LVCS Alumni

A Bit Of L.V. History Down Here In Virginia

2011-08-21T15:35:00.003-04:00

We Virginia Memmotts were surprised to see this case on a table at the Lucketts (Va.) Fair on Saturday.

The antique dealer who was using it to display some of her items didn't want to sell the case to me, unfortunately. It would have looked nice in our dining room.

2011 Dinner: Another Fine Evening

2011-07-04T16:55:00.004-04:00

Well, the 2011 Alumni Dinner was yet another "good time had by all" evening.

Harlow Fisher, Class of '61, was the keynote speaker. And as you can tell by the audio (click "play" below), he wove together an address that was funny and inspirational (if you want to download the audio, click here):

(Photo by John Memmott; he has more from the dinner posted here.)

Class Of '71 Looking To Get Together

2011-06-08T20:38:00.004-04:00

Julie Dykstra sends this along to her classmates:

Class of 1971: Look for an invitation to our 40th reunion weekend (if we can find your address)! We’ll start slow with a casual dinner at the American Legion on Friday, June 24, then move on to a snacky reception in Ellicottville at Tips Up Café Saturday afternoon. Thoroughly primed, we’ll attend the Alumni Dinner Saturday evening.

Contact Julie Dykstra (jmd3@pitt.edu), Kathy Lindell (jdrkfl@roadrunner.com) or Mike Young (for the locals who see him around; he's at 716-257-9157)) for more information.

If you have contact info for any of our class, please get it to Julie so we can reach everyone. Ditto for suggestions, inquiries, pictures, memories, etc.

2011 Dinner Invitations Are Out

2011-05-15T17:24:00.002-04:00

Your 2011 Alumni Dinner invitation should be arriving in mailbox this week, if it hasn't already.

Here's the key information:

Guest speaker: Harlow Fisher, Class of 1961.

Caterer: The Old Library restaurant, from Olean.

Dinner options:
-- Boneless stuffed chicken breast. It comes with cornbread stuffing and Swiss steak. $18 per person.
-- Two mesquite-grilled vegetable kabobs (they come with plum sauce, wild rice and a potato-crusted veggie cake). $17 per person ($1 less than last year!).

Everyone, according to the letter, also gets a "decadent dessert." And, of course, salad, rolls, coffee or tea.

Members of the Class of 1961, by the way, get to eat free (as the 50-year folks always do). So hit up one of them for a beer.

Dues: $5; same as last year.

Deadline: The Alumni officers would really like to receive your reservations by June 20. That's not an absolute-must, but would be much appreciated.

Mailing address:

-- Little Valley Alumni Association
-- P.O. Box 162
-- Little Valley, N.Y. 14755-0162

As always, if you wish you can also send along contributions to either the:

-- Little Valley Central School Alumni Association's General Fund

or the

-- Memmott-Langhans Scholarship

Just include a note (if you haven't gotten your invitation form) about where you'd like the donation to go and if you'd like it to be in memory of a fellow alum.

Checks should be made out to the "LVCS Alumni Association."

Hope to see many of you there.

This Year's Speaker: Harlow Fisher

2011-05-01T17:51:00.002-04:00

There's confirmation from Alumni President Kevin Andrew that the featured speaker at this year's Alumni Dinner (scheduled for June 25) is the Class of 1961's Harlow Fisher.

Many alums will recall that Harlow's brother Joey had some fun at his sibling's expense a couple year's back.

Sad News: 'Jed' Jedrzejek Has Died

2011-04-24T16:55:00.003-04:00

We're sorry to be a little late passing along the news that Edward W. "Jed" Jedrzejek, died on April 15. He was 88, according to the obituary printed in the Olean Times-Herald.

Along with being the husband of Jeanette, father of Kathy, Mary and Mike, a World War II gunner on bombing missions over Japan and a former mayor of Little Valley, Mr. Jedrzejek was an educator. And his teaching years included some at LVCS, where he taught driver education, science, math and industrial arts.

Later on, he was the first vocational principal at the North Area BOCES in Ellicottville.

According to the Times-Herald, "memorials may be made to the Little Valley Ambulance Service."

Class Of '79 To Gather On July 3

2011-04-24T16:41:00.002-04:00

Ron Johnson writes:

Attention members of the LVCS Class of '79. We are planning a reunion/get together Saturday July 3rd, 2011 [that's one week after the Alumni Dinner]. The place has not yet been selected. Some members of the class are using Facebook to catch up. Updates will be made to this site as details are finalized. Feel free to contact Ron Johnson at ronson.johnson03@gmail.com with questions or comments.

'76 Plans Shaping Up

2011-03-26T09:29:00.004-04:00

Fellow members of the Class of '76 -- Here's the latest word from Nell:

Ron, Pam, Ray, Dori and I met last night and discussed many subjects....some related to the reunion :)

Here we go:

-- informally meet at the Legion on Friday evening, June 24.

-- picnic noon to 3 or 4 on Saturday afternoon, place to be determined.

-- attend Alumni dinner on Saturday night, June 25.

Also, maybe a quick tour of what memorabilia the Alumni Association has gathered in "museum" currently housed in the Municipal Hall. Maybe a tour of the school too?

We'll keep you informed.....we plan to meet again Thursday night, April 7 at 7:00 at Hughes'.

Class Of '76: Let's Get Together!

2011-03-20T16:40:00.002-04:00

All right folks. It's time to plan how to mark our 35th.

Nell and Pam and probably some others are starting to toss around ideas. What about gathering some place (the Legion?) on the Friday night (June 24) of alumni weekend.

Or, perhaps something on Saturday (though many may be busy with other things and the alumni dinner that night).

I'm glad to act as a clearing house for suggestions. You can e-mail me: memmottmark@yahoo.com.

Or, Nell's e-mail is Nell_Fellows@caboces.org.

Sad News: 'Coach' Newhouse Has Died

2010-12-20T16:23:00.002-05:00

From The Post-Journal in Jamestown:

LITTLE VALLEY - Thorton A. "Pete" Newhouse, 89, of Court Street, passed away Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010, at Absolut of Salamanca.

Of course many of us will always think of him as "Coach" and remember his many years teaching at LVCS and then in Randolph.

There are calling hours Wednesday (Dec. 22) at the Mentley Funeral Home on Rock City St. The funeral is planned for Thursday, at 11 a.m., in the Little Valley Memorial Church. The obituary adds that "memorials may be made to the Little Valley United Methodist Church or the charity of the donors' choice."

2010 Dinner: Pickles, Ketchup And 'Enough Is Enough'

2010-07-11T10:02:00.004-04:00

Please accept my apologies for not getting this post on to the blog sooner.

Rest assured, though, that the Alumni Dinner once again was a success.

This year's featured speaker, Dr. Jim Reynolds ('70), took us on something of a tour of the ages. The ages, that is, that we all hope to reach. From teens to the very elderly years. Sex, he suggested, is something of a common theme. So, too, is discovery. And by our '90s, Jim said, we realize that some things we thought were oh so important in earlier years aren't as special as we thought. We learn that "enough" may be just that -- enough.

Dr. Jim also suggested that Mr. Memmott was quite the authority figure. So true!

Brother Jim Memmott spoke on behalf of the class of '60. As he reports this weekend in his Rochester Democrat & Chronicle column, there was a bit of a dust-up at the class reunion when talk turned to politics (but no punches, or ketchup bottles, were thrown). At the dinner, Jim looked back at the wonders of pickle parties in fifth grade and surprise appearances in the boy's locker room. He writes:

"Could it have been," I asked, by way of example, "that every day in fifth grade, Mrs. C. (I'm not using last names here) had one of us bring a jar of pickles?
"And could it have been that she would take a prong and put one pickle on a paper towel on each of our desks? Could have been that we would watch the juice bleed out onto the towel, a spreading green stain?"
"Could it have been," I asked, "that, as we were sitting in the boys locker room, perhaps unclothed, Mrs. M. came into the room on her way to the coach's office, yelling out, 'Close your eyes, boys, I'm coming through'?"
As I remember it, we closed our eyes; we ate the pickles; we obeyed.

(The D&C will soon put that link behind its subsriber-only "firewall." If by the time you see this post you can't get to it, shoot me an e-mail ( memmottmark@yahoo.com ). I can forward the whole piece to you.)

I hope all those who were able to attend enjoyed the dinner. Let's do it again next year.

2010 Dinner Invitations Are Out

2010-05-08T15:00:00.005-04:00

Down here in Virginia, the 2010 Alumni Dinner invitation just arrived in the mail. So I suspect many of you just got yours as well.

In case you haven't, here's the key information.

Date: June 26.
Place: The Corporate Building at the Cattaraugus County Fairgrounds.
Time: Social hour starts at 5 p.m. ET; dinner starts at 6 p.m. ET.

Theme: The Academy Awards.
Guest speaker: Dr. James Reynolds, Class of 1970.

Caterer: The Old Library restaurant, from Olean.
Dinner options:
-- Broiled ham steak (topped with mustard sauce; served with wild rice and buttered carrots). $18 per person.
-- Chicken parmesan (served with penne pasta and spaghetti sauce). $18 per person.
-- Two mesquite-grilled vegetable kabobs (they come with plum sauce, wild rice and a potato-crusted veggie cake). $18 per person.

Everyone, according to the letter, also gets a "decadent dessert."

Members of the Class of 1960, by the way, get to eat free (as the 50-year folks always do). So brother Jim Memmott should be able to afford to pay for a beer or two this year.

Dues: They've gone up a bit, to $5 from $3 last year. (Editorial comment: How many other exclusive clubs can you belong to for just $5 a year?)

Deadline: The Alumni officers would really like to receive your reservations by June 18. That's not an absolute-must, but would be much appreciated.

Mailing address:

-- Little Valley Alumni Association
-- P.O. Box 162
-- Little Valley, N.Y. 14755-0162

As always, if you wish you can also send along contributions to either the:

-- Little Valley Central School Alumni Association's General Fund

or the

-- Memmott-Langhans Scholarship

Hope to see many of you there.

Class Of '75 Asks: Jeff Payne, Where Are You?

2010-05-02T17:26:00.003-04:00

Spring's here, so classes are getting to the final stages of organizing their reunions.

I hear from a source that the Class of '75 has tracked down everybody except Jeff Payne -- who was with them all the way through junior year, before moving to Vermont.

Jeff: Everybody wants to hear from you (and of course would be thrilled if you came by on Alumni weekend -- the last weekend in June). You can e-mail me if you like ( memmottmark@yahoo.com ), and I'll get word to the right folks.

Any other classes need help? Shoot me a message and I'll see what I can do.

Alumni Passings

2010-03-07T19:00:00.004-05:00

Some sad news to pass along.

-- Dorotha Young Dooley, class of 1929, passed away last month. As the obituary in the the Jamestown Post-Journal says, she was 98.

Many who were at last year's Alumni dinner will recall that Mrs. Dooley was the oldest LVCS graduate in attendance.

-- Leah Jeanne Parkhurst, class of 1936, died on March 1, the Post-Journal writes. If you didn't go to school with her, there's a pretty good chance you went with one of the Parkhust "kids." Mrs. Parkhurst ("Jeanne") was 91.

-- Robert "Bob" Bigelow, class of 1979, died just this past week. He was 49. According to the Post-Journal obituary, Bob's sister Deb (class of 1977) is living in Freeport, Pa.

The Date Is Set For This Year's Dinner

2010-03-07T18:53:00.007-05:00

There's word from Alumni President Kevin Andrew that the date for this year's dinner is set -- June 26. As in recent years, it will again be at the Fair Grounds

Kevin says this year's theme is Academy Awards/Oscar Night. Will there be a red carpet?

2009-08-09T18:01:00.002-04:00

Malynda Pavlock McQueen, class of '75, writes to share news of another "Little Valley."

"Mark: There is a Little Valley in Poulsbo, Wash., just 10 miles from me here in Bremerton. ... Also, the next road down from me there is a house whose number is 14755!! How's that?!"

A little Googling turns up this note at a Poulsbo Realtor's website:

Little Valley and Big Valley Roads are the beginning of a scenic backdoor route to the Hood Canal Floating Bridge, and along the route you will pass the Manor Farm Inn, Molly Ward Gardens and the Llama Rose Farm.

If only they had called it "Great Valley Road," then we'd really be looking at a parallel universe.

A Message Of Thanks From The President

2009-07-05T20:32:00.002-04:00

Alumni President Kevin Andrew sends along this message:

"A great big thank you for all the donations to the general fund and to all those who have paid their dues. We will be in much better shape financially to begin next year."

Kevin also says there were 224 dinners served this year, 92 more than in 2008.

Another Good Year

2009-06-29T19:29:00.005-04:00

A quick note to all to say that another Alumni Dinner has come and gone -- and once again a good time seems to have been had by all.

In case you couldn't be there, or just want to hear it again, you should be able to click on the link below and hear Dr. Charles (Charlie) Keenen's keynote address. Just click and a new box will open up and it should start automatically, although it may take 10 or 20 seconds to get going:

Download Charlie Keenen - Lvcs Alumni Dinner 2009

The Class of '59 indeed did shine. Attendance was up sharply from the year before. There were more than 200 reservations.

As has been the pattern in recent years, President Kevin Andrew and other members of the board agreed to stay on. We shouldn't count on them being able to do this forever, though. So if you're interested in getting involved, speak up.

Oh, and anyone reading this who wants to shoot me an e-mail with your own thoughts about the dinner or a picture or two, please do. I'll be glad to add them.

The photo above is courtesy of John Memmott, '68.

Ground broken on CLVCS addition

2009-05-31T20:17:00.003-04:00

A little news from the Olean Times-Herald to bring you up to speed if you're coming to the alumni dinner from afar and want a social-hour conversation starter:

CATTARAUGUS -- More than 1,200 Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School District students, staff, administrators and community members attended groundbreaking ceremonies for Phase 2 of the $59 million addition and renovation project here Wednesday afternoon.

District Superintendent Jon Peterson welcomed students, teachers, staff, school board members and guests gathered behind the school, telling them they were sitting right about where the new 800-seat auditorium will soon be built.

In addition, new and renovated middle and high school classrooms, a new middle school gymnasium and library/media center, as well as expanded cafeterias should be ready when the 2011 school year starts, Mr. Peterson said.

Dinner update: Stay after for talk and tunes

2009-05-16T13:11:00.002-04:00

Though there won't be a dance after this year's dinner, President Kevin Andrew writes to say that:

"We want people to stay after and visit!

"We are going to be playing our own CDs and hopefully people will stay and talk. We would like to go until 11:00, Also, snacks and drinks will still be available."

Invitations are in the mail; aim to reserve your seat by June 20

2009-05-10T19:12:00.008-04:00

This year's dinner invitations are arriving in mailboxes.

In case you haven't gotten one yet, or if the Alumni Association doesn't have your address, here are the important details:

Date: June 27
Time: Social hour at 5 p.m.; dinner at 6 p.m.
Place: The Corporate Building at the County Fairgrounds.
Of note: There isn't a dance this year.

The reservation form looks something like this (feel free to print out this post, fill in the blanks and mail it in; print two or more if you're bringing guests):

Name ________________________
Class of _______________________

Meal # ___ (see below for choices and prices) $ ____
Annual dues ($3)    $ ____
Donation to LVCS Alumni General Fund $ ____
Donation to Memmott-Langhans
Scholarship Fund     $ ____
In memory of _________________

I'd like a reserved seat to be with my
class, which is having a reunion:
Class of _____
Number of seats needed _____

Total amount          $ ____
(Make check payable to LVCS Alumni Association)

Meals
#1. Stuffed chicken breast. $16
#2. Swiss steak. $16
#3. Ham steak. $14
$4. Vegetable lasagna. $14

As we've previously reported, this year's guest speaker is Dr. Charles (Charlie) Keenen, class of '77. According to the association's letter, the caterer this year is 3 C's of Falconer.

Mail your reservation form and check to:

Little Valley Alumni Association
P.O. Box 162
Little Valley, N.Y. 14755-0162

The association would appreciate receiving your response by June 20.

See you all soon.

Update at 1:15 p.m. ET, May 16: Though there won't be a dance this year, President Kevin Andrew tells us that folks are welcome to stay around after the dinner to talk, have a drink and listen to CDs. He says the association hopes the after-dinner social time goes until at least 11 p.m.

This year's keynote speaker will be ...

2009-03-22T20:46:00.003-04:00

... Dr. Charles Keenen, better known as Charlie.

Class of '77. Son of the legendary Tom and the wonderful Juanita. Brother of Ann, Matt, Bernie, Laurie and Kevin (hope I didn't forget anyone! I'm sure I'll hear if I did).

The dinner is set for June 27, President Andrew confirms.

L.V. Library expansion complete

2009-02-22T13:47:00.003-05:00

We can remember back to when the Little Valley Library was on Main Street, next to the bank. So it's nice to know, thanks to the Salamanca Press, that the "new'" (to us) library's expansion project is done.

And it's also good to see that the first meeting in the new community room was held by the LVCS Alumni.

Librarian Gretchen Taft tells the Press that there will be an official open house in June. Perhaps on graduation/alumni weekend?

Don Krug, 1932-2008

2008-11-08T18:28:00.003-05:00

As many of you may have heard, there was sad news this week.

Don Krug died on Monday.

Click here to read the obituary that ran in the Salamanca Press. Or, since it's likely to disappear from that webpage in coming days, I'm pasting it in here as well:

Donald M. Krug, 76, of Little Valley passed away on Monday (Nov. 3, 2008)at his home on New Albion Road, after a short illness.

Born Feb. 25, 1932 in Salamanca, he was the son of the late Marie Baumann) and Max Krug of Little Valley. On July 9, 1954, he married his high school sweetheart, the former Phyllis Charlesworth, who survives.

Mr. Krug attended Little Valley Central School (LVCS) where he graduated as salutatorian of his class in 1950. An all-around athlete, he won ice-skating competitions, played football and baseball. He played varsity basketball for LVCS all four of his high school years when they won the County Championships (1947; 1948; 1949; 1950) and won Sectionals in 1950.

Mr. Krug received his BS degree from Albany State Teachers College where he played college basketball. He also received his Masters in Education and Masters in Administration from St. Bonaventure University.

He served in the US Army from 1954 to 1956 as a part of the Korean War peacekeeping troops. Mr. Krug was a high school math and science teacher for 37 years from 1956 to 1990 at LVCS. He also coached basketball there for many years. In addition to his teaching, he ran a dairy farm where he bred and raised registered Holsteins from 1961 to recently.

Mr. Krug believed in being active in his community. He was the Director of Cattaraugus County Agricultural Society; in charge of the Cattaraugus County Fair Dairy Barn; a member of the NY State Holstein Association; and a former officer of the Cattaraugus County Holstein Association.

In addition, he served on the Board of Assessment Review for the Town of Mansfield, was a former member of the Planning Board and the former Town Building Inspector. He was a member of the NY State Retired Teachers Association and was a former member of the board of Education for Little Valley Central School. He was also a member of the American Legion.

In his spare time, besides enjoying his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he was a devoted fan and season ticket holder at the St. Bonaventure basketball games. He was also an avid Buffalo Bills fan and all-around sports enthusiast.

Surviving besides his wife, are his four children: Joanne K. (Robert) Harris of Rye Brook, Donald J. Krug of Cattaraugus, Max J. Krug of Jamestown, Elizabeth K. (Douglas) Rose of Bethesda, Md.; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his brother, Richard F. Krug (formerly of Hammondsport) and his sister, Ruth Painter (formerly of Salamanca).

Burial will be in Little Valley Rural Cemetery. Private family services will be held.
Memorials may be made to the Little Valley Memorial Library or the American Cancer Society, Western New York Region, 101 John James Audubon Parkway, Amherst, NY 14228.

Read 'em if you wish

2008-07-20T17:07:00.004-04:00

For those who want to print out a "hard copy" of brother Ed's remarks from this year's dinner, you can find a pdf version of them here.

And there's a copy of remarks that Ann Young Bennett, the Class of 1958's president, prepared that I've posted here. She's adds quite a few more details about the Class of '58's history.

(Correction: I first wrote that Dorothy Phillips Stoll had been the Class of 1958's president. Sorry for the mistake.)

More from this year's dinner

2008-07-13T17:23:00.003-04:00

Brother Jim sends along a photo he took at this year's Alumni dinner, of Ryan West and his "lunch lady" mom Olive.

Also, Jim warns that the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle's stories don't always live forever on the web, so I've taken the liberty of copying his column about the dinner so that it's sure not to get lost (shh ... don't tell the D&C). Here it is:

July 5, 2008

Love it or hate it, lunchroom food leaves its mark

LITTLE VALLEY — We met for dinner, but we talked about lunch.

The 109th annual meeting of the Little Valley Alumni Association last Saturday night was marked by talk of Sloppy Joes, fishsticks, macaroni and cheese with stewed tomatoes and something called a tuna boat that I don't remember eating but wish I had.

Those items came up because the association was honoring the "lunch ladies," a group of eight women (seven were on hand) who among them spent more than 100 years preparing and serving meals to the children of Little Valley, the village in Cattaraugus County where I grew up.

The intensity of our conversation proved that memories of school food linger long. We still are what we ate.

Counting kindergarten, I had lunch at Little Valley Central (a school that is now part of the consolidated Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School District) for 13 years.

There may have been times when I walked home for lunch. There may have been times when I brought a lunch. But most often I bought, as did my three brothers and two sisters.

We were often eating food purchased by my father, the school principal.

He played the surplus agricultural market with the energy of an oil trader, buying cheese, turkey and other items in bulk. It was up to the lunch ladies to translate his stash into kid-friendly items.

They did well, the attendees at the alumni dinner concluded, though for sure, different classes had different memories.

Any graduate of Little Valley Central is welcome at the dinner, about 140 people came, the range of classes represented going from the 1930s to 2000, the last pre-consolidation year.

Those from the years before WWII went to the school before it had a cafeteria. Hence, their memories were often about walking home for lunch.

The post WWII classes could have been divided into the pre-pizza era — it certainly didn't exist when my class, 1960, was passing through school — and the post-pizza era.

No one could quite pinpoint the advent of the fishstick or the tater tot, both breakthroughs in cafeteria cuisine.

Vinegar-drenched Harvard beets seem to have traumatized at least two decades of Little Valley graduates. Sloppy Joes were a staple even longer. (Quick question. Is it good branding with children to name a food item "Sloppy?")

All of these items were mentioned as we alumni played School Lunch Bingo, filling in squares on a bingo-like card with the names of the meals we remembered.

After we finished our cards, Kevin Andrew, the association president, called off the names of actual Little Valley lunch items. The first few people to complete rows won prizes.

As a journalist, I felt compelled to ask lunch ladies to help me with the names of some menu items.

They looked at me as if I had tried to cut ahead in one of their lunch lines, and my sister Elizabeth turned me in to the authorities for cheating.

However, they did get me up to speed on tuna boats, which turned out to be tuna with melted cheese in a hot dog roll.

Not that their help did me much good. My sister Martha did no investigative reporting and won. Go figure.

Then again, she is a retired schoolteacher, someone who has spent many years in or near school lunchrooms.

Maybe I should ask for a recount. Or maybe I should just let things slide.

Either way, I know that someday I'm going to try one of those tuna boats.

I might have a little applesauce on the side — my father bought vats of the stuff.

But please, hold the Harvard beets. I've been to school on that lunch item and, at least for me, it doesn't pass the taste test.

Lunch ladies in the news; more on McLouth's

2008-07-05T08:51:00.004-04:00

Brother Jim Memmott writes in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle this morning about last week's Alumni Dinner and the memories it generated about lunches in the LVCS cafeteria.

Also this morning, we found an e-mail in our inbox from Ellen Weaver (LVCS, class of '80). She writes that she and her aunt, Wilma Easton Bridges (class of '35) were at last week's dinner. Afterward, Ellen checked out this blog and saw the earlier post about the old postcard and McLouth's drug store. Ellen writes that:

"Wilma surely remembers that Drug Store. It was on Little Valley's downtown corner, which later housed Milk's Drug Store and now houses a flower shop. McLouth's sported a soda fountain with marble ice cream counter and stools.

"She said two generations of McLouths ran the store and her deceased brother, Dick Easton, also an LVCS Alum, worked there for some time as a young man. My Uncle Dick later worked at the Little Valley Post Office and his son, Dick, is regularly in attendance at the Alumni Banquets.

"She vaguely remembers a fire which occured in Merow's Hardward, behind McLouth's, but does not remember if the fire affected the Drug Store or not. She is searching for some photos of the fire to help jog her memory."

Anyone remember the fire and its consequences?

2008 dinner photos, audio & highlights

2008-06-29T12:57:00.005-04:00

Another year and another good dinner for all.

Saturday's highlights including honors for the "lunch ladies" and a very popular game of "lunch menu bingo" (though there was some controversy about potential cheating by a member of the Class of '60).

The year's words of wisdom and whimsy came from Class of '58 representatives Dick Williams and Ed Memmott, and if the technology works right you should be able to click here to listen to Dick's remarks and click here to listen to Ed's.

Or, if the Internet Archive audio player opens up correctly for you, the sound should play right here (click the little "play" button at the top of the players -- it looks like a sideways triangle).

First, Dick:

Then, Ed:

There is a selection of photos posted online here, including this one of brother Ed:

And this one of the scene:

If you have photos to share, e-mail them to memmottmark@yahoo.com and I'll try to get some posted.

Dinner time approaches

2008-06-22T18:58:00.003-04:00

A reminder to all, though if you're reading this blog you're probably already well aware: The Alumni dinner is next Saturday.

And if you run into a parent of one of CLVCS' baseball players from this past season at the dinner or one of the reunions, say congratulations. The team was ranked No. 20 in the state.

The invitations are out

2008-05-18T18:51:00.006-04:00

The invitations for this year's dinner have been mailed and if you're reading this blog, you've probably received one.

If you haven't gotten your invitation, click here and you can get a copy of this year's form to download and print out. Mail it with your check (and please pay your dues!) to:

Little Valley Alumni Association
P.O. Box 162
Little Valley, N.Y. 14755-0162

You can also download and read this year's Alumni invitation if you click here.

As for the important details.

The date: June 28.

The place: The corporate building at the Fair Grounds.

The time: 5 p.m. ET for the social hour. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. Good seats do go quickly, though. It pays to get there by 5:30.

On the menu: Top Sirloin Al-Forne, Chicken Pesto Cream, or Vegetable Stir-Fry. (The beef dinner is $19; the other two are $18 each.)

It was nice of the board members to mention this blog on the invitations, though they perhaps overstated a bit by calling this a website.

May we recommend that if you're coming to this blog for the first time, you might want to click on this link to see the original post? It explains what this LVCS Alumni blog is all about.

Then, when you're done reading that entry, just click on the name of the blog at the top of the page and you'll return to its main page. You can scroll down through the others posts, then.

A couple other notes:

- Thank you, Kirk Skinner and Linda Milks, for sending along some messages. Kirk's comment is now published here. Linda sent along a thank you for "moving us to the 21st Century" with this blog.

- Gretchen Taft wants everyone to know that the Village Library is open "10-4:30 and 6-8 on Monday and Tuesday now. Also, our e-mail is memliblv@atlanticbb.net."

- The Jamestown Post-Journal reports that donations are being collected at the Cattaraugus County Bank on Main Street to help Ann Howard of Dutch Hill Road. The newspaper writes that she "lost 75 years worth of possessions — her car, family heirlooms, the family bible and her cat" in a fire.

As for this blog, comments, questions, news and suggestions are more than welcome!

See you all soon.

Breaking news: McIntosh hired as superintendent for Rensselaer County school district

2008-04-02T10:11:00.003-04:00

"Louis C. McIntosh Jr., who has spent the past 11 years working as superintendent at a western New York school district, has been named the new Superintendent of Brunswick Central School District," the Albany Times Union reports this morning.

That "western New York school district" would be Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central.

The TU adds that:

"McIntosh has been a superintendent at the Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School District for the past 11 years. The district, about an hour south of Buffalo, is about the same size as Brunswick with 1,030 students and an $18.5 million budget."

News from President Andrew: The date is set & the trophies are back!

2008-03-30T15:01:00.005-04:00

"This year's banquet will be held on June 28 at the Corporate building as usual," Alumni Associated President Kevin Andrew says in an e-mail he sent me this weekend.

According to Kevin: "We have been busy in the planning stages and everything is coming along pretty much on schedule."

Kevin also reports that he and other alumni officers have "some time in the Alumni room at the Village hall and we are hoping to have it open to the public sometime in May. Karen Taft and I have retrieved all of the LVCS trophies from Cattaraugus school and have them back in L.V."

For those who plan ahead: Graduation is June 27

2008-03-02T21:45:00.002-05:00

Don't say you weren't told:

The CLVCS graduation date is June 27, which means the Alumni Dinner should be the next evening.

A postcard from the past

2008-01-13T19:22:00.000-05:00

While wandering through a huge flea market today in Chantilly, Va., this blogger came across a couple selling vintage postcards. They had a large section devoted to New York state -- and a subsection within that for Cattaraugus County.

"You don't have any cards from Little Valley?" I asked.

"I certainly do," the woman replied.

"You don't," I cleverly sputtered.

"I do. I have a very nice twin set," she said, pulling out a binder from behind the counter.

Sure enough, she had a wonderful panoramic scene -- it appears to be two postcards connected to each other -- showing L.V. from up above on what we in the 400 block of Fair Oaks Street used to call "the hill" (the one that rises above where Bush Industries' factory has been).

She had picked it up at some other flea market or a yard sale sometime in the past.

So of course, I bought it.

I'll get it scanned in for a better look, but this camera shot will give you a rough idea of what it shows.

I can easily pick out the fair grounds and Fair Oaks Street. The Memmott homestead is obscured by those great Elm trees that used to line the street. The school building -- before the addition was put on in the '50s, I think -- is to the right.

On the back is a message, written to a Mr. & Mrs. William "Noy" or "Hoy" (I can't be sure) at 648 1/2 Roscoe, Chicago. The postmark says it left L.V. at 10 a.m. on Feb. 3, 1947. Here's what the sender writes:

Dear Bill & Marion,

We are here to visit Marjorie & Milton's (I think it says Milton) summer home. It sure is lovely and what a view. I think dad is coming tonite (sic) to spend Sunday. Will see you either Monday or Tuesday.

Mother.

A couple questions:

- Does anyone have an idea who these people were? Or who they might be, I suppose, since Bill & Marion could have been children at the time and "mother" might have been a young women in 1947.

- Does anyone have a theory on why someone would visit a summer home in February?

One other note: The postcard says it was "published by McLouth's Drug Store, Little Valley, N.Y." That's before my time. Who remembers it?

An L.V. man who's a man of few words

2007-12-02T19:29:00.000-05:00

"They're what?"

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that's what "Tim Skudlarek, an 18-year-old freshman from Little Valley, N.Y.," had to say when asked about the "green" dorms that have been built at California University of Pennsylvania.

The digs aren't only energy efficient (thanks to the use of geothermal energy). They also sound pretty nice. Particularly this feature: "No student shares a shower or toilet with more than three other classmates; most share with only one other person."

Kudos for Hugh Duckwall

2007-11-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

This blogger remembers Hugh Duckwall as an elementary school teacher and volleyball coach.

Jim Riggs, sports editor at The Post-Journal in Jamestown, remembers him as a football coach who did the right thing by his players. Check this column by Riggs, who says Mr. Duckwall always called to talk about LV's games -- so that the team's players would get some recognition, even when they weren't winning.

By the way, this blogger's first "professional" reporting job was calling the Post-Journal with the box scores from LVCS baseball games. The pay: 50 cents a game.

Not the kind of story you might want L.V. to be known for

2007-10-28T20:42:00.000-04:00

Newsday thought this Associated Press story was noteworthy:

LITTLE VALLEY, N.Y. (AP) -- Two cows and a horse were killed in separate collisions with vehicles on western New York roads.

Seems to us that odder things happen on Long Island's streets and expressways all the time.

L.V. waaaaaaay down under

2007-10-14T19:26:00.000-04:00

Here's another Little Valley that's not our Little Valley but is still a Little Valley none-the-less.

Little Valley farm in South Otago, New Zealand.

It appears they have a webcam going there. Right now, it's pointed at a bird feeder.

Coincidentally, given where your faithful blogger now lives (Fairfax County, Va.) the location was originally supposed to be called Fairfax.

Click here to see what else we've written about "Little Valley around the world."

Familiar names in Tuesday's primaries

2007-09-16T21:22:00.000-04:00

As you'll see if you click on this link to the Salamanca Press, there appear to be at least two LVCS alumni on the ballots in Cattaraugus County's Democratic and Republican primaries this coming Tuesday: Norm Marsh, a Republican; and John Zimbardi, who the Press says is a Republican and a Democrat. The race they're in involves two seats on the county legislature.

(We must admit to being a bit confused -- and not just about which party John is hoping to represent: The Press says both Norm and John are incumbents, but the county's official website doesn't list John as being a member of the legislature right now. Could the media have made a mistake?)

Wait a minute! Akron looks more like Colorado than L.V.?

2007-09-09T21:44:00.000-04:00

According to the Buffalo News, a Canadian film company doing a commercial decided to use Akron, N.Y., instead of Little Valley or Ellicottville as a backdrop that's supposed to look like Colorado. Go figure.

Hmm. Little Valley as a movie or TV setting. Perhaps the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission could be encouraged to keep on suggesting that.

Meanwhile, the opening game of the CLVCS football season didn't go so well from the CLVCS point of view: Maple Grove won 45-0.

Seen any Little Valley stuff out there?

2007-09-03T20:12:00.000-04:00

With LVCS alumni spread further than we probably think, there are certainly enough eyes out there to spot interesting things that remind us all of the old home town and the old school.

Maybe it's the Little Valley Bistro in Sunol, Calif., which appears to be spinning off a Little Valley Winery (some bottles from there have already been spotted and made their way east). Or:
- The Little Valley Inn near Yosemite.
- The Little Valley Brewery in West Yorkshire, U.K.
- The Little Valley Candle Co.

Or maybe it's a license plate like this:

(OK, we cheated a bit. That license plate belongs to this blogger.)
If you spot anything LV-related, e-mail us here; memmottmark@yahoo.com.

Meanwhile, here's something interesting: The Glens Falls Post Star, in writing recently about the possibility that the Fort Edwards and Hudson Falls school districts might merge, notes that the most recent merger of two districts in New York State is the 2000 combination of Cattaraugus and Little Valley. The story (which you can read by clicking here) goes into considerable detail about the history and events since the new district was created, but seems to rely on one source -- Superintendent Louis McIntosh Jr.

Your Alumni officers

2007-08-26T13:07:00.000-04:00

After a bit of a break, we've returned. Consider this the back-to-school relaunch of the LVCS Alumni Blog.

Today, we pass along the contact information for the Alumni officers:

Kevin Andrew, president,
& Annette Andrew, board member:
716-938-9725
kevina@atlanticbb.net

Susan Ellis Koch, treasurer:
716-938-6014

Diana Beckman Chinchen, secretary:
716-257-9808

Sherry Nichols Charlesworth
(contact her for the Alumni address list
and address updates):
716-938-6043

Karen Holtz Taft & Erin Taft,
board members:
716-938-6855

Nancy Paschen Shinners,
board member:
716-938-9458

Linda Bryant Milks,
board member:
716-938-6894

Share your Alumni Dinner photos

2007-07-09T20:49:00.000-04:00

Brother Ed Memmott has posted 14 of photos from this year's Alumni Dinner and Ira Joe Fisher's poetry reading the next day.

There's one with this post. I think it was taken at one of the moments when Joey said (tongue firmly in cheek) "please, no more photos!"

Click here if you'd like to see some more.

And don't forget brother John Memmott's photo slideshow from the weekend. It's here, at his blog. Anyone else who wants to share photos can e-mail them to memmottmark@yahoo.com.

Introducing the LVCS Alumni blog

2007-06-28T11:41:00.000-04:00

Welcome to LVCS Alumni -- a blog for Little Valley Central School District alumni, friends and family.

What is this? Well, it's a place where we hope you'll be able to read up on what's happening with the alumni association (and especially about the annual dinner).

This can be a site for linking to stories about LVCS alumni (such as this one in last week's Jamestown Post-Journal that ran before Ira Joe Fisher's much-enjoyed appearance at this year's dinner), and to what others have posted in their blogs (check out what brother John Memmott did with some of his photos). When you see words written in red, click on them and you should be connected to a related story, website or blog post. Tip: You'll have to hit your "back" button to return to this blog when you're done.

We also hope this will be a place where LVCS alumni can share tales of the good old days, begin planning reunions, look for long-lost classmates and display old photos. (I couldn't resist putting in a classic 1959 yearbook portrait of my dad right away.)

To start off, here's a guide to this blog and some suggestions on how to get the most out of it.

- First, if you've got a story to share, a question to ask, a person to look for or maybe a photo or two from days gone by at LVCS, e-mail them to me (Mark Memmott) at memmottmark@yahoo.com. It may take a few days or longer for me to get to them, but I'll try to be as timely as I can. Once I've had a chance to put them into the right format, I'll "post" them on the blog.

- As we go along, I'll create appropriate "labels" or "categories" for the entries (this entry, for instance, has been labeled "About this blog"). Any messages we post about class reunion plans might get the label "Class reunions." Messages sent to me from anyone looking for a long-lost classmate might get the label "Looking For." Notes about the annual dinner could all be labeled "Annual Dinner." You get the idea. The categories will all be listed on the "front" or "homepage" of the blog. So if you see a label that interests you, click on it to read all the entries about that topic.

- The latest news will always be right at the top of the blog's homepage. If you want to read back through previous entries, just scroll down. As the entries grow, older ones will be archived. Just click on the months that are listed along the side of the blog's homepage and you'll be able to read "back" through time.

- Each entry, or post, will have a place where you can add comments. Maybe someone has asked "whatever happened to so-and-so?" and you think you know the answer. Click on "comments" and add your thoughts. I'll look through the comments before they're "published" (to prevent annoying spam from getting through), so they won't appear right away. But hopefully within a few days -- or sooner -- they will be on the blog for all to see.

If things go well, over time this blog will surely change as folks make suggestions and as blogging technology evolves. Who knows, maybe we'll start linking to audio and video.

I expect things will be a bit slow here for a while because we really haven't spread the word about it yet. But if you like it, please tell others. As I was saying to President Andrew last week, this could be a wonderful resource for all of us. The blog really belongs to all LVCS alumni and we'd like as much input and involvement as possible.

That's it for now. Enjoy the blog. Please be in touch.