Spring 2012 - Central Catholic High School
Spring 2012 - Central Catholic High School
Spring 2012 - Central Catholic High School
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2<br />
Inside<br />
Members Board<br />
Most Rev. David A. Zubik, DD, Bishop<br />
of Pittsburgh<br />
Rev. Kris D. Stubna, STD, Secretary for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Education<br />
Rev. Ronald Lengwin, MDiv., General<br />
Secretary<br />
On the cover:<br />
The Quadrangle is published<br />
each spring and autumn by the<br />
Office of Alumni Relations<br />
quadrangle@centralcatholichs.com<br />
Page 3<br />
Brother Robert<br />
Remembers<br />
Brother Richard<br />
Page 14<br />
St. Philomena’s<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Michael Boyle ‘53, Chairman<br />
Jesse Campayno<br />
Janet Donahue<br />
James Gordon ‘70, Secretary<br />
Dana Hanna<br />
Eugene Kail ‘63<br />
Paul Matvey ‘71<br />
Kevin McGonigle ‘82<br />
Brad Totten ‘80, Treasurer<br />
Fr. Benedetto Vaghetto<br />
Charles Vukotich ‘67<br />
Christopher Wilson ‘71<br />
ex-officio:<br />
Donald Teti, Assistant Superintendent<br />
Paul Iurlano, Diocesan Legal Office<br />
Brother Patrick Duffy, FSC<br />
President<br />
Brother Robert Schaefer, FSC, Principal<br />
Photo by<br />
Roy Engelbrecht Photography<br />
Mission Statement<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> Administration<br />
Brother Patrick Duffy, FSC ..................................................................... President<br />
Brother Robert Schaefer, FSC .................................................................Principal<br />
Vincent Ciaramella ’71 .................... Assistant Principal for Academic Affairs<br />
Edward Bernot ...................................... Assistant Principal for Student Affairs<br />
Richard Capretta ’82 .................................................................. Dean of Students<br />
Kathleen Lynch ........................Vice President for Institutional Advancement<br />
412-208-3401 • klynch@centralcatholichs.com<br />
Jeffry Folino ’75 ..................................................... Director of Alumni Relations<br />
412-208-3488 • jfolino@centralcatholichs.com<br />
Brian Miller ......................................................................Director of Admissions<br />
412-208-3492 • bmiller@centralcatholichs.com<br />
Editor ......................................... Jeff Folino ’75, jfolino@centralcatholichs.com<br />
Co-Editor ........................................................... Gene Kail ’63, emk@emkail.net<br />
Design & Layout .............................................................................. Dan Laffey ’73<br />
Brother Richard Grzeskiewicz, FSC<br />
Page 13<br />
Joe Emanuele ‘67<br />
Page 16<br />
10 Questions for<br />
Terry Totten ‘76<br />
SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>, a <strong>Catholic</strong> college preparatory school for boys, is guided<br />
by the educational principles of Saint John Baptist de La Salle.<br />
The school strives to provide a challenging, relevant, and diverse program of studies<br />
and extracurricular activities in an environment that fosters a life of faith and learning and<br />
develops leaders rooted in the Gospel values of integrity, respect, service, justice and peace.
Brother Robert<br />
Schaefer FSC,<br />
Principal<br />
Brother Robert – Principal ......................3<br />
Hall of Fame & Distinguished Alumni ..4<br />
Brother Robert ...........................................5<br />
Brother Richard ..........................................6<br />
Opening Thoughts .....................................7<br />
The Brothers ...............................................8<br />
The In-Box ...................................................9<br />
Stat Easy .....................................................10<br />
Brother James Muffley, FSC ...................11<br />
A message<br />
Table of Contents<br />
Campus Ministry ......................................................12<br />
Alumni Spotlight/ Joe Emanuele ‘67 .....................13<br />
St. Philomena .......................................................14-15<br />
Ten Questions for Terry Totten .......................16-17<br />
Advancement news .............................................18-19<br />
Bookstore Ad .............................................................20<br />
Bye Bye Birdie ............................................................21<br />
College Placement ...............................................22-23<br />
Alumni Message ........................................................24<br />
from the<br />
Principal<br />
Good afternoon to all of you gathered here this afternoon to celebrate the life of<br />
Brother Richard Grzeskiewicz. Bishop Zubik, on behalf of Brother Richard’s family and<br />
the Christian Brothers’ community, thank you for honoring Brother Richard’s service to<br />
this diocese with your presence. A week or so ago, on a Sunday afternoon, the doorbell<br />
at the Brothers’ house rang and it was Bishop Zubik, who had come to visit Richard and<br />
offer him the Sacrament of the Sick. Although quite weak, Richard was very touched by<br />
your visit. Afterwards he said to me, “Not bad for a boy from Lawrenceville! “ I am sure<br />
he’s saying the same thing today.<br />
To Brother Richard’s family – to his beloved sister, Connie Rose and to his many<br />
cousins and nieces and nephews, on behalf of the Brothers we say thank you for sharing<br />
your Brother, cousin and uncle with us these many years. He was very proud of his<br />
Lawrenceville roots and his extended family. Over the past few weeks, we’ve come to<br />
appreciate even more just what a wonderful, loving family supported Brother Richard during his lifetime.<br />
To Brother Dennis Malloy, our provincial superior and Brother Dennis Lee, our auxiliary provincial and all the Brothers<br />
who traveled to Pittsburgh, we extend our gratitude for your making the trip. Your presence reinforces our connection to the<br />
greater Lasallian community to which Richard was so dedicated.<br />
We gather here today to celebrate the life of a man who fifty years ago vowed that he would consecrate himself entirely<br />
to God to procure His glory as far as he was able and as God would require of him through the educational service of young<br />
people in the spirit and tradition of John Baptist de La Salle and the Brothers of the Christian <strong>School</strong>s. For 50 years, Brother<br />
Richard labored in the Lord’s vineyard animated by the challenge offered by John Baptist de La Salle over 300 years ago to<br />
the first Brothers and which continues to be offered to the Brothers today, “To touch the hearts of your students and inspire<br />
them with the Christian spirit - this is the greatest miracle you could perform and the one that God requires of you, for this<br />
is the purpose of your work.” Today as we prepare for the final commendation of Richard back to God, we can confidently<br />
say, “Job well done, good and faithful servant.” Brother Richard truly exemplified the vocation of a De La Salle Christian<br />
Brother. He accepted every assignment he was ever given willingly and with great zeal. From La Salle <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Miami<br />
with a brief stop in Cumberland to Seton La Salle and <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> here in Pittsburgh, his sharing of his life, his gifts and<br />
his talents for the mission of <strong>Catholic</strong> education is an inspiration to all of us who knew him.<br />
One of Brother Richard’s former students from his first assignment at La Salle <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Miami, Florida, wrote<br />
to us and said, “After college, I became a high school teacher and after 37 years I am still at it. It was in no small part to the<br />
role Brother Richard played in my life. After my parents, there is no other group of adults who had a greater impact in the<br />
formation of my character, my values, my ethics, than the Brothers who taught me, particularly Brother Richard. Beyond<br />
academics, Brother Richard made us, his students, better men. I start and end every day with the words Brother Richard first<br />
taught us – Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God. What a wonderful gift we’ve been given through Brother<br />
Richard. Not only were a bunch of boys educated (sometimes against our will) to succeed in life, but ultimately were guided<br />
to become good Christian men.” Another letter came in earlier this week and I was able to read it to Richard just the other<br />
day and it brought a smile to his face and a thumbs up from his bedside, “Today I had the joy of watching my son walk across<br />
the stage at Soldiers and Sailors as he graduated from <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>. Our years at <strong>Central</strong> have gone by so quickly. I felt I<br />
would be remiss, however, if I didn’t drop you a note to let you know how I will never forget what you did for my older son.<br />
Continued on Page 5<br />
2011 Reunions............................................................25<br />
<strong>2012</strong> Reunions............................................................26<br />
Lettermen’s Club .......................................................27<br />
Twyman – Stokes ................................................28-29<br />
Brother’s Ad................................................................30<br />
In Memoriam .............................................................31<br />
News From the Family .......................................32-34<br />
Freshman Baseball ....................................................35<br />
3
Brother Robert<br />
Schaefer FSC,<br />
Principal<br />
Continued from Page 3<br />
Brother Richard, you are a kind and gracious man who truly sets the best example for<br />
all of the young men that come through the halls of your school. Your giving my son<br />
that second (and third) chance to stay at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> is appreciated more than this<br />
letter could ever convey. I know graduating from <strong>Central</strong> meant the world to him. He is<br />
currently serving in Afghanistan and on his right hand is his <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> class ring.<br />
He is never without it. As a mom it warms my heart to know that my boys will always<br />
be a part of the <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> family. Thank you, Brother Richard.” These two book<br />
end observations – one from the start of his career and one at the close - demonstrate<br />
Brother Richard’s life-long dedication to serving young people.<br />
Brother Richard was placed in school leadership roles early in his religious life<br />
because the superiors recognized not only his administrative skill but his deep commitment<br />
to Lasallian and <strong>Catholic</strong> values. Brother Richard was unwavering in his determination<br />
to make <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> accessible to all students who desired to attend. His<br />
creativity led to a variety of curricular programs that helped a wide range of students<br />
succeed. More importantly, he spent much of his time working with alumni, parents<br />
and other benefactors in making the school as financially accessible as possible. I was<br />
with him in the hospital when the doctors told him that his cancer had not responded<br />
to the last round of treatments and he would have to move to palliative care. For most of us this would be news that would<br />
take our breath away, but his response was quintessential Richard – he listened to the doctor and nodded his head and then<br />
asked when he would be released because he had to work on the budget and the financial aid packages for the students. I<br />
remember the day he was diagnosed with cancer just over two years ago. He said to me, “Man makes plans and God laughs.<br />
We’ll just take one day at a time. There’s work that has to be done here.” He was passionate about ensuring that <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> was an outstanding 21st century <strong>Catholic</strong> school that was accessible to students without any regard to socioeconomic<br />
background. He worked hard right up until his death ensuring that <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> addressed both challenges –<br />
accessibility and excellence. He knew he was dying but like the faithful servant in the Gospel, Richard believed that he was<br />
given the stewardship of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> and before he left this world for the next, he wanted to make sure all was in good<br />
order. With Richard it was never about himself – it was always about others, particularly the students and the mission of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> education.<br />
But Brother Richard’s life was so much more than budgets, buildings and planning. He was a man imbued with the Spirit<br />
of faith. In our training as Brothers we are taught not to look upon anyting but with the eyes of faith, not to do anything<br />
but in view of God, and to attribute all to God. In his own quiet and unassuming way, that was Richard's approach to his life,<br />
his ministry and even his illness these past 2 ½ years. He never took that Lasallian invocation of “Let us remember that we<br />
are in the Holy Presence of God” for granted. He truly believed it and lived it. In all my years working with him, I never saw<br />
him get rattled or unnerved. He had incredible patience facing the ups and downs associated with high school students, high<br />
school teachers, high school parents and occasionally, diocesan officials. I remember asking him one time after a particularly<br />
challenging experience we had to deal with how he remained so calm. He said a phrase he would often repeat to me when I<br />
would become agitated or excited, “God provides.” He also said a nice Manhattan in the evening helped!<br />
To his core, Richard Grzeskiewicz was a BROTHER – an older Brother in the way he related to the students entrusted to<br />
his care and a BROTHER to his confreres in community. In his own quiet and humble way he reflected the best of religious<br />
Brotherhood. Throughout the last few weeks, we, his Brothers in community had the great blessing of caring for and accompanying<br />
Richard as he prepared for his passing from this life to the next. He was very much aware of what was happening to<br />
him. He never became angry or bitter. He never lost his patience when his health continued to decline and he couldn’t take<br />
care of himself. His kindness and great sense of humor never dissipated. On Thursday morning, the hospice nurse told him<br />
that death was near and asked him if he was afraid or anxious. Brother Richard responded very clearly that he was not afraid<br />
and was ready whenever the Lord came for him. Isn’t the goal of <strong>Catholic</strong> education to train the mind and form the soul so<br />
that each of us, when the time comes, can respond with the same type of faith as Brother Richard – without fear or anxiety,<br />
ready for the Lord? Brother Richard was a teacher right up until he left us in the early hours of the morning this past Friday.<br />
All of us will certainly miss Brother Richard. It won’t be the same around here without him. But we are grateful for his<br />
life, his generosity, his commitment and his love. We believe that Richard is enjoying the rewards of a life well-lived reunited<br />
with family, his Brothers and his former students who have gone before him.<br />
Brother Richard, thank you for all you have done and for all you have been. And until we meet again, may God hold you<br />
in the palm of his hand.<br />
Wednesday, June 6, <strong>2012</strong><br />
St. Paul Cathedral<br />
Reflection by Brother Robert Schaefer, FSC<br />
Principal<br />
5
6<br />
Brother Richard<br />
Grzeskiewicz FSC, ’62<br />
President<br />
A<br />
message<br />
Dear Fellow Alumni,<br />
from the<br />
President<br />
If you had told me 23 years ago, when we celebrated the first Viking Victory Auction,<br />
that we would still be going strong after all this time, I would probably have sent<br />
you to Brother Clement for some guidance. But here we are, almost a quarter of a<br />
century later, with more than $3.8 million to show for our efforts over the years. The<br />
most recent auction was a wonderful success, and, once again, we owe a large debt of<br />
gratitude to all those who were a part of it.<br />
Like the auction, our students seem to have established a standard of excellence – or, more precisely,<br />
have inherited a standard of excellence – that has seen a year of high achievement in and out of the classroom.<br />
The year in academics, athletics, extra-curriculars, and especially in service, is one to be proud of.<br />
As you probably know, we have begun implementing our Strategic Plan, and, as part of it, are in the<br />
midst of finalizing a Master Plan of the campus. These plans will help determine the direction <strong>Central</strong> will<br />
take over the next several years, both in programming and facilities. The faculty and students -- in fact the<br />
entire <strong>Central</strong> community – is excited by the possibilities.<br />
Our consultants completed a feasibility study in February to help determine our ability to successfully<br />
complete a capital campaign to fund:<br />
• An endowment for tuition assistance<br />
• The purchase of property to expand the campus<br />
• New construction to expand academic offerings and extra-curricular programs<br />
Many of you were interviewed as part of the study, and we are taking your advice very seriously. We actually<br />
extended the tentative calendar so that the Board could perform “due diligence” in studying the results<br />
of the research. Essentially, we are taking a fiscally conservative approach to any capital campaign.<br />
I can’t believe we are in the “close of the year” phase. Christmas was only yesterday. Just as a final reminder:<br />
remember, you are always welcome home.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Bro. Richard Grzeskiewicz, FSC, (’62)<br />
President<br />
This was what turned out to be the final message Brother Richard submitted for the Quadrangle.
Gene Kail ’63<br />
Co-Editor<br />
Opening Thoughts<br />
A Pipe and a Smile<br />
In Appreciation<br />
Brother Richard Grzeskiewicz, FSC<br />
1944-<strong>2012</strong><br />
Brother Richard served here for almost half of the history of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>. In that time<br />
– except for relatively brief stints in Miami, Maryland, and at Seton-LaSalle – he was as much a constant in<br />
the life of <strong>Central</strong> as the mission, the students, and walking the quadrangle.<br />
What I remember most about his presence is his pipe and his smile. His pipe was both smoky and<br />
smelly. It fouled the air in his office and in my car. It often preceded him into a room. It must have been<br />
extremely difficult for him to give it up, but he did it.<br />
His smile was another matter. If you could read his smile you could read Richard. It could be pleasant<br />
or infuriating, a sign of humor or a mind made up. His smile was his armor, keeping you at bay until he was<br />
ready to grant you entrance. His smile gave him time to think, evaluate, and decide on a course of action.<br />
His administrative style was unique. He was even-tempered, with an almost preternatural sense of calm;<br />
he was stingy, reluctant to spend <strong>Central</strong>’s money; and he was consultative, surveying several points of view<br />
before acting. Couple these qualities with his business and managerial acumen, and is it any wonder that<br />
<strong>Central</strong> thrived under his leadership?<br />
Throughout his years of service, the students came first. There was no ambiguity in that regard. As a<br />
teacher, he was always ready to spend the extra time a student might need. As an administrator, he was every<br />
inch the Lasallian.<br />
He was a Lawrenceville boy and I was originally from the Hill. One of my last conversations with him<br />
concerned the need to find ways to provide a <strong>Central</strong> education for those who couldn’t afford it. I think that,<br />
as President, that may have been one of his primary motivations, and most difficult dilemmas.<br />
As student, teacher, assistant principal, principal, and <strong>Central</strong>’s first president, he offered <strong>Central</strong> his<br />
best; and that was good enough to maintain our status as one of the finest schools in the area and beyond.<br />
He loved <strong>Central</strong> and its students as few others, though he didn’t often discuss it.<br />
I worked with Brother Richard in various capacities for forty years. In that time, I saw him angry three<br />
times, never saw him commit a selfish act, and never once questioned the primacy of his loyalty to <strong>Central</strong>.<br />
In the fullest and best sense, Brother Richard was a gentleman and a gentle man; and he is now<br />
being welcomed home.<br />
Gene Kail ‘63<br />
Co-Editor<br />
7
8<br />
The Brothers<br />
The world in which we live has a very short memory. Cursory attention may be shown for a prob-<br />
lematic situation, but then the flame of that concern flickers and dies. Perhaps it is symptomatic of our<br />
disposable society. Yet, every once in a while, there comes along a group of people who show themselves<br />
as guardians of life and value all it holds at every stage.<br />
The Brothers of the <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Community are such men. The love, care, concern, and actions<br />
of the Brothers shown toward Brother Richard in his last days are a testimony to the best of the human<br />
condition. Led by the outstanding efforts of the Director, Brother Benedict, and assisted by Brothers<br />
Robert and Patrick, each of these men took care of Brother Richard’s every need, round-the-clock, as his<br />
passage to Our Lord’s and Our Lady’s arms drew closer. Assisted by the excellent hospice nurse and social<br />
worker, all members of the Brothers’ Community kept constant vigil in his room and at his bedside.<br />
When death peacefully took Brother Richard early in the morning of June 1, each Brother awoke and<br />
assembled around his bed to pray and keep one last vigil for the passing of this fine man, their Brother.<br />
The entire experience was an edifying one, and one that shows the reality of what it means to be a Brother.<br />
In this world so prone to forget, it does us good to pause and recall those qualities which constitute<br />
the best in humanity exist among and within the Brothers of the Christian <strong>School</strong>s.<br />
Live Jesus in our Hearts!<br />
Brother V. Kenneth, F.S.C. ‘69<br />
Brother Patrick Duffy, FSC, has been<br />
appointed President of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
A graduate of South <strong>Catholic</strong>, Brother<br />
comes to <strong>Central</strong> after extensive service in<br />
<strong>Central</strong> America and Bolivia.<br />
Note: Brother Patrick, FSC, will be featured in<br />
the Fall Quadrangle.
The In-Box:<br />
Special Delivery<br />
It’s Christmas Eve today and we all went to my parents for<br />
dinner after mass. After dinner my brothers, all <strong>Central</strong> grads, and<br />
my dad, a <strong>Central</strong> grad, were reading your article in the Quadrangle.<br />
It was AMAZING….We always hear the whole "recruiting"<br />
thing all the time, but you summed it up perfectly in your words<br />
and your article. I just wanted to let you know that all four of us<br />
loved it. Thanks for giving us another <strong>Central</strong> memory….<br />
Sincerely<br />
Zach Skrinjar, ‘97<br />
I couldn’t let the opportunity pass without thanking you for<br />
the article you wrote in the Quad. Beautifully done! I also want<br />
to tell you of the many times I’ve been told that <strong>Central</strong> recruits.<br />
I do the statistics for the football team and meet a great many<br />
folks from the opposition teams, and I’ve learned over the years<br />
to recognize jealousy when it presents itself….<br />
Frank McSteen 63’<br />
A correction in the Winter 2011 Quadrangle! Charlie (Beggy)<br />
was not a graduate of the class of 1940. If he were and was<br />
born in 1928, then he began <strong>Central</strong> at the age of 8! He was in<br />
my class of 1946 (I checked the yearbook just to be sure), and he<br />
was there when his dad was still there. He signed my yearbook.<br />
P.S. Of course, <strong>Central</strong> recruits! It recruits just by being<br />
<strong>Central</strong> --a school with high academic standards, discipline, and<br />
“rooted in the Gospel values of integrity, respect, service, justice,<br />
and peace.” It is a place students strive to go to--it is self-selective.<br />
Who wouldn’t want to go there?<br />
Frank Belcastro ‘46<br />
Happy New Year. I just finished reading your article, and I<br />
loved it. I encountered the recruiting stuff from a North Allegheny<br />
grad in December. Needless to say, it got my <strong>Central</strong> (Irish,<br />
Italian, Polish, whatever up).<br />
Joe Larkin ‘67<br />
P.S.Oh by the way, no need to say who won the argument.<br />
First I must say, the article that you wrote in the Quadrangle<br />
said what many of us already know. <strong>Central</strong> does not need to<br />
recruit. <strong>Central</strong> alumni are so widespread that <strong>Central</strong> receives<br />
students from all over Allegheny county and surrounding counties.<br />
It is the same tired argument that we have heard for many<br />
years now. This past soccer season I went to a game between<br />
<strong>Central</strong> and Penn Hills. All I heard during the game was,<br />
“<strong>Central</strong> should not be allowed to draw from such a big area.”<br />
My question to them was, and where would you draw the lines?<br />
The parents of the boys pay a steep tuition on top of the taxes to<br />
their local school district. <strong>Central</strong> alumni continue to send their<br />
boys to <strong>Central</strong>. It is a fact that more boys are coming from the<br />
suburbs, but guess what, that is where the alumni are moving.<br />
Michael McSteen ‘87<br />
Reading a recent article in the quadrangle I was very<br />
impressed by your comments on how <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> really<br />
operates. I think you captured the true essence of the spirit of<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> and I think your perspective was right on target.<br />
Coming from someone who has experienced and lives that<br />
spirit gave the article much credibility. People on the outside<br />
will never quite understand our mission but it was made very<br />
evident that you do and expressed it very well. We as a staff have<br />
received a ton of positive feedback on your comments. Keep up<br />
the good work<br />
Terry Totten ’76 and the football staff<br />
WOW – you hit the nail on the head! Congratulations and<br />
more importantly, thank you, for the well written piece in the<br />
Winter 2011 Quadrangle. It has become the default repertoire of<br />
some in the media and those simply envious of <strong>Central</strong>, to use the<br />
recruiting “card” rather than aspire to its successes – in the classroom,<br />
on the field and in life. Unfortunately, there are those in our<br />
own ranks who, due to, inter alia, personal insecurity, regret of<br />
missed opportunities, chronic propensity to bloviate, etc., feel that<br />
their embellishment presents them as “in the know” or somehow<br />
possessing a larger share of <strong>Central</strong>’s greatness.<br />
As you articulated so well, it is talent and desire that are attracted<br />
to the light of <strong>Central</strong>. There is an unmistakable distinction<br />
between recruiting, and a young man inspired to follow the light.<br />
Andy Adomitis ‘80<br />
I thought that the winter 2011 edition of the Quadrangle<br />
was exceptional. I most enjoyed the “Ten Questions for Betty<br />
Dillon.”...I also enjoyed “Recollections of Polish Hill” by Rick<br />
Garstka....I may be wrong, but I suspect what John J. “Pat” Ryan<br />
and his wife Mae have written are “autobiographies,” (Editor’s<br />
note: not biographies -- mea culpa -- GK) Keep up the good<br />
work. I always enjoy reading the Quadrangle.<br />
Larry Murray ‘61<br />
I received a Quadrangle a couple of days ago, and I enjoyed<br />
it….I’m from Garfield/Bloomfield and enjoyed seeing Tony Buzzelli<br />
on the cover. I read your article – so true, as I paid $100<br />
also, and had to go see the St. Lawrence pastor to get a report<br />
card. Really enjoyed the article on Immaculate Heart.…<br />
Ed Buechel ‘66<br />
9
Features<br />
Special Features Special Features Special<br />
10<br />
10<br />
Carnegie Mellon Start-up Developing<br />
Revolutionary Software with <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Mike Ressler, CEO of StatEasy and a<br />
Carnegie Mellon graduate, approached<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> last year with<br />
a few big ideas –<br />
What if...<br />
• Every student receives a personal high-<br />
light video from every event to share<br />
with the world<br />
• <strong>Central</strong> sports teams have ESPN-style<br />
top-10 play videos for every game<br />
• <strong>Central</strong> actors have highlights of favorite songs,<br />
scenes, and dance routines<br />
• Coaches and fans have access to live stats on<br />
their mobile devices during sporting events<br />
• Using StatEasy and media technology could be<br />
integrated into an advanced STEM curriculum<br />
Brother Bob Schaefer, Principal, Athletic Director/Basketball<br />
Coach Chuck Crummie and Head<br />
Football Coach Terry Totten '76 all said, “We love<br />
these ideas, and we want you to build it here.”<br />
StatEasy and <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> are pleased to announce<br />
that we are working together to bring these<br />
ideas to life, and we will start by implementing our<br />
system in the <strong>2012</strong>-2013 school year for football and<br />
basketball.<br />
StatEasy likes to tell a story about the <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> vs. Woodland Hills football game last fall.<br />
The Vikings beat the Wolverines 31-13 in an American<br />
Rivals game sponsored by the US Marine Corps.<br />
Damian Jones-Moore was awarded the MVP and<br />
officers in full dress uniform presented Damian a<br />
medal. But neither of his parents could be there.<br />
StatEasy was testing the system at the game,<br />
and we were able to make Damian a highlight video<br />
of his best plays and the medal ceremony and send<br />
it to his parents via text message. His dad watched<br />
the video on his smart phone Saturday morning<br />
when he woke up.<br />
Parents can’t always make the game. But they<br />
don’t have to miss out on sharing in their son’s accomplishments.<br />
StatEasy and <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> are going to build the<br />
high school media platform of the future. Would you like<br />
this for any other sports or activities for the <strong>2012</strong>-2013<br />
school year? Would you like to be a part of a parent focus<br />
group to provide feedback on the system? Email us at rollvikes@stateasysports.com.<br />
For more information, visit our<br />
website at www.stateasysports.com
Brother James Muffley:<br />
50 Years of Service<br />
Kevin Pfau ‘13<br />
As many people may already know, Brother James<br />
Muffley, FSC recently celebrated his fiftieth year as a<br />
Christian Brother. Most of you reading this article will<br />
already know Brother Muffley as a teacher, colleague,<br />
or friend, who is as full of knowledge as he is humor.<br />
However, over the last fifty years Brother Muffley has<br />
given an immense amount of time and dedication to the<br />
Christian Brothers, <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>, and to the many<br />
students he has taught.<br />
Brother Muffley was born and grew up in Allentown,<br />
PA, and attended one of the lesser known <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> high schools in the state -- Allentown <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>. When asked what prompted him<br />
to join the Christian Brothers, Brother Muffley responded,<br />
“I knew that I wanted to be a teacher and there was<br />
an attraction to religious life”. Brother, also discussed the<br />
process of becoming an FSC, which totaled seven years<br />
of temporary vows, including one year of training, four<br />
years of college, followed by two years of teaching.<br />
Christian Brothers receive first class educations.<br />
As Brother Muffley stated, “When we graduated [from<br />
LaSalle] we had a ridiculous number of credits; enough<br />
for theology and teaching degrees”. Aside from attending<br />
LaSalle University, Brother received a Master’s degree in<br />
Chemistry from Villanova University, as well as a Master’s<br />
in Theology from the University Of Notre Dame.<br />
After attending LaSalle in Philadelphia, Brother<br />
Muffley was assigned to Pittsburgh <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
from 1966 to 1977. After leaving <strong>Central</strong>, Brother was<br />
assigned to West <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Philadelphia,<br />
and later Bishop Walsh <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Cumberland,<br />
Maryland. In 1993 Brother Muffley returned to <strong>Central</strong><br />
where he has remained until present, teaching chemistry<br />
and helping students grow and mature into young<br />
adults. When asked about his favorite part of teaching,<br />
Brother responded, “the interaction with the students;<br />
seeing them develop, learn, and respond to challenges”.<br />
As anyone who has ever worked with Brother<br />
Muffley or had him for class, can attest to, Brother is as<br />
focused on teaching his students the material as he is<br />
about educating them in general and helping them to<br />
enjoy the subject of chemistry. While Brother Muffley<br />
has had a great effect on many students and colleagues’<br />
lives, he says that the fellow Christian Brothers that have<br />
taught and worked with him have had a huge effect on<br />
his life. “Living with Brothers who were dedicated was a<br />
very positive influence”.<br />
Fifty years is a long time for any person. Over the<br />
course of the last half century, nine different presidents<br />
have been in the White House, the United States has<br />
fought four wars, African-Americans have made gains<br />
toward full civil rights, and Brother James Muffley has<br />
spent countless days and weeks serving the students of<br />
LaSallian schools and so many more people. Thank you<br />
to Brother Muffley and all of the other Christian Brother<br />
who have dedicated their lives to our education.<br />
Special Features Special Features Special Features<br />
11
Special Features Special Features Special Features<br />
12<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Campus Ministry<br />
“Let the way you live be that of the Gospel.” – St. John Baptist De La Salle<br />
(Med 84.3 - feast of St. Thomas, apostle)<br />
Called to our missional goal, to develop young men<br />
of faith and service, the Campus Ministry program<br />
seeks to deepen the faith lives of the <strong>Central</strong> community.<br />
Under the leadership of Mr. Joe Allen, Campus<br />
Ministry has continued to build on the strong Lasallian<br />
foundation of the school in the areas of liturgical leadership<br />
and service learning.<br />
Mr. Allen has a wealth of ministerial experience<br />
within and without the educational context. Educated<br />
at the College of Wooster, he spent two years following<br />
graduation as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corp,<br />
an extended service-learning experience. He worked<br />
previously at Jesuit <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Dallas, and, since<br />
moving to Pittsburgh in 2007, he has worked in the<br />
non-profit and technology sectors. This rich experience<br />
prepared him well to deal with the rigors of <strong>Central</strong>’s<br />
Campus Ministry and Technology departments.<br />
Over the past year, Mr. Allen has worked closely<br />
with the faculty, administration and students to evaluate<br />
the current state of the program and see where<br />
improvements can be introduced. Allen commented,<br />
“What has most impressed me is the overwhelming<br />
generosity the school has as demonstrated by the overwhelming<br />
success of our various drives.”<br />
It has been an extremely successful year for mission<br />
drives. During October’s Homeless Children Awareness<br />
Week, the students raised $2,520 and collected<br />
over 400 notebooks to benefit the Homeless Children<br />
Education Fund, a local non-profit that serves children<br />
living in local shelters. The week culminated in a keynote<br />
presentation by Roy Juarez, Jr. and his Homeless by<br />
Choice tour.<br />
Mr. Allen introduced a new level of competition for<br />
the annual canned food drive. “Bread Basketball” is a<br />
successful program developed out of the Archdiocese of<br />
Philadelphia that promotes nutritional diversity in the<br />
food drive. Homeroom collections topped 6,000 cans<br />
and over $1,000 to benefit the Little Sisters of the Poor,<br />
an order of women religious dedicated to taking care of<br />
the elderly poor at their facility on the North Side.<br />
Over the past several years, <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> and<br />
other Lasallian schools in our District have been sending<br />
groups of students on immersion trips to the De<br />
La Salle Blackfeet <strong>School</strong> (DLSBS) in Browning, MT.<br />
While on these trips, students serve as classroom tutors<br />
and spend time learning about the history and culture<br />
of the Blackfeet tribe. Some of the enduring memories<br />
from these trips are the cold temperatures and the<br />
howling wind and based on these, we decided to make<br />
De La Salle Blackfeet <strong>School</strong> the primary beneficiary of<br />
both our Christmas and Lenten Mission Drives.<br />
During Advent, homerooms collected enough<br />
money to purchase a parka, hats and gloves for each of<br />
the 70 students at DLSBS. This tangible expression of<br />
our love for our fellow Lasallian students was very much<br />
appreciated.<br />
The Lenten Mission Drive, the largest in the Lasallian<br />
network of schools, seeks to bring transformative<br />
change to a charity operated by the Christian Brothers.<br />
In consultation with the leadership at DLSBS, we<br />
decided to raise funds to purchase and install two wind<br />
turbines that will eliminate the school’s electric bill and<br />
produce enough excess energy to create a new revenue<br />
stream for the school. The estimated $5,000 in annual<br />
capital savings will then be re-invested into improving<br />
the academic program.<br />
Besides raising funds and awareness through the<br />
mission drives, our Lasallian Youth program continues<br />
to serve the Pittsburgh community. Whether it’s<br />
tutoring students at St. Rosalia <strong>School</strong>, serving meals to<br />
people with visual impairments, serving at the Cathedral<br />
or working with the Best Friends program at the<br />
Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh, servant-leadership<br />
formation is alive and well at <strong>Central</strong>.<br />
Mr. Allen sees great growth potential as more students<br />
get involved in service-learning through Campus<br />
Ministry. He sees every student as a servant leader and<br />
is looking for increased student leadership in the development<br />
and planning of service-learning experiences.
A<br />
lumni<br />
Joseph M. Emanuele ‘67<br />
Spotlight<br />
Joe Emanuele is a series of contradictions. He looks more<br />
and more like a short nose tackle, but was agile enough to play<br />
an excellent second base, many say major league quality. He<br />
reminds one of Tony Orlando (without Dawn), but he is more<br />
entertaining. He has been an outstanding athlete, a successful<br />
coach, and an effective scout, yet it was also Joe who initiated<br />
periodic theatre trips to New York for the faculty. And<br />
he worked at Jay’s Bookstall from the age of fourteen until it<br />
closed, conversant about all the best-sellers.<br />
Despite his interest in literature and the arts -- Just ask<br />
him a theatre question! – he has taught math at <strong>Central</strong> for<br />
almost forty years. Even today, he remains what he has been all<br />
of his life: a student-athlete. It is hard not to conclude that Joe<br />
may well be the last Universal Man.<br />
At the recent National Italian American Sports Hall of<br />
Fame Dinner – the 26 th Annual Awards and Scholarship Banquet<br />
(Pittsburgh Chapter) – Joseph Michael Emanuele received<br />
the Frank A. Santamaria Lifetime Achievement Award.<br />
He deserved it.<br />
He has made a life out of nurturing young people, athletes<br />
and otherwise, and instilling in them the desire for excellence.<br />
Always concerned about education and life after sports, he frequently<br />
used his coaching and scouting positions to encourage<br />
players to continue their education. At <strong>Central</strong>, he has often<br />
been an informal mentor or counselor, proving that learning<br />
takes place outside the classroom as well as in it.<br />
Joe returned to teach at his Alma Mater after graduation<br />
from Point Park College. He has been here ever since. He is a<br />
founding member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the NIASHF,<br />
whose “Founders Award” he received in 2002, closely following<br />
his 2001 induction into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.<br />
Joseph M. Emanuele grew up in Oakland and attended St.<br />
Paul’s Cathedral grade school. He has been married to his wife<br />
Diana for more than a quarter century.<br />
Joe’s late brother Frank ‘74 was also a NIASHF honoree.<br />
And his sister Catherine is married to Chuck Rutter ‘58, another<br />
familiar <strong>Central</strong> name.<br />
When Joe talks about <strong>Central</strong> he remembers with fondness<br />
ALL of his classmates and many of the Brothers. He keeps<br />
in touch with his classmates from ’67 from all over the country.<br />
He loves his memories of being on the football team his<br />
sophomore and junior years and especially baseball his junior<br />
and senior years. He says that all his teachers were memorable<br />
from Brother Mike to Brother Jerome to Fred De Groot. There<br />
wasn’t a bad person at <strong>Central</strong>; they were all good to him.<br />
Joe’s dream is for someone to hit the Lottery and donate to<br />
<strong>Central</strong> so the kids don’t have to pay huge tuition<br />
bills. “No more than $2,000!” he said.<br />
Joe said, “How can anyone not love <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>? The kids in the halls don’t understand<br />
how special <strong>Central</strong> is. When they leave all of them<br />
say they wish they were back because they know<br />
how everyone cared about them.”<br />
In the fall of 2010, Joe suffered a stroke. Since<br />
that time, he has spent countless hours in physical<br />
therapy and working on his speech. He is determined<br />
to recover as thoroughly as possible. Don’t<br />
bet against him!<br />
Class of<br />
’67<br />
13
Special Features Special Features Special Features<br />
14<br />
St. Philomena Memories<br />
by William Jakub, St. Philomena Class 1971, <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Class of 1975<br />
Rising majestically amongst the oak, poplar,<br />
and maple trees and various other types of<br />
shrubbery St. Philomena Roman <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Parish & <strong>School</strong> appeared as an oasis on the<br />
horizon in the surrounding Squirrel Hill community.<br />
For well over 50 years the Sunday bells of<br />
the church tolled calling the faithful to services.<br />
The parish interestingly sat atop a once productive<br />
coal mine and later tilled and cultivated farm. The<br />
spiritual wellbeing and educational home for many<br />
a parishioners’ children was the primary mission<br />
of the Redemptorist Congregation of priests<br />
(C.S.S.R.) and the <strong>School</strong> Sisters of Notre Dame<br />
(S.S.N.D.) respectively. Many a former student<br />
can easily harken back to a time when names such<br />
as; Sr. Florentia, Sr. Amelia, Sr. Concordia, Sr.<br />
Wilhelmenia, Sr. Corrine, Sr. Blanda, Sr. Virginia,<br />
Sr. Joana, Ms. Plutnicky, Ms. McCloskey and a<br />
whole host of other educators either struck fear<br />
and angst or elation in a student’s mind. Similarly,<br />
the names of Fr. Gutenberger, Fr. Nelson, V. Rev.<br />
Comyns, Bro. Reardon, Bro. Edmund, Bro. Rupert,<br />
V.Rev. McDonough, Fr. William Jacob, and a host<br />
of other members of the Redemptorist order who<br />
called St. Philomena home can easily cause one to<br />
immediately recall their respective personas and<br />
demeanors.<br />
For me and my classmates, Sr. Concordia and<br />
first grade was one of adjustment to new surroundings,<br />
people, rules, regulations and of course wonderment<br />
and discovery. Even at an early age the<br />
Sisters, charged with our educational development,<br />
were not inclined for accepting mediocrity or<br />
failure and instilled into their charges that neither<br />
should we. The early years were filled with nurturing,<br />
discovery, wonder and learning. It was a time<br />
when students with unbridled energy were allowed<br />
to be kids, i.e., jump, run, play, get dirty, scratch<br />
knees at recess with little or no worry and truly<br />
enjoy and experience the world around them.<br />
It was a time when learning how to string a<br />
transistor radio – ear piece - through your dress<br />
white shirt up the arm to the palm of your ‘left<br />
hand’ ( I being right handed) to listen to the 1967 World<br />
Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston<br />
Red Sox and nonchalantly appear attentive to Sister’s<br />
droning on about something. However, it was also a<br />
time when learning attentiveness and faking it could<br />
be costly especially when Sister Blanda asks you ‘who’s<br />
winning? And you matter of fact say ‘Sox are up by one<br />
in the bottom of the sixth’ – only to realize your cover<br />
is blown and you now have earned the dreaded after<br />
school detention and an even longer talk with your<br />
mom and dad by the time you get home having missed<br />
the school bus home and having to walk.<br />
As the years passed and our education and learning<br />
grew, so did the opportunity for discovery and wonder.<br />
Discovering the intricacies of being an altar boy without<br />
tripping over your ceremonial cassock or setting yourself<br />
ablaze with a lit 2 ½ foot candle during the Christmas<br />
eve midnight mass. The ability to learn a foreign<br />
language – Latin -- while still becoming proficient in<br />
English, was also an accomplishment that placed a few<br />
of us truly in a league of our own.<br />
During these years much was discovered about<br />
learning. I came to the realization that mathematics was<br />
never one of my strongest suites and would always be<br />
my Achilles heel, and I learned to hold my own in Ms.<br />
McCloskey’s 6th grade English, and the fun of diagramming<br />
sentences that always seemed to look like aircraft<br />
carriers on paper and what to do with a dangling participial<br />
- truly weighty stuff.<br />
Perhaps the best of times was learning the finer<br />
intricacies of baseball. Although not terribly astute at<br />
hitting the ball, oftentimes it hit me before I it, but I<br />
managed to play a respectable 1st base on the parish<br />
sponsored teams and later with the little league teams<br />
sponsored by the Greenfield Baseball Association. I was<br />
a better than average dodge - baller – being built close<br />
to the grown and flexible but was terrible at basketball<br />
and I must admit still am.<br />
As time passed subjects became more challenging,<br />
and expectations that we could and would meet the<br />
challenges were also quite high. Looking back on it, the<br />
Sisters never presented me with a challenge or task that<br />
they thought I wasn’t up to or couldn’t accomplish yet,
at the time, I didn’t quite see it like that. In retrospect,<br />
the <strong>School</strong> Sisters of Notre Dame challenged us to rise<br />
above mediocrity and be the best we could be regardless<br />
of the trial or tribulation. Perhaps this influenced<br />
me initially, and was later honed and refined courtesy of<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> and Duquesne University, becoming a<br />
University Professor and Library Director.<br />
Society around us was changing and certainly<br />
caused its share of angst not only for our parents but<br />
the Redemptorist Priests and Sisters of Notre Dame<br />
who were charged with guiding and molding our spiritual/faith<br />
growth and educational development. One<br />
person who seemingly understood the swirling winds of<br />
change that surrounded us and engulfed our little oasis<br />
was Fr. Frank Nelson C.S.S.R. By all accounts and my<br />
recollection, Father Nelson though young, relative to<br />
his Redemptorist colleagues, was mature for his years.<br />
His ease and soft spoken demeanor were evident always<br />
regardless of the undertaking. He saw a world that we<br />
the students / young people were going to be exposed<br />
to and our need to learn how to live in it and with it<br />
and not from it. Father Nelson took it upon himself to<br />
quell the winds of change with the establishment of the<br />
Christian Youth Organization – St. Philomena, CYO for<br />
short. The CYO was a means and avenue by which the<br />
two groups, young men and women of the parish could<br />
get to know each other and learn to interact under the<br />
watchful eyes of the clergy and within a controlled and<br />
sheltered environment.<br />
I remember my first CYO meeting in the gym on<br />
the third floor of the school building. Access to the gym<br />
was via the marble steps (that I had gotten to know<br />
intimately over the years from scraping gum off of their<br />
shiny exterior) or<br />
by elevator, which<br />
students were never<br />
permitted to use.<br />
Mea Culpa – I<br />
confess, I took the<br />
elevator every time<br />
I could. The door<br />
opened and, lo and<br />
behold, Rod Stewart’s<br />
“Maggie May”<br />
was blaring. To the<br />
left stood many of<br />
my male classmates<br />
and to the right<br />
many of my female<br />
classmates with a<br />
few more adven-<br />
turesome / daring ones in the middle. I braved the<br />
waters and waded into the middle of the stream, so<br />
to speak, and have never regretted it.<br />
By the time graduation day rolled around in<br />
June of 1971 many of my classmates were pensively<br />
waiting to hear if they had been accepted into<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> for the coming fall. For many who<br />
had siblings that were students there already or who<br />
had graduated expectations for our acceptance ran<br />
especially high. For me, I was following in the footsteps<br />
of my two older brothers who are members of<br />
the <strong>Central</strong> class of 1961 and <strong>Central</strong> class of 1968,<br />
respectively. Suffice to say, not only was I accepted<br />
but all of my friends from St. Philomena’s too. We<br />
would eventually go on to become the much larger<br />
and successful class of 1975.<br />
By 1993, the oasis in Squirrel Hill that was<br />
St. Philomena was closed and the buildings and<br />
property sold due to dwindling student enrollment,<br />
suburban flight of families, and a myriad of other<br />
reasons and rationales. Yet for those of us who still<br />
live in the area and occasionally drive by the facility<br />
or get out and walk around the sidewalk on Beechwood<br />
Boulevard, it isn’t that hard to stop and close<br />
your eyes and remember a time of discovery, a time<br />
of wonder, a time for accomplishment. I can still see<br />
the faces of many of the Sisters and Priests exhorting<br />
me to ‘at least try and give it my best effort’<br />
and reminding me that mediocre is unacceptable<br />
and knowing that their compassionate demeanor<br />
was their expression of love and concern to see me<br />
succeed, not only individually but as one of God’s<br />
children.<br />
Special Features Special Features Special Features<br />
15
16<br />
QUESTIONS FOR TERRY TOTTEN '76<br />
<strong>Central</strong>’s very successful<br />
head football coach answers questions.<br />
What effect did your years as a <strong>Central</strong> student<br />
have on your coaching?<br />
I know what is expected of my current players as far as facing<br />
a tough academic load, as well as the discipline in their behavior<br />
to remain in good standing.<br />
How have you managed to maintain such a consistently<br />
competitive program over so long a period?<br />
The first thing is to maintain and instill an overall pride in<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>. Fortunately this has carried over to the field.<br />
We get very good kids at <strong>Central</strong> who respond not only to a<br />
challenge but to the rigorous process needed to be successful.<br />
Stressing the great traditions of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> football helps,<br />
and each group wants to maintain the standards that have been<br />
set. Also I am blessed with an outstanding staff who work tirelessly<br />
to hold those standards.<br />
How do you help reconcile the demands on <strong>Central</strong><br />
football players to be both good students and<br />
good football players?<br />
It’s tough when you consider a student athlete could leave his<br />
house at 6:45 am and return at 6:45 PM with a couple of hours of<br />
homework left to do. It is almost the life of someone at the Naval<br />
Academy. You have to remind them that others before them<br />
handled it and went on to accomplish great things, and that all of<br />
this will prepare them for the future.<br />
Can you name an “All-time <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Football Team,” or at least name some of the<br />
members you might select?<br />
Very hard to do, so many great players. Someone will always<br />
feel slighted. I have made a great effort to promote the great players<br />
and teams, and coached from the past in the form of pictures<br />
and articles. As a school we can boast of “Hall of Fame”, “All<br />
Pros”, “All Americans,” (at all college levels) and so many others<br />
who were awarded all-section, all-<strong>Catholic</strong>, All WPIAL and All<br />
State during their days at <strong>Central</strong>. If you ask (and I do ) people<br />
from the 50’s mention Don Schaefer ’52, the 60’s Markowski ‘64,<br />
Babinez ‘68, 70’s Smith ’74 and Emanuel ’74, Watkins ’75, Marino<br />
‘79, the 80’s Orlando, the 90’s Bulger and to 2000’s Stephan<br />
Wisniewski. It really leads to great discussions and points to a<br />
very long tradition of excellence.
What is your favorite part of coaching at <strong>Central</strong>?<br />
Very simply, being allowed to represent the greatest high<br />
school in America and hopefully bring the excellence that is <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> out onto the field each Friday.<br />
Since you don’t have a full-time faculty position,<br />
what is your “day job?”<br />
I am the weight room moderator for the juniors and senior<br />
students who have free time and are permitted to use our workout<br />
facilities.<br />
The Totten name has a long history at <strong>Central</strong>.<br />
Do you get much pressure or advice from your<br />
brothers, cousins and uncles, etc.?<br />
Yes, many times my biggest critics are across the dinner<br />
table. They mean well and are very encouraging, but it is a very<br />
close to home reminder of what is expected, and they verbalize<br />
what so many of our loyal alumni feel.<br />
How do you feel about the re-structuring of the<br />
divisions in Quad A?<br />
For the most part we’re fine with it. I will miss the Woodland<br />
hills and Penn Hills rivalries as well as the ability to schedule a<br />
national opponent in the opener.<br />
What is your biggest current need?<br />
Staffing is somewhat of a problem at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> and<br />
we get a lot of hours out of volunteers who love <strong>Central</strong> and want<br />
to stay connected. We have volunteers that help with equipment<br />
to coaching to managers to stats and on and on. And they all do<br />
it with little or no pay at all. Staffing needs are crucial and it<br />
would be a huge benefit if we were somehow able to assemble one.<br />
We’re fortunate that so many people want to stay connected to<br />
<strong>Central</strong>.<br />
What makes <strong>Central</strong> football special?<br />
Years and years of tradition. We have a chance to represent<br />
what the school is all about and to take it onto a visible stage<br />
every Friday night for everyone to see. <strong>Central</strong> has become so<br />
special over the years because of so many great players, coaches<br />
and teams. And no one wants to let that standard down.<br />
(READERS: Is there anyone you would like to be interviewed<br />
for the Quadrangle? What questions would you pose? Just let us<br />
know: Jeff Folino or Gene Kail<br />
)<br />
17
18<br />
A<br />
dvancement<br />
Pennsylvania Educational Improvement<br />
Tax Credit (EITC) Program<br />
Did you know that Pennsylvania’s EITC (Educational Improvement<br />
Tax Credit) program allows you to turn your state<br />
corporate tax liability into need-based scholarship funds for<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> students? The process is surprisingly easy, and<br />
allows you to have a direct say in how your corporate tax dollars<br />
are being used.<br />
In 2010-2011, 37% of our students received financial assistance,<br />
and requests are increasing each year. <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
is working hard to meet this demand and ensure that our lifechanging<br />
education is not out of reach for any qualified young<br />
man. As a member of the <strong>Central</strong> community and a business<br />
owner or a decision-maker in a business, the EITC program allows<br />
you to contribute to this effort with the money you would<br />
otherwise send to Harrisburg.<br />
Call the Office for Institutional Advancement at 412-622-<br />
6171 to learn how to use your tax dollars to make a permanent<br />
impact on the life of a hard-working <strong>Central</strong> student. Participa-<br />
The Office for Institutional Advancement is issuing a challenge<br />
to all <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Alumni!<br />
As you know, the Fund for <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> (formerly the<br />
Annual Fund) supports the school’s unique diversity and provides<br />
tuition assistance to over one-third of the student body.<br />
Without this help, many students would be unable to attend<br />
<strong>Central</strong>. To show our gratitude, the Office for Institutional Advancement<br />
wants to recognize our generous alumni for investing<br />
in these young men and, at the same time, encourage the<br />
<strong>Central</strong> tradition of healthy competition.<br />
Beginning in <strong>2012</strong>, <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> will give two annual<br />
Viking Challenge Awards for support of the Fund for <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>– one to the class with the highest total contribution<br />
and one to the class with the largest percentage participation.<br />
Totals will be determined at the end of the giving year (January-<br />
December), and the results will be announced in January.<br />
The winning classes will be engraved on the Viking Challenge<br />
Award, which proudly features a <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Viking<br />
helmet atop a base displaying each year’s victors. The Viking<br />
“I’m thrilled to turn my tax dollars into scholarship<br />
funds that will give a student the opportunity to<br />
experience <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>.<br />
The program requires little more than filling out a<br />
one-page application. There is really no reason not to<br />
do it.”<br />
Don Dietz, <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Parent<br />
Vice President, Pharmacy Healthcare Solutions, Inc.<br />
- 4 year EITC participant<br />
tion in the program is simply a win-win scenario.<br />
Last fall, <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> welcomed our largest freshmen<br />
class in several years. You can make certain that this trend continues<br />
by taking advantage of the EITC program.<br />
The Viking Challenge Award - A Fund for <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> (formerly the Annual Fund) Competition<br />
Challenge Award will be prominently displayed in the school<br />
and will provide the winners with an entire year’s worth of<br />
bragging rights! The award also serves as a daily reminder to<br />
our current students about the importance of giving back to the<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> community.<br />
Award recipients will also be recognized on the <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> website and in the Quadrangle. The Viking Challenge<br />
Award will be on display at the Viking Victory Auction as well.<br />
Which <strong>Central</strong> alumni classes will be our inaugural winners?<br />
It’s up to you! Encourage your classmates to make a<br />
contribution to the Fund for <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>, and maybe your<br />
class will be the one to christen the prestigious Viking Challenge<br />
Award.<br />
Watch the CCHS website to keep track of the class leading<br />
the challenge. Your gift can make the difference for your class to<br />
win the <strong>2012</strong> Viking Challenge Award!<br />
Current Standings as of May 25, <strong>2012</strong>:
Mark Your Calendar!<br />
<strong>2012</strong> PittsburghGives Day of Giving – October 3, <strong>2012</strong><br />
On October 3, <strong>2012</strong>, The Pittsburgh Foundation’s PittsburghGives<br />
initiative will again match charitable online donations<br />
until a pool of matching funds is exhausted. The amount<br />
of the match is pro-rated and determined by the total dollars<br />
contributed to all approved organizations on the Day of Giving.<br />
Last year, <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>’s alumni and friends logged in to<br />
the PittsburghGives website and donated $145,426 to our tuition<br />
assistance fund. As a result, <strong>Central</strong> received a PittsburghGives<br />
match of $21,086 for a total of $166,512 in just one day. <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> was second only to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra<br />
in terms of funds raised through PittsburghGives.<br />
Log on to www.pittsburghgives.org on October 3 rd and<br />
make your gift go further with a match from Pittsburgh Gives.<br />
Please call the Office of Advancement at 412-622-6171 with any<br />
questions. Let’s put <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> in the top spot this year!<br />
Matching Gifts<br />
Did you know that your employer may be one of thousands<br />
that will match their employees’ charitable contributions? These<br />
corporate matching gifts are a powerful way to maximize your<br />
donation and allow <strong>Central</strong> to provide tuition assistance to even<br />
more young men.<br />
All matching gifts count toward your personal giving total.<br />
You can double or, in some cases, even triple your gift by taking<br />
advantage of your corporation’s commitment to philanthropy.<br />
Some businesses will match your volunteer hours or a contribution<br />
made by a retiree or a spouse.<br />
Contact your human resources manager to find out if your<br />
employer offers this benefit. In most cases, the process involves<br />
completion of a simple form or online registration. In the near<br />
future, <strong>Central</strong>’s website will include a searchable database of<br />
companies that provide matching gifts. You may be surprised to<br />
discover that you are able to make your gift go even further!<br />
Fund for Students of Diverse Backgrounds<br />
A diverse student body is vitally important to the overall<br />
education at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>, and stands as testament to the<br />
founding principle set forth by Saint John Baptist de La Salle<br />
of “education for all.” DeMarcus Simmons, a 2004 graduate of<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>, has an interest in making sure that student<br />
diversity remains a significant aspect of the <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
experience.<br />
“As a <strong>Central</strong> student, I had the opportunity to gain knowledge,<br />
develop my faith and strengthen my character in the<br />
classroom, in the cafeteria (now McGinley Dining Hall), on the<br />
basketball court, and through participation in extra-curricular<br />
activities. I was able to see the world through the eyes of my<br />
classmates, and often discovered that although we came from a<br />
variety of economic, social and racial backgrounds, we were really<br />
not that different at all. We all strived to achieve success by<br />
absorbing all that we could—from teachers, as well as from each<br />
other—for a well-rounded education,” comments DeMarcus.<br />
DeMarcus believes that every student brings his own<br />
unique gifts and talents to <strong>Central</strong>, for the betterment of all. It is<br />
with this in mind that Demarcus and his family have embarked<br />
on an initiative to establish a fund that will provide tuition assistance<br />
to students specifically from culturally and racially diverse<br />
backgrounds. In accordance with the school’s commitment to<br />
making a <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> education financially possible to all<br />
who desire it, the purpose of this new fund is to ensure that the<br />
lack of finances never prevents a minority student from pursuing<br />
or completing his education at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>.<br />
If you would like to get involved in helping the Simmons<br />
family establish the new fund, DeMarcus would welcome the<br />
opportunity to speak with you. Please contact the Office for Institutional<br />
Advancement at 412-208-3401 for more information.<br />
19
20<br />
Masque Bye Bye Birdie
Masque Bye Bye Birdie<br />
21
22<br />
Class of <strong>2012</strong> Placement<br />
Allegheny College<br />
American University<br />
Ashland University<br />
Auburn University<br />
Baldwin-Wallace College<br />
Bethany College<br />
Boston College<br />
Boston University<br />
Bowling Green State University<br />
Brown University<br />
Bucknell University<br />
California University of Pennsylvania<br />
Capital University<br />
Carlow University<br />
Carnegie Mellon University<br />
Case Western Reserve University<br />
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania<br />
Clarion University of Pennsylvania<br />
Clemson University<br />
Colgate University<br />
College of Charleston<br />
College of William and Mary<br />
Columbia University<br />
Community College of Allegheny County<br />
Cornell University<br />
Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus<br />
Denison University<br />
DePaul University<br />
DeSales University<br />
Dickinson College<br />
Drexel University<br />
Duquesne University<br />
Eastern University<br />
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania<br />
Elon University<br />
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - AZ<br />
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - FL<br />
Fairfield University<br />
Florida Atlantic University<br />
Florida Institute of Technology<br />
Fordham University<br />
Franklin and Marshall College<br />
Furman University<br />
Gannon University<br />
George Mason University<br />
Georgetown University<br />
Georgia Institute of Technology<br />
Gettysburg College<br />
Grove City College<br />
Hampton University<br />
Harvard University<br />
<strong>High</strong> Point University<br />
Hiram College<br />
Howard University<br />
Indiana University at Bloomington<br />
Indiana University of Pennsylvania<br />
Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Punxsutawney Campus<br />
James Madison University<br />
John Carroll University<br />
Kent State University<br />
La Roche College<br />
La Salle University<br />
Lafayette College<br />
Lawrence Technological University<br />
Lehigh University<br />
Lewis University<br />
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania<br />
Loyola University Chicago<br />
Loyola University Maryland<br />
Lycoming College<br />
Lynchburg College<br />
Manhattan College<br />
Marietta College<br />
Marquette University<br />
Marshall University<br />
Marywood University<br />
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br />
Mercyhurst College<br />
Miami University, Oxford<br />
Michigan State University<br />
Mount Aloysius College<br />
Mount Saint Mary’s University<br />
Muskingum University<br />
Naval Academy Preparatory <strong>School</strong><br />
Neumann University<br />
New York University<br />
North Carolina A&T State University<br />
North Carolina <strong>Central</strong> University<br />
North Carolina State University<br />
Northeastern University<br />
Nova Southeastern University<br />
Ohio University<br />
Ohio Wesleyan University<br />
Old Dominion University<br />
Pennsylvania State University, Altoona<br />
Pennsylvania State University, Erie: The Behrend College<br />
Pennsylvania State University, Fayette<br />
Pennsylvania State University, Greater Allegheny<br />
Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg<br />
Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer Honors College<br />
Pennsylvania State University, University Park<br />
Pittsburgh Technical Institute<br />
Point Park University<br />
Princeton University<br />
Purdue University<br />
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute<br />
Robert Morris University<br />
Rochester Institute of Technology<br />
Saint Francis University<br />
Saint Joseph’s University<br />
Saint Vincent College<br />
San Diego State University<br />
Seton Hill University<br />
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Class of <strong>2012</strong> Placement ( Cont.)<br />
St. John Fisher College<br />
St. John’s University - Manhattan Campus<br />
St. John’s University - Queens Campus<br />
SUNY Maritime College<br />
Susquehanna University<br />
Syracuse University<br />
Temple University<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> University of America<br />
The College of Wooster<br />
The George Washington University<br />
The Ohio State University<br />
The University of Akron<br />
The University of Alabama<br />
The University of Findlay<br />
The University of Tampa<br />
Thiel College<br />
Tulane University<br />
University at Buffalo<br />
University of Baltimore<br />
University of California at Los Angeles<br />
University of Chicago<br />
University of Cincinnati<br />
University of Dayton<br />
University of Delaware<br />
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign<br />
University of Maine<br />
University of Maryland, College Park<br />
Ways to Give<br />
Online<br />
Give online with any credit card, at our secure website.<br />
Go to www.centralcatholichs.com, and choose “Support<br />
CCHS,” and look for the “Donate Now” option.<br />
University of Mississippi<br />
University of Mount Union<br />
University of North Carolina at Greensboro<br />
University of Pittsburgh<br />
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg<br />
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown<br />
University of Pittsburgh at Titusville<br />
University of Rhode Island<br />
University of Toledo<br />
University of Washington<br />
University of Wisconsin, Madison<br />
Valley Forge Military College<br />
Villanova University<br />
Virginia Military Institute<br />
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University<br />
Wake Forest University<br />
Washington and Jefferson College<br />
Waynesburg University<br />
West Virginia University<br />
Westminster College<br />
Wheeling Jesuit University<br />
Williams College<br />
Wittenberg University<br />
Xavier University<br />
York University<br />
Youngstown State University<br />
Check or Cash<br />
Checks should be made payable to <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>, 4720 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.<br />
Credit Cards<br />
We accept VISA and MasterCard if you mail in your gift.<br />
Appreciated Securities<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> welcomes gifts of appreciated stocks,<br />
bonds, mutual funds. Please contact the Office of Advancement<br />
at (412) 208-3401 when considering or making gifts of<br />
appreciated funds.<br />
Corporate Matching Gifts<br />
Many companies sponsor matching gift programs that<br />
can double or triple your gift to <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>. Contact your human resource department for information and<br />
the appropriate forms. Matching gifts are added to your own gift and are counted toward gift society levels.<br />
23
24<br />
Jeff Folino ‘75<br />
Director of<br />
Alumni Relations<br />
Alumni – Part of the Family<br />
A message<br />
from<br />
Alumni Relations<br />
I will call him John, a Golden Viking from the late forties. He is a distinguished gentleman who<br />
stopped by to see the school which he had not seen for 38 years. After we walked around <strong>Central</strong> and<br />
talked, we watched the students walk around the Quad, which he was pleased to see the tradition<br />
continues. What seemed to be his major concern was that <strong>Central</strong> always remains for young men as<br />
it was for him when he arrived from his tough city neighborhood, not knowing what to expect of <strong>Central</strong> or of himself. A place where, “…you<br />
become aware of yourself. And, you know, where you begin to know the value of things. Like work and friends. And where you learned the<br />
only unforgivable sin was self-pity.”<br />
We walked through the front doors and onto the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue so he could look at the front of the school. He crossed his<br />
arms, his shoulders a little hunched, and looked at the building from left to right and back, squinting as he looked skyward. He smiled a contented<br />
smile and shook his head and said, “I always loved this building.”<br />
“All of us do,” I said. I couldn’t help grin because he seemed so absorbed in the building, as if he was returning to that time and place that<br />
he said, “Helped mold me. Where I made friends that have lasted all these years.” We walked up to the front doors and stood together on the<br />
steps facing Fifth Avenue and I had the privilege of listening to him talk about his days at <strong>Central</strong> and after. I listened to his stories about his<br />
life and wanted to ask him a question or two but didn’t want to interrupt, wanted to keep listening.<br />
It was not all about him though, he inquired about my life and what my interests are. Where I went to school, and what brought me back<br />
to <strong>Central</strong>. He wanted to know if I knew so and so and had a genuine sense of loss flush his face when I informed him that the one classmate<br />
he asked about had passed away.<br />
I learned a lot from this man, his insights and reminiscences. I enjoyed hearing his sentences string out in a melody of gratitude and<br />
fulfillment. Of a time that, as he said, “…gave me direction.”<br />
As we all do, he wanted to know what traditions still exist here and was sad to hear that the <strong>Central</strong>-North rivalry ended, was surprised<br />
that there were only 850 students as compared to the 1,800 plus (his count) when he was here. I explained to him how little room we had now<br />
and that technology had taken some of it. Understanding that, he was happy with <strong>Central</strong>’s commitment to technology, but still felt it sad that<br />
more young men could not experience <strong>Central</strong>. He said we had to find room for more boys, especially today. “And, more important, don’t let<br />
them park their backside on a chair in front of a computer all day. Only thing you get from that is shiny pants bottoms.”<br />
I laughed, enjoying my lesson. “We try not to let them stay there too long.”<br />
“You can’t allow it. The world needs more places like <strong>Central</strong>. And <strong>Central</strong> can never have enough boys to teach.”<br />
“I agree,” I said. Didn’t want him to leave. “What was so special about being here for you.”<br />
“From the first day I showed up I knew that this was a place that could change my life. My dad was a laborer; my mother worked odd<br />
jobs – sewed, washed clothes, those sorts of thing. There were 7 of us. I believed that if I could make it through four years and when I walked<br />
out the Quadrangle doors after those years I had a chance. But, I had to keep showing up.” He saw he had his audience and smiled at me. I saw<br />
gratitude in his smile for the chance to recollect. He straightened up, the years leaving him for a moment, the bravado of youth returning for a<br />
brief moment. “I learned as much from my fellow classmates as I did the Brother’s,” he said wagging a finger at the world.<br />
“I know that feeling. That sense of serendipity.”<br />
“Yes, yes, that comes from being among people who know things you don’t know, and who help educate you every day that you show up.<br />
You can lose that if you park your fanny in front of a computer somewhere. I wonder if that hasn’t already happened sometimes.”<br />
“Your classmates learned from you, too. Like today.”<br />
“You gotta bring something to it, too. Makes you want to work.”<br />
We walked through the McGinley Dinning Hall and John stopped and looked around. “Makes me proud. Amazing,” he said as he looked<br />
at the newly renovated cafeteria. “Lots of smiling young men. Some things never change,” he continued. We walked up the dining hall steps<br />
and out of the Quadrangle doors. We shook hands and he said, “I hope to be back soon.”<br />
“I hope so too. I look forward to it.”<br />
He stopped on the steps and looked over the Quad and said, “I was lucky to go to a place like this. I come back, meet a <strong>Central</strong> fellow like<br />
you, and even though it was many years apart we know we shared something special. That’s called an enrichment of life. What other place<br />
around here is like this? Where fun means so many things?”<br />
“Nowhere else I can think of.”<br />
'75<br />
jfolino@centralcatholichs.com
2011<br />
Reunions<br />
’61<br />
Class of<br />
25
26<br />
<strong>2012</strong><br />
Reunions<br />
Class of 1950, 62 th Reunion Celebration! July 14, <strong>2012</strong> - Saturday Afternoon Stag<br />
Gathering in the <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> McGinley Dining Hall! For more information now, contact a<br />
member of the Reunion Committee: Jim Degnan 412-682-0832 or jimdegnan@aol.com, Carl Izzo<br />
- cizzo1@comcast.net; Wayne Kelly - waynepkelly@gmailc.om ; Jim Phillips - 412-486-3670; Bob<br />
Stein 412-862-6222; Tom Skell - ytjonmtn@wpa.net; Jack Mackin - johntmackin@gmail.com; Jerry<br />
McCabe – 412-897-7423, Bill Blaney – 412-343-1174. You will hear from a Committee Member<br />
within the next few weeks. We need everyone’s help to track down some of our “missing” (from <strong>Central</strong>’s<br />
mailing list) classmates. Commitment forms and itinerary for the Stag will be sent in spring.<br />
Class of 1957 – Inquiries made.<br />
Class of 1962, 50th Reunion Celebration! October 12th & 13th, <strong>2012</strong>. October<br />
12 th – Friday Evening Stag in the new McGinley Dining Hall at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>. Saturday<br />
October 13 th a couples dinner at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. For more information<br />
contact a member of the reunion committee. Bill Madden – 412-798-3504 or dsmilo005@hotmail.<br />
com, Bro. Richard Grzeskiewicz – 412-208-3412 or president@cetnralcatholichs.com, Leo Duman<br />
– 412-223-1375 or duman817@comcast.net; Frank Lamberto – 412-362-2828 or frossl@me.com.<br />
Commitment forms and itinerary for the Stag and Dinner will be sent in the summer.<br />
Class of 1967, 45th Reunion Celebration! September 21 & 22 <strong>2012</strong>. September 21<br />
– Friday Evening Stag in <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Cafeteria. September 22 – Saturday Couples Dinner<br />
(Location to be determined.) For more information now, contact: Mike McGrath 412-208 3465<br />
or mmcgrath@centralcatholichs.com. Or Jeff Folino Director of Alumni Relations at 412-208-3488<br />
or jfolino@centralcatholichs.com. Commitment forms and itinerary for the Stag and the Dinner<br />
will be sent in the summer<br />
Class of 1972, 40th Reunion Celebration! September 28th & 29th, <strong>2012</strong>. September<br />
28 th – Friday Evening Stag event in the McGinley Dining Hall at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>. Saturday September<br />
29 th , Couples gathering at a site to be determined. For more information now, contact a member<br />
of the reunioin committee. Alan Couser – 412-759-6062 or alan.cousar@gmail.com; Len Mafrica<br />
– 412-889-0507 or leaonard.mafrica@gmail.com; Denny McManus – 412-362-1325 or dmcmanus@<br />
gpcfb.org; John Poselli – 412-885-4708 or johnposelli@aol.com; Chris Retenauer – 412-292-0889 or<br />
chrisretenauer@yahoo.com; Bob Scullion – 412-780-9216 or r_scullion@msn.com; Tom Wood – 412-<br />
826-0204 or tdwood@selectmedical.com; Ed Yurcon – 724-934-0117 or edyurcon@ambylaw.com.<br />
Commitment forms and itinerary for the Stag and Dinner will be sent in the summer.<br />
Class of 1977, 35th Reunion Celebration! September 14th, 15th, 16th, <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
September 14th – Friday Evening Stag in <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Cafeteria. September 15th – To be announced.<br />
September 16 th – Mass at Cathedral followed by brunch at the PAA. For more information<br />
now, contact Kevin Keyho keyho@verizon.net or 412-576-7472. We need everyone’s help to<br />
track down some of our “missing” (from <strong>Central</strong>’s mailing list) classmates. Commitment forms and<br />
itinerary for the Stag, the couples gathering, and the Sunday brunch will be sent in late summer.<br />
Class of 1982, 30th Reunion Celebration! October 5th & 6th, <strong>2012</strong>. October 5 th –<br />
Friday Evening Stag in <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> McGinley Dining Hall. October 6th – Saturday Couples<br />
Gathering at a site to be determined. For more information now, contact a member of the Reunion<br />
Committee: Tim Steitz – 412-445-9575 or tsteitz@sauer-inc.com; Mark Sekera - 724-505-9456<br />
mark.sekera@yahoo.com; Jack McAndrew – 412-980-8777 or action139@comcast.net.<br />
Class of 1987 25th Reunion Celebration! – August 31 & September 1, <strong>2012</strong> –<br />
August 31st Friday evening Stag in <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> McGinley Dining Hall. September 1, <strong>2012</strong> –<br />
Saturdays Couples Gathering at Rock Bottom at the Waterfront/Homestead. For more information<br />
contact a member of the Reunion Committee. Doug Doyle – 412-244-3303 or dpddoyle@hotmail.<br />
com; David DiGioia – 412-531-2170 or david@digioiagray.com; Joe Scassera – 412-209-8841 or<br />
jscassera@gmail.com; Rick Kabbert – 412-392-5405 or rkabbert@dmclaw.com; Chuck Haber –<br />
412-398-4499 or chhaber@verizon.net. Or Jeff Folino ’75 Director of Alumni – 412-208-3488 or<br />
jfolino@centralcatholichs.com. Commitment forms and Itinerary will be sent this summer.
LETTERMEN'S CLUB GOLF<br />
OUTING DATE SET<br />
By Kevin Shields ‘79<br />
As the Vikings put the finishing<br />
touches on another outstanding year, the Club would like to take<br />
this opportunity to congratulate this year’s athletic teams on<br />
their success. They include the soccer and football teams, which<br />
made it to the WPIAL semifinals; the crew team, which continues<br />
to improve on its outstanding regional and national reputation;<br />
the golf team, which won its section and finished fourth in<br />
the WPIAL; the basketball team, which played for the WPIAL<br />
AAAA championship and qualified for the PIAA playoffs; the<br />
wrestling team, which had three wrestlers place in the state,<br />
including state champion Perry Hills ’12 (195 lbs.), who also won<br />
the WPIAL championship along with classmate Tyler Manion<br />
at 152 pounds; the hockey team, which qualified for the WPIHL<br />
playoffs; the bowling team, which won the southeast section of<br />
the WPIBL and qualified for the western region of the state high<br />
school bowling championship, with Ray Cichoski ‘12 finishing<br />
5th in the region and 16th in the state; the track team set a school<br />
record in the 4 X 100 relay and had numerous athletes qualify for<br />
WPIAL gold in the individual championships; and the baseball<br />
team brought home a section championship and qualified for the<br />
WPIAL playoffs.<br />
“The Lettermen’s Club would like to congratulate our<br />
student-athletes who represented <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> at the highest<br />
levels of high school athletics,” Club President Rob Lovett ’93<br />
said. “We are so proud of these young men, and grateful for the<br />
coaches, trainers and parents for their contributions to the ongoing<br />
success of Viking athletics.”<br />
C<br />
Please save the date for the 20th Annual<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Lettermen’s Club Golf Outing<br />
to be held on Monday, September 24, <strong>2012</strong>, at the home course<br />
of the Viking Varsity Golf Team, Edgewood Country Club. As<br />
always, all proceeds from the event benefit all of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>’s<br />
athletic programs. This is the Club’s major fundraiser and<br />
needs your help. If you have not played in this event, you need<br />
to experience the fun and camaraderie that is built between<br />
<strong>Central</strong> Alums from all decades. In addition, the auction this<br />
year will include some terrific <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> items. Have<br />
you ever wanted to be a football coach? You will have the opportunity<br />
to bid on calling the offensive plays for a series at a<br />
Vikings’ varsity football game. How about a basketball coach?<br />
You can bid on a chance to become an assistant coach for a<br />
Vikings’ varsity basketball game. Does your son want to experience<br />
<strong>Central</strong> football first hand? You may bid on the opportunity<br />
to be an honorary captain for a game and lots of other neat<br />
surprises that will be part of the silent auction.<br />
“We can’t thank our members and supporters enough for<br />
their contributions to the Club,” Lovett said. “Through their<br />
support, we are able to provide our student-athletes with everything<br />
they need to compete at a championship level.”<br />
For more information about the club and the golf outing,<br />
please visit us at www.lettermensclub.com. While you are<br />
there, you can also update your membership if you are a yearly<br />
member or by filling out the form below. If you are not a member,<br />
we certainly encourage you to join by either filling out the<br />
form below or visit the website.<br />
27
28<br />
The Stokes-Twyman Story<br />
Bill Karabinos ’55<br />
(Editor’s note: The following story was written in the fall of<br />
2001. With the recent passing of Jack Twyman ’51, we thought it<br />
worth the re-telling.)<br />
I<br />
never met Jack Twyman. He graduated from <strong>Central</strong> in 1951;<br />
I finished in 1955. I remember his younger brother Ned, a<br />
couple of years behind me, sinking two-handed set shots<br />
from just across the mid-court line in <strong>Central</strong>’s gym. Had the<br />
three point shot been around in those days, Ned would probably<br />
hold the City’s scoring record. Although I never saw Jack play in<br />
that gym, I did know he was playing great basketball at Cincinnati<br />
University and was listed among the College All-Americans. Since<br />
he was a <strong>Central</strong> boy, we were all proud of him.<br />
During the summers, I went to my grandparent’s home in<br />
Loretto, Pennsylvania and spent most of my time on the campus<br />
of St. Francis College. St. Francis<br />
was a small school then, only about 300<br />
students; it is now a University with<br />
nearly 2,000. In the summer of 1954,<br />
one of those students was Maurice<br />
Stokes. Maurice was the biggest guy<br />
I had ever seen and he too, was from<br />
Pittsburgh. I used to play with and<br />
against him in pick-up games in Doyle<br />
Hall, the St. Francis gym. He was some<br />
ball player. I only had one shot in those<br />
days, a turn around jumper in the key that I hit maybe 3 of 5<br />
times. When I played against Big Mo, I could have hit that shot<br />
every time, except it never had a downward arch ... he blocked<br />
every one. Off the court, he was a marshmallow, a gentle giant,<br />
a really pleasant guy to be around.<br />
Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman both had stellar college<br />
careers. Both were drafted by the Pros and destined for NBA<br />
stardom. Both played for the Rochester (and later, the Cincinnati)<br />
Royals. Jack has a plaque in the Hall of Fame. Maurice has<br />
a small head stone in the cemetery at St. Francis College. Both<br />
are linked together not only in my memory, but incontrovertibly<br />
for all-time. Their story is a timeless one: one of love, manliness,<br />
athletic greatness, tragedy, the ultimate in what it means to be a<br />
teammate and as good as any illustration of what it means to be<br />
a “Brother’s Boy” -- a graduate of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>.<br />
Jack Twyman did <strong>Central</strong> proud when he was playing great<br />
basketball in Cincinnati and Rochester, and later after he retired,<br />
as the first ABC basketball analyst. Jack Twyman’s greatness<br />
began on the hardwoods of NBA cities, but his real greatness<br />
started on a flight from Detroit to Cincinnati in 1958, and then<br />
surfaced in hospitals, courtrooms, fund raising events, and on<br />
college campuses where he represented his fallen teammate,<br />
Maurice Stokes.<br />
I don’t know if it’s possible to tell the entire story of Jack<br />
Twyman’s involvement with Maurice Stokes. Jack never made<br />
it a big deal, and Maurice died and the story sort of ended over<br />
thirty years ago.<br />
[For those of you who don’t know the story, here it is<br />
briefly.]<br />
Maurice Stokes was a star basketball player at Westinghouse<br />
<strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> and lived in Homewood. He lead his team to two<br />
straight City titles and went to St. Francis College, then the only<br />
school in Western Pennsylvania that could challenge Duquesne<br />
on the court. During the same span, Jack made the <strong>Central</strong> varsity<br />
his senior year and went on to Cincinnati University.<br />
Stokes became an All-American, taking St. Francis to two<br />
straight NIT appearances (in those<br />
days the NIT was “The Tournament”)<br />
and was selected the Tournament’s<br />
MVP in 1955, although the Frankies<br />
finished fourth. In fact, in 1997, the<br />
media in New York still voted him<br />
to the all-time NIT team. Jack, too<br />
had a great career at Cincinnati and<br />
averaged 24.6 points per game with a<br />
deadly shot from the corner.<br />
Both were drafted by the Rochester<br />
Royals in the 1955 NBA draft, and both started in their<br />
rookie years. Jack averaged 14.4 points per game his first season,<br />
and Maurice, 16.3 rebounds a game; snatching 38 in one game<br />
and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. Bob Cousy called<br />
Stokes, “the first great athletic power forward; he was Karl<br />
Malone with more finesse.” Jack Twyman said of his teammate,<br />
“No one had seen a guy with that combination of strength, speed<br />
and size.” Both Jack and Maurice were NBA All-Stars in their<br />
second season; for Jack it was only one of six appearances.<br />
Stokes set an NBA rebounding record in 1957 and the Royals<br />
moved to Cincinnati the next year.<br />
That year they made the playoffs, but tragedy struck before<br />
the post-season got underway. In the final game of the 1958 season<br />
in Minneapolis, Stokes fell hard to the floor and struck his<br />
head. He was unconscious for a very long time, but managed to<br />
get up and played later in the game. Three days later, after playing<br />
the first playoff game in Detroit, Stokes suffered a seizure<br />
on the plane ride back to Cincinnati. Rushed to the hospital, he<br />
went into a coma for six months. Maurice was alone; his family<br />
could not afford to stay in Cincinnati to see to his care nor the
medical bills. The NBA was not then the “cash cow” it is now,<br />
and contributed little to Maurice’s care.<br />
Jack, not then a great friend, stepped up big-time to take<br />
care of his teammate. Jack became his legal guardian, went to<br />
court to win a workman’s compensation award for Maurice,<br />
organized and played in fund-raising events; and, although he<br />
had a family and a career of his own, spent countless hours at<br />
Maurice’s bedside supervising his recovery for the next 12 years.<br />
When Stokes emerged from his coma he could not speak<br />
and was virtually paralyzed by the brain injury he had suffered:<br />
post-traumatic encephalopathy. Jack and Maurice worked out<br />
a system to communicate, almost silently, as they had on the<br />
basketball court. Sometimes Jack painstakingly went through<br />
the alphabet, until Stokes, mentally alert, blinked in recognition.<br />
They began to instinctively know what was on each other’s<br />
mind. Although robbed of his mobility and independence,<br />
Stokes retained the athlete’s great spirit of determination and<br />
began a grueling therapy regime and<br />
slowly, ever so slowly, learned to type<br />
with agonizing deliberation, began to<br />
form syllables, regained some muscle<br />
tone and, with the help of braces,<br />
could take a few steps. He was eventually<br />
able to leave the hospital with Jack<br />
and attend fund raising games and<br />
special events. I remember when Jack<br />
brought him back to St. Francis in the<br />
late 60s and stood by him to wipe the<br />
sweat, spittle and tears from his face<br />
throughout that evening of an agonizingly<br />
joyful triumph for Maurice.<br />
New York Post columnist Milton<br />
Gross wrote: “Stokes lived as a symbol<br />
of the best that a man is, despite the<br />
terrible things which can happen to<br />
him. He was a beautiful man who<br />
believed that surrender was not the<br />
way, even though he couldn’t walk,<br />
couldn’t talk except agonizingly. And<br />
he laughed when he should have cried.”<br />
Maurice died of a massive stroke in 1970, fighting to the end<br />
to regain control of his body. And so Jack’s guardianship, which<br />
started over 40 years ago and probably shortened his own NBA<br />
career, terminated in 1970 when Maurice was buried at Loretto.<br />
However, his involvement with Maurice didn’t really end then.<br />
Thirty years later, Jack returned to St. Francis in the fall of 2001<br />
to see Maurice’s jersey retired and hoisted to the rafters of the<br />
Maurice Stokes Gym. And later this year, Jack will be present<br />
when his friend, once his ward, is inducted into College basketball’s<br />
Hall of Fame.<br />
Jack Twyman retired in 1966, as only the sixth player in<br />
NBA history to score over 15,000 points, averaging over 19<br />
points over an 11-year career. One season he averaged 31.2<br />
points per game, and he shot over 45% from the floor over his<br />
entire career. In 1982, Jack Twyman was elected to Naismith<br />
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Citing the pure shooting<br />
skills that made him one of the all-time NBA greats, the Hall<br />
of Fame also noted his compassion for his teammate, Maurice<br />
Stokes. After retirement Jack Twyman was hired as a sports<br />
commentator by ABC, one of the first athletes to move into the<br />
broadcast booth.<br />
Jack Twyman’s compassion and love for his teammate, and<br />
Maurice Stokes’ determination, spirit and ‘agonizing’ joy is a<br />
timeless story. In the final chapter of that story, Maurice called<br />
Jack and Father Vincent Negherbon, then President of St. Francis,<br />
to his bedside to ask them to instruct him in the fundamentals<br />
of the <strong>Catholic</strong> Faith. They did so and Maurice was received<br />
into the <strong>Catholic</strong> Church. He made<br />
another unusual request at that<br />
time: to be buried in the Franciscan<br />
community cemetery at St. Francis<br />
College. It really wasn’t that unusual.<br />
You see, that cemetery is directly<br />
behind Doyle Hall, the gym where<br />
Maurice Stokes played so many of<br />
his college games. Jack saw to it that<br />
his final wish was realized and now a<br />
layman, a College All-American, an<br />
NBA All-Star also rests in that little<br />
portion of the Allegheny <strong>High</strong>lands<br />
once reserved only for the Franciscans<br />
Friars of Loretto.<br />
Although one of <strong>Central</strong>’s most<br />
illustrious graduates, Jack Twyman<br />
still humbly acknowledges the many<br />
humanitarian awards bestowed upon<br />
him. “Humility,” as the sainted Father<br />
Augustine of St. Francis used to tell<br />
us: “Is knowing your place and taking<br />
it gracefully.” Jack has always been<br />
graceful. When Jack was praised for his care and dedication,<br />
he simply responded: “... when I was having a bad day myself, I<br />
would go to see Maurice, selfishly, to say, I want to get pumped<br />
up. And he never failed to pump me up.” Few have preserved the<br />
legacy of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> as well as Jack Twyman; few have<br />
answered the call of <strong>Central</strong>’s Student Creed as nobly: “to be<br />
trustworthy, honest, reliable, concerned, caring and respected as<br />
a <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> student.”<br />
Thank you Jack Twyman.<br />
29
1938<br />
Francis J. Halnan<br />
1940<br />
Michael T. Barry<br />
Joseph A. Blatt<br />
Al Ozimek<br />
James A. Robinson<br />
1941<br />
Joseph A. Prascak<br />
1942<br />
Brian T. Connolly<br />
James O. Schaefer<br />
Andrew Pepper<br />
Edward L. Farrell<br />
1943<br />
George J. Easley<br />
Edward J. Lyons<br />
1945<br />
Joseph P. Cvetas<br />
In Memoriam<br />
1946<br />
Francis E. Krushinski<br />
Richard E. Krzeminski<br />
Henry S. Zalewski<br />
William Eckels<br />
1948<br />
Vincent T. DeLuca<br />
Richard J. Boehm<br />
1949<br />
Robert J. Garrity<br />
Leigh Steinbach<br />
1950<br />
Robert J. Harvey<br />
Joseph Ross<br />
1951<br />
Robert W. Schmitt<br />
John Twyman<br />
1952<br />
Raymond J. Angell<br />
1954<br />
Norbert J. Roney<br />
Lou Zotter ’54<br />
Please remember in your prayers<br />
these recently deceased members of<br />
the <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> community.<br />
1956<br />
Edward S. Twyman<br />
1957<br />
James J. O’Toole<br />
1958<br />
Patrick A. Coyne<br />
James T. Shields<br />
1959<br />
Richard Mizgorski<br />
Joseph S. Yorio<br />
1960<br />
Leo Smaglo<br />
1962<br />
John C. Davis<br />
John L. Kilcoyne<br />
Russell Oft<br />
Rosario Semplice<br />
Timothy W. O’Toole<br />
Bro. Richard Grzeskiewicz<br />
1964<br />
John R. DeAngelis<br />
Mark Ratkus ’64<br />
1967<br />
James Short<br />
1968<br />
John Chismar<br />
1969<br />
John Mascio<br />
1970<br />
Albert A. Ozimek<br />
Hugh J. Burns<br />
Michael D. Jeeves<br />
1971<br />
Thomas C. Frederick<br />
1972<br />
Carlton L. Metz<br />
1976<br />
William Gregg<br />
1981<br />
Gregory Sheffo<br />
1982<br />
Charles W. Janes<br />
Ken P. O’Leary<br />
1983<br />
Joseph C. Felitsky<br />
Correction: We are pleased to announce that Paul Pazerski '61 is alive<br />
and well and not deceased as listed in Winter Quadrangle.<br />
31
32<br />
News from the <strong>Central</strong><br />
1950’S<br />
JIMMY FlYNN ’51 was inducted into the Pennsylvania<br />
Sports Hall of Fame.<br />
Left to right - Bob Fuchs, Jim Lucot, Leo O’Donnell, Enos<br />
Abel, and Tom Smith. Tom Kelly is not pictured. Rich<br />
O’Brien had an accident and could not attend. (Jimmy is the<br />
good looking guy with the flower in his lapel.)<br />
We had a great time honoring our good friend and<br />
classmate Jimmy Flynn ’51 and the other inductees. We wish<br />
that everyone in our group could have been there with us as<br />
well. God Bless. Jim Lucot ‘51<br />
lAWRENCE STATES ‘52 – I was privileged to be<br />
able to walk to school during all my 16 years of formal<br />
educations – St. Paul’s Cathedral for 8 years, <strong>Central</strong><br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> for 4 years, and the University of Pittsburgh for<br />
4 years. I became enamored with <strong>Central</strong> when, as a third<br />
grader, I was selected to act on <strong>Central</strong>’s stage in the play<br />
“Tinker’s Dam” with the <strong>Catholic</strong> Theater Guild. Then, in<br />
the eighth grade my local priest wanted me to go to St.<br />
Vincent’s in Latrobe to start preparing for the priesthood.<br />
But I told him my dream goal since third grade was to go<br />
to <strong>Central</strong> – And I was going to <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong>. Besides,<br />
I was not priestly material.<br />
Family<br />
I realized that dream, and now sixty years later I’m going<br />
to “Walk” <strong>Central</strong>’s Quadrangle with my beautiful wife, Patti,<br />
and my friends and classmates. My younger brother, Tom,<br />
reminded me to walk counter clockwise around the Quad, or<br />
I could get detention and miss the 60th reunion banquet. It is<br />
counter clockwise – is it not? Is Tom just trying to have a good<br />
laugh again on me?<br />
DAVID K. MCGUIRE, Ph.D. - ‘53 retired after ten years as<br />
adjunct professor of chemistry and environmental science at<br />
Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA.<br />
The Joint Veterans<br />
Committee of Maryland,<br />
has chosen ANThONY J.<br />
“TONY” BEGENWAlD<br />
’54 of the Marine Corps<br />
League as the <strong>2012</strong> Veteran of<br />
the Year.<br />
Upon graduation from<br />
<strong>Central</strong> in 1954, he enlisted<br />
in the U. S. Marine Corps and<br />
was released from active duty<br />
in 1956. He graduated from<br />
Penn State in 1960 with a<br />
Bachelor of Science Degree in<br />
Electrical Engineering.<br />
Accepting a position<br />
with the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, he became<br />
a pioneer in NASA’s Manned Space Flight Program by<br />
writing the Acquisition Aid Tech Manual for the Project<br />
Mercury Space Program. He advanced through numerous<br />
positions into senior management, and became Bendix’s first<br />
prestigious NASA Manned Space Flight Awareness honoree,<br />
received the Astronaut’s Silver Snoopy award, and numerous<br />
Bendix and NASA citations. He retired in 1995.<br />
Tony’s Marine Corps League activities began when he<br />
joined the Free State Detachment in Bowie. He assumed the<br />
task of coordinating activities regarding visiting wounded<br />
Marines and FMF Corpsmen from Iraq at the Bethesda Naval<br />
Hospital. This activity ultimately became the Marines Helping<br />
Marines Foundation (Program) in 2003. For the past 9 years<br />
he has supported this program in an outstanding manner,<br />
traveling many miles to tell his MHM story.
He has received numerous awards and citations for<br />
his work with veterans, including proclamations from<br />
the Maryland House of Delegates, Maryland Senate, and<br />
the Governor of Maryland.<br />
Tony resides in Bowie Maryland. His wife of 44<br />
years, the former Barbara Carole O’Neal of Miami,<br />
Florida, passed away in 2005. He has two children and<br />
six grandchildren.<br />
DENNY KOMPARE ‘57 - From his arrival to World<br />
Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida 12 years ago,<br />
Denny Kompare ‘57 has invested countless hours in<br />
making our community the best it can be. Denny has<br />
volunteered in<br />
our community<br />
in a variety of<br />
ways over the<br />
years.<br />
Denny<br />
was one of the<br />
first residents<br />
of Turnberry<br />
when he retired<br />
to the area with<br />
his wife Joanne in March 1999. Sadly, Joanne passed<br />
away this year. Denny’s son Douglas lives with him in<br />
Turnberry. In addition, Denny has two lovely daughters,<br />
Denise and Desiree, who live in New Jersey and Virginia<br />
respectively.<br />
“I retired as the Director of International Business<br />
for Union Carbide,” said Denny. “We had offices in<br />
42 countries and I can count at least 60 countries I’ve<br />
traveled to over the years. My favorite part of the travel<br />
was interacting with people of all nationalities, cultures<br />
and traditions and enjoying all of the differing cuisines”<br />
Retiring didn’t slow Denny down a bit. In addition<br />
to serving as President of the Turnberry Homeowners<br />
Association, he serves as President of Saint Johns<br />
Northwest Master Association Board, and Vice President<br />
of the Saint Johns Northwest Residential Association<br />
Board. He was one of the original founders of the WGV<br />
Social Committee, and is a regular presence at numerous<br />
charity golf tournaments in the arera.<br />
Denny has been on the local <strong>Catholic</strong> Charities Board<br />
of Directors for five years, serving as Chairman for the<br />
past three years, and currently serves as Finance Chair.<br />
Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what<br />
we do, but we make a life by what we give.” For World<br />
Golf Village neighbor Denny Kompare, the giving is<br />
generous and steadfast.<br />
1960’S<br />
NORB RATTAY ’68 - I recently retired as a Colonel from<br />
the USAF reserves. My retirement ceremony was held at the<br />
Pentagon and my good friend, Gary Glencer from the CCHS<br />
of 1968 attended. After graduation from the University of<br />
Pittsburgh, I was commissioned in the United States Air<br />
Force and I served for 7 years on active duty flying Fighters<br />
(F-4, Phantoms). Later I went into the USAF Reserves as a<br />
Contracting Officer. As a Reservist I volunteered to deploy to<br />
support Operation Iraqi Freedom and I was assigned to Iraq for<br />
two tours, one tour in Hilla, Iraq (2004), and one tour in Phoenix<br />
Base, Iraq (2006-2007). You’re never too old to deploy! I am<br />
married to Margie (Lauric) since 1973. We have two sons and we<br />
currently live in Rhode Island. Greetings to all of those <strong>Central</strong><br />
graduates currently serving in the Military!<br />
Three <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> graduates, BIll hAlFERTY ’71,<br />
KEVIN ShIElDS ’79 AND ANThONY “BUTCh” SCIUllI<br />
’83 took part in the <strong>2012</strong> Pirates Fantasy Camp from January<br />
22-29 at Pirates City in Bradenton, Florida. They got to play a<br />
minimum of eight games against fellow campers and a game<br />
against some of the Pirate greats. Many autographs were had as<br />
well as stories you never heard about in the media. Also included<br />
in the stay was playing a game at McKechnie Field, home of<br />
the Pirates spring training games and the Class A farm team<br />
Bradenton Marauders. The three Vikings alums recently played<br />
in a reunion game on Saturday, May 26th at PNC Park. Later that<br />
night they were guests of the Pirates for their game against the<br />
Chicago Cubs and were introduced to the crowd with their faces<br />
on the “Jumbotron” before the game.<br />
Shields made the class of 79 proud as he got a hit off of<br />
Halferty in the only time that they faced each other during the<br />
fun-filled week.<br />
This was on the Pirates website: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.<br />
com/photos/gallery.jsp?content_id=26475348&c_id=pit Shields<br />
is in the fourth photo on the site beating out an infield hit.<br />
From left to right: Bill Halferty ’71, Kevin Shields ’79 and Butch Sciulli ’83.<br />
33
34<br />
1990’S<br />
MIChAEl DURzO ’93 and is wife Jaime are very proud to<br />
announce that they had their first baby boy, Henry Preston<br />
Durzo on January 13, <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
MAx CIzAUSKAS ’99 and his wife are the proud parents<br />
of two sons, ages 1 and 3, probably <strong>Central</strong> bound.<br />
2000’S<br />
JOSEPh R. GUAlTIERI ‘05 and his wife Kristen proudly<br />
announce the birth of their daughter, Giovanna Rose, on May<br />
9, <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
COlEMAN lAMB ’07 won 3rd place in CMU's MLK<br />
Writing Awards contest, which calls for personal essays/<br />
reflections on race relations in America, Dr. King's legacy,<br />
etc. The winning pieces are published in a little booklet<br />
and then were read by the authors as of CMU's events on<br />
MLK Day.<br />
ANThONY CAPIzzI '08 is a senior outside hitter on the<br />
men's volleyball team at Penn State Behrend. He was named<br />
the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC)<br />
Athlete of the Week in February <strong>2012</strong>. On the season Capizzi<br />
lead the team in blocks and is third in kills.<br />
MIChAEl KENSTOWICz ’08 - Richard Zacharias (left to<br />
right), Stephen Lee Sunderman, president of the University<br />
of Chicago College Republicans, political strategist and<br />
College alum David Axelrod, Meher Kairon and William<br />
Herald listen as Michael Kenstowicz (CC ’08) talks about<br />
how he thinks an Institute of Politics can address some of<br />
the academic needs of students who hope to pursue public<br />
service careers. (Photo by Jason Smith).<br />
zACh CARlINO ’10 Mount Union sophomore Zach<br />
Carlino, was a second-team selection in baseball on the All-<br />
Mideast Region team by D3baseball.com and a first-team<br />
All-Ohio Athletic Conference pick. Carlino was honored as a<br />
utility player. Carlino started 40 games and played first base,<br />
third base, designated hitter and pitcher. On the mound, he<br />
had a 6-2 record with a 3.59 earned run average with two<br />
complete games, a save and 29 strikeouts. He pitched regular<br />
season victories against #1 Marietta, Heidelberg and John<br />
Carroll -- each of the teams that made the OAC Tournament.<br />
At the plate, he hit .306 with five doubles and was third on<br />
the team with 27 RBI.<br />
JOhN RENDE ‘10,<br />
completed his sophomore<br />
season for the Grove City<br />
baseball team. He played<br />
in 16 games, including<br />
seven starts at second<br />
base. Rende hit .360 (9<br />
for 25) with seven runs<br />
batted in. He posted a<br />
.452 on-base percentage<br />
and earned his second<br />
letter. (photo courtesy of<br />
Grove City College)
Freshman Baseball<br />
By Tony Febbraro ‘86<br />
It's April and the <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> freshman baseball team is<br />
gathered together at the All-American Baseball Facility in Gibsonia.<br />
They are in full practice attire with their gloves in hand all<br />
ready to go. But this is not a typical Saturday morning practice.<br />
The team is there to help run a baseball clinic. The clinic is being<br />
held to teach baseball and softball skills to teenaged students<br />
from the Western Pennsylvania <strong>School</strong> for the Deaf. Coach<br />
Matt Sprinkle volunteered his team to help out the organizers of<br />
the clinic with the idea that the students would enjoy watching<br />
and learning from a group of their peers.<br />
Watching the players interact with the students was inspiring.<br />
The freshman team at the time of the clinic is boasting a 9-1<br />
record on the diamond. They are a first-class baseball team, and<br />
the character displayed by each team member is a testament to<br />
the fact that they are all first-class individuals and that student<br />
athletes at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> are performing at a high level beyond<br />
the field of play.<br />
The baseball program, headed by Coach Frank LaCava, is<br />
building a very strong baseball program on the diamond and<br />
along with his assistant coaches, like Matt Sprinkle, they are<br />
building a program of fine young men that starts by following<br />
in the mission and philosophy of <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> that fosters a<br />
life of faith and scholarship and develops leaders rooted in the<br />
Gospel values of integrity, respect, service, justice and peace.<br />
35
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
4720 Fifth Avenue<br />
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2952<br />
PARENTS:<br />
If your son has moved from your home,<br />
please notify the Alumni Office at<br />
412.208.3488 of his current address.<br />
<strong>Central</strong> Men in Blue<br />
Non Profit Org.<br />
U.S. Postage<br />
PAID<br />
Pittsburgh, PA<br />
Permit No. 11<br />
Sargent Michael Tracy, ’74, poses with five <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> alumni who were sworn in as City of Pittsburgh Police Officers<br />
on June 7, <strong>2012</strong>. From left to right: Officer Brendan Nee, ’04, Officer Andrew Robinson, ’06, Officer Matthew Tracy, ’07, Sgt.<br />
Michael Tracy, ’74, Officer James Sherer, ’02 and Scott Seserko, ’03.