidice, whom he married Aug. 29, 1959; two daughters: Gina (Tom) Gazdak and Toni (Roger) Sigular, both of Jamestown; eight grandchildren: Corey (Dan) Brown, Jacob Sigular, Ha-ley Sigular, Anne Greggs, Jillian Gazdak, Hannah Gazdak, Devon Gazdak and Dylan Gazdak; one great-grandson, Luke Ernest; a brother, Richard (Arlene) LoGuidice of Rochester, N.Y.; a sister, Nancy (Judd) Niebel of Sheridan, N.Y.; a nephew, who was like a son, James Blomquist; and several nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday in Holy Apostles Parish St. John Catholic Church. The Rev. William Barrett will be celebrant.
The family will receive friends from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Wednesday in the Lind Funeral Home, where a Christian Wake Service will be led by Deacon Samuel Pellerito at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Entombment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery Mausoleum.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Chautauqua County, 20 W. Fairmount Ave, Lakewood, NY 14750; or the American Cancer Society, Memorial Processing Center, 6725 Lyons St., P.O. Box 7, East Syracuse, NY 13057.
You may light a candle in remembrance of Anthony at www.lindfuneral home. com.

Pat Flynn, one of our SWCS Class of '66 classmates has died...

Class of '66 classmates:

I received news today from classmate Steve Sewell that classmate Pat Flynn died last week.

His obituary from the Jamestown Post-Journal is reprinted in its entirety below.

I knew Pat pretty well during our high school days. We were in most of the same classes and as fellow Catholics, rode the religious-instruction bus once a week a together. Once we headed off to different colleges, I lost all touch with him.

A photo from our yearbook

I last saw Pat (I think) at our 20th class reunion. We had a discussion about ROTC (which I believe Pat was involved with in college) and where our lives had taken us.

Perhaps ironically, he lived only an hour and a half's drive from where I am writing this (Watkins Glen) where I have retired.

Rest in peace, Patrick J. Flynn... Rest in peace.


FROM THE JAMESTOWN POST-JOURNAL

ROCHESTER - Patrick J. Flynn, formerly of Jamestown, N.Y., died suddenly on June 17, 2013. at age 64.

A man that was loved by all who knew him, he is survived by his wife, Kathi; children: Tim (Colleen) Flynn, Malika Greutman and Shanna Maddock; brothers: Thomas (Sue) Flynn, Mike (Karin) Flynn, and Bill (Noreen) Flynn; sister, Mary Gokey; grandchildren: Henry and Zachary Flynn and Dylan and Nathan Maddock; nieces and nephews including: Tiffany and Randy Zajac; his mother-in-law, Helen Zajac and her children and many friends. 

Pat was a Vietnam veteran and avid motorcyclist.

Please join the family to share memories on Monday Morning from 9-10:30 a.m. at Crawford Funeral Home (495 N. Winton Road, between Browncroft & Humboldt). Funeral Mass will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Church. Interment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
Online condolences welcomed at www.Crawford-FuneralHome.com.

July 13 - the SWCS 60s-70s reunion will be in full swing

JAMESTOWN, New York, USA - The organizers say this will be a party and reunion to remember.

What happens in Jamestown stays in Jamestown.  Right?

Hmm... That won't work for the many SWCS alums who live there!

Still, it sure sounds like a party to go to.

Below is the information for the reunion. It is from a notice that was published a few months ago on this page.

Obviously, the date of May 1 to send in a check has past. Obviously.

BUT... If you are planning on coming and haven't let the organizers know, contact Ron Ducat or Brad Zimmer (phone numbers at the bottom).

See you at the reunion.

Michael Fitzgerald

SWCS Class of '66

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Dear Classmates,

Please join us for a SWCS Blast From The Past, Shake, Rattle and Roll 60’s Colossal Class Reunion on Saturday, July 13^th, 2013. All the alumni from the classes of 1960 to 1970 are Invited to party at the American Legion Herman Kent Post 777 located at 26 Jackson Avenue in West Ellicott. The festivities will commence at 6:00 pm for cocktails and appetizers, followed by a buffet dinner starting at 7:00 pm.

Throughout the evening visit with your former classmates and dance to the music of the 60’sprovided by the sound-sations of DJ’s Unlimited.  An evening full of yesteryears, memories and old friends. Trojans make your plans--UGOT2BHERE--or be square!

The good news is the per person price is only $20.00 which includes dinner and a party packed evening of enjoyment. Please send your checks with your year of graduation to:

SWCS 60’s Class Reunion

35 Gifford Avenue

Lakewood, NY 14750 

For the committee to better prepare to entertain you, please send your check prior to May 1^st, 2013. To help us make sure we did not miss any classmates you can help by calling former Alumni to inform them of this special event.

                                                     MEET YOU AT THE REUNION

                                                     Ronald Ducat - (716)763-8142

                                                     Brad Zimmer - (716)488-9396

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Norman Wolisky, SWCS grad dies

FROM THE JAMESTOWN POST JOURNAL

Norman S. Wolinsky, 63, of 222 S. Aurora St., Ithaca, N.Y., formerly of Jamestown, died Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, at Hospicare & Palliative Services in Ithaca.

He was born in Jamestown on Sept. 25, 1949, a son of the late Dr. Irving R. and Frances Goldinger Wolinsky, and graduated from Southwestern Central School.

Norman had been employed in Jamestown by Fancher Chair for a number of years. He had lived in Ithaca for the past eight years.

He is survived by a son, Brandon Butler of Lakewood; a daughter, Natalie Wolinsky of Eau Clair, Wis.; two sisters: Sara J. (Dave) Reale of Jamestown, and Helene D. Wolinsky of Burbank, Calif; and two brothers: James A. Wolinsky of The Villages, Fla., and Steven B. Wolinsky of Sarasota, Fla.

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Lind Funeral Home. Joseph D. Gerstel will officiate. Burial will be in Beth-El Cemetery in Jamestown.

The family will receive friends for two hours prior to the service in the funeral home Sunday.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Ithaca Community Recovery, 518 W. Second St., Ithaca, NY 14850; or to Hospicare, 172 E. King Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.