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| Candy is dandy but grandchildren are better: with grandchild #8, Lydia, in March 2018. |
Please describe your career.
For my first career, I worked as an architect for nearly five years before retiring in 1978 for my second career as a wife and mother and now as a grandmother. My seven kids are ages 39 down to 25, and the nine grand-kids (so far) are ages 12 down to 2 months. Happily, there is no retirement in sight.
Where have you lived since graduating?
I have been in Colorado Springs, CO, for 10 years. After graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with degrees in Building Science and Architecture, I ended up at a firm in Hartford, CT, and stayed in that area for 16 years. From there we moved to Southern, IL (outside St. Louis), for nearly 20 years, and now Colorado. I love the west but this is as far as I hope to go.
Who were your friends back in high school? Are you still in touch with them now?
I only attended NPHS for my last two years but as part of the majorettes, I enjoyed friendships with Gerry Garatino and Laraine Cox whom I haven’t seen in many years.
Do you have any regrets about your experiences during your high school years?
Only that I was there for such a short time so I did not have old friends.
Now, 50 years later, has your perspective on your high school years changed at all? If so, how?
I had a great experience and wonderful, dedicated teachers who really prepared me academically for success. In fact, I appreciated them to such an extent that I decided I would be a teacher as well. After discovering home schooling in 1983, I ended up teaching all seven of my kids from K through 12th grade; the last one graduating in 2010. They have all gone on to college but I am most pleased that they all love learning. They may not have a high school reunion or prom, but that’s a small price to pay for their education, their character, and the close relationship we share.
What was the craziest or stupidest thing you did in high school?
Strangely, I never cut a class, tried drinking or smoking, or did stupid things. Quite boring, huh?!
What was your proudest accomplishment in high school?
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| Candy (botton left) was runner-up in Miss Teenager New Jersey |
Two takeaways: being first runner-up in Miss Teenage New Jersey in 1967 and receiving three full college scholarship offers at graduation in 1968.
Who was your favorite teacher?
I had great teachers; Mr. Justus for German, Mr. Matz for math, Mrs. McTeague for Physics. But the standout was Mrs. Martin for Advanced Biology. Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and love of the subject. She was my inspiration as I taught my own kids.
What is your most powerful or haunting memory during your years at NPHS?
I was a Candy Striper in Muhlenberg Hospital during the race riots in Plainfield and remember the mad scramble to admit the wounded as well as the police presence in the ER. Joel Rutenberg (class of 1967) was an orderly there and was such a calming presence at that time. I didn’t really understand what was going on but it was very scary to a young girl.
How did growing up as a child of the 60s – and all the social baggage and impact that it may have entailed – impact you at the time and in your young adult years?
I arrived at NPHS as an immediate result of my parents’ divorce; my mother and I got an apartment on Rockview Avenue. That unexpected trauma rocked my world but set me on a course of determination to protect myself emotionally by never letting anyone get close enough to hurt me again. My plan was to get a good education, land a good job, and insulate myself from personal hurt.
The college I attended, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was a tough school and pretty immune to the unrest of those days — no riots, no student takeovers, no protests. We were all so busy academically that rebellion wasn’t even on the radar. That helped insulate me from the social upheaval in our country during the late 60’s and early 70’s. By the time I graduated with two degrees and started work, the country had calmed down.
My plan had succeeded in every aspect but left me rather empty. I had my brownstone apartment across from the Hartford Civic Center, my little red sports car, and my exciting job but wondered, “Now what?” It wasn’t until we got a new secretary in the Architectural Office that my world once again changed. She was a Christian who spent the next year introducing me to Jesus, something that was very foreign to me since I was raised without any religious beliefs.
In a few short years, God changed the trajectory of my life. Instead of building with concrete and steel, I delighted to work with flesh and blood. Who else could have taken someone who did not want to get married and did not want to have children, and changed them so completely? My life is not at all what I planned, but I wouldn’t change a thing; I’m guessing that is contentment? It definitely feels good.
The college I attended, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was a tough school and pretty immune to the unrest of those days — no riots, no student takeovers, no protests. We were all so busy academically that rebellion wasn’t even on the radar. That helped insulate me from the social upheaval in our country during the late 60’s and early 70’s. By the time I graduated with two degrees and started work, the country had calmed down.
My plan had succeeded in every aspect but left me rather empty. I had my brownstone apartment across from the Hartford Civic Center, my little red sports car, and my exciting job but wondered, “Now what?” It wasn’t until we got a new secretary in the Architectural Office that my world once again changed. She was a Christian who spent the next year introducing me to Jesus, something that was very foreign to me since I was raised without any religious beliefs.
In a few short years, God changed the trajectory of my life. Instead of building with concrete and steel, I delighted to work with flesh and blood. Who else could have taken someone who did not want to get married and did not want to have children, and changed them so completely? My life is not at all what I planned, but I wouldn’t change a thing; I’m guessing that is contentment? It definitely feels good.
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