HAMILTON HIGH CLASS OF 1952: ANOTHER "CLASS WITH CLASS"

 It was my privilege to bring my nostalgic music program to the 50th reunion of Hamilton's Classof 1952; the class I would have been in had I not skipped first grade for an unknown reason. I went from Miss Kelly's  "Reception Grade" right into second grade at Kuser School. Naturally I wanted to get as many photos of the class that I could and it was really nice to talk with my many HHS '52 alums. Those who have been following my columns over the past 36 years will recall that I wrote about those wonderful high school years ain times that were much more laid back. A number of those columns also referred to Madeline Bencivengo, "the gal that got away." Those years were special: Saturday night canteen, the annual operetta and senior play, a coke was Coca Cola and drugs were sold at the local drug store. Ahh such wonderful memories. I wish you "shoulda been my classmates"  very Happy Reunion! I have put together a number of graphics that are on file in my "HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL" folder; all dealing with another "Cass with Class" as I have dubbed my HHS '51 alums.

This class can be included in the "Hornet Class with Class!" These folks are going all out with a 50th to remember down in Atlantic City! Further info on the reunion can be found at their website www.hhswreunion67.com. Have a great time, fellow Hornets!

1948: MEMORIES OF THOSE GREAT HHS OPERETTAS!

I would have been in that operetta if I was at Hamilton High in the 1947-148 era. However, in those years, my neighborhood did their freshman year at Kuser School in what was then known as Kuser Annex. This graphic, courtesy of my friend Audrey Homan Sperling shows just a portion of the cast for that great musical. My singing buddy Lee Belardino is see as a fellow freshman under the orange "v" adding his splendid tenor voice to the chorus. What wonderful memories!

2016: GOODBYES ARE SO SAD; FAREWELL HARRY!

Harry Hall and I didn't re-establish contact until computer technology came on the scene. Harry surfed the web and found my Kuser School website www.kuser-school.blogspot.com and we became fast friends. How well I remember Harry and his neighbor Marty Majarowitz walking down Newkirk to Kuser School back in the 1940's Harry and I became very close e-mail swapping friends and carried on nearly daily email exchanges until he became ill a few years ago. I will always remember Harry and his reverence for our school days from Kuser School to Hamilton High. Even though I was a couple years his senior, we had enough in common to proudly claim each other brothers,, even to our birthdays; both of which occur in September; mine on the 29th and Harry's a couple days earlier on the 27th. Rest in peace and finally free from all that pain, Harry. We WILL meet again!

FROM THE APRIL 1950 CRITERION - MEMORIES OFMY FIRST TRUE LOVE

It was March, 1951; time for our class trip to Washington in 2 buses. I was on bus 1 and as luck would have it, the girl of my dreams was on bus 2. I'll never forget that day when we stopped at the Luray Caverns and explored Mother Nature's incredible underground display. It was here that I fell in love with Judy Britton. She had on a very stunning navy blue suit, and was movie star pretty. I will never forget the thrill and electricity that surged through me as we walked hand in had in those dark caverns. Here's a pleasant memory of my classmates that I scanned from a 1950 "CRITERION" which I received from Bob Oliver HHS '50.

1951 - 2016: "PRECIOUS MEMORIES, HOW THEY LINGER.."

I am no longer posting on my Hamilton High School class of 1951 CLASSMATES.COM pages. I find that the site is much too limited in bringing the larger and more legible photos and articles. All of which brings me to this post: I have devoted my retirement years to my memories of growing up in a very rural Hamilton Township. I know there are a number of my contemporaries who have absolutely no interest in their past life, but as I grow older and older and older, I find that the memories I hold deep down in my very being should not be repressed. In short I am a hopeless romantic. I am also a hopeless, aging old guy looking back on how blessed I have been with my COUNTLESS precious memories. For instance: The photo I took was on one of my MANY passes I take to the best high school in the world (My opinion, of course.) I can't express the deep, delightful emotional wave that comes over me when I see that lovely settee under the school flagpole. School is ending, we were graduating seniors with our yearbooks at our side, garnering signatures of our classmates, and then that miraculous and never to be forgotten act of young love between me and the girl I would ultimately marry. Some folks take those memories to the cemetery. I take mine to the place where the memories were made, and this is one of those treasured landmarks for me.

2015: GOOD BYE, DICK. YOU BROUGHT A LOT OF JOY TO YOUR COMMUNITY

I received a phone call last evening via voice mail from a relative of Dick Chmielewski, our class of 1951 classmate who went on to form the DICK CHIMES polka band. His incredible group brought many wonderful hours to the Kuser Park gazebo when the township engaged professional groups to play at that great venue. Dick was known for a very warm and cordial personality and he had a killer smile for everyone. We'll miss you Dick, and your surviving classmates will re-unite with you in the Hamilton High class of eternity! Rest in peace, my friend.

Richard "Dick Chimes" Chmielewski, 82, of Hamilton, NJ, passed away on September 9, 2015 in Chandler, AZ. Richard was band leader for Dick Chimes and His Orchestra, worked in security for the State House and was is a US Navy Veteran. He is survived by: daughters, Amy Mourkas of Chandler, AZ and Audrey Healy of Murrieta, CA; grandchildren, Jake Mourkas, Alexis Mourkas, Max Mourkas of Chandler, AZ; Megan Johnson, Michael Moran, and Michael Healy of California; and brothers, Ronald Chmielewski of Saluda, NC, Bill Aring of Columbus, NJ, and John Aring of Idaho Falls, IA. Richard is preceded in death by his brother Robert Chmielewski of Trenton, NJ. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Alzheimer's Association . Services will be scheduled at a later date through Winowicz Funeral Home, Trenton, NJ.

2016: THE WOMAN WHO MADE ME THE MAN I AM TODAY - 60 PLUSE YEARS LATER

I was one of many fortunate Hamilton High School students who studied and performed under the tutelage of Miss Louise Baird who was the vocal music teacher there from the first year of Hamilton High School until she retired in 1961. I will be forever indebted to her for instilling a love of music and philosophy.