NPHS Reunion Interview: Fred Legg, Class of 1968

Fred Legg and Marianne Legg, his wife of 39 years.  

Fred Legg retired in 2015 after 35 years as a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA).  He became a COTA in 1976 after a career in the Navy where he served about the USS Kittiwake ASR for four years. He lived in the Plainfield area for a number of years before moving to Florida, where he presently lives in Indian Harbour Beach.    

What was your sense of community in your class/in the school at NPHS?  

We all had our groups of friends and activities.  I was on the JV basketball team and swimming team.   When you’re good at sports you’re accepted by many.  I worked since I was 15 years old at a movie theatre, so I did not go out for varsity teams.   

What experiences in high school, positive or negative, helped to shape you as a person? 

Each teacher affected me positively.  I was quiet and a solid "C" student – even though I could and should have done better.  I enjoyed classes and learned a lot.  I loved Miss O'Brien's English class where she had us study music and cultures from around the world  We were also encouraged to read newsmagazines to expand our minds and learn new words.  Sports played an important part of my high school years.  I also loved shop.

Do you have any regrets about your experiences during your high school years? 

Not applying myself in high school.  After the Navy, I used the GI Bill to go to college and I graduated with a 3.8 GPA.  I wish I could have juggled work and sports but my family needed the money so work won out.  I wish I had been more respectful to the teachers; they have a tough job educating and molding young minds.  

Now, 50 years later, has your perspective on your high school years changed at all?  If so, how? 

Of course, I would have been a lot more involved with learning and growing as a person.  Because the Viet Nam war was peaking when I was graduating there were three options for the immediate future: college, service (the mandatory draft), or Canada.  I did not have the grades so I enlisted in the Navy for four years.  I see now the importance of education and the opportunities it creates.  

What is your fondest memory of your years at NPHS?

Participating in all sports, especially with Mr. Porter and Mr. Rowe in basketball,  I loved every sport.  I also loved hanging out with my friends during and after school and evenings.

What was the craziest or stupidest thing you did in high school?

I was not a crazy for a stupid kid.  I was just there.  Sounds dull but it wasn't.  

What was your proudest accomplishment in high school?  

Graduating.  Receiving my diploma.  And, of course, getting that edge level on a piece of wood in Mr. Wienen's shop class, after a trillion tries.   

Who was your favorite teacher? 

Mr.  William Van Wienen (Shop), Miss O'Brien (English), and Mr. Porter (Gym).

What was your worst class?

History 

What is your most powerful or haunting memory during your years at NPHS?

Realizing that many of our graduates were going to be drafted and fight in the jungles of Viet Nam.  Many served (including me). Many wouldn't return.  To this day, tears come in my eyes when I see their names carved in The Wall at Washington, DC, and the way we who wore the uniforms were treated by the media.

How did growing up at 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? 

Wow - that is a great question.  Assassination of JFK…The Beatles…the British invasion… music…drugs…Woodstock… sexual revolution…racial strife…space race…entertainment… money…friends.  In 1968 I went in the Navy as a child and came out a man and little wiser. I went back to college, became a therapist, married (40 years in April), have two great kids, grandfather of five, and teach art classes.  I loved the 60s.  We were not staring a iPhone.  We were living everyday and learning so, so, so, much. 

Gunners Mate 3rd Class, Fred Legg

College graduation picture

NPHS Reunion Interview: Dave Millar, Class of 1969

     

Like a rock:  Dave Millar at Pearce Rock, Quebec.

After graduating from Bucknell University in 1973, Dave Millar spent seven years in retail operations in Connecticut.  He relocated to Greenville, SC, started taking computer programming classes, and on June 1, 1982, he began his “final” career with Southern Bank & Trust as a “programmer trainee”, and worked with financial institutions lasting 35 years, when he retired on June 2, 2017.  The last 29 years were spent working in Charlotte, NC, with Wells Fargo and predecessor banks (Wachovia and First Union).  His technical skills enhanced from mainframe programming to data analytics and data mining, in corporate audit services, specializing in wealth and capital management, and retirement services.      

Where do you live now?  Where have you lived since graduating?

My wife, Jan, and I currently live in Concord, NC (home of NASCAR, but not avid fans), about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, since January of 1988 (we met in Greenville, SC, in 1986 and married on May 23, 1987).  Since we have both retired in 2017, Concord will be our final home, literally and figuratively.      

What was your sense of community in your class/in the school at NPHS?  

My family moved to North Plainfield from Saddle Brook, NJ, before I started seventh grade, so, I did not have any significant history, and not many close friends in North Plainfield before I started NPHS.  It was primarily through playing sports (soccer, basketball, and baseball) and involvement in service clubs (Key Club and Hi-Y) that I developed a number of “peripheral friends.”  I probably hung out” and had as many friends with my brother, John, who was two grades ahead of me.                  

What experiences in high school, positive or negative, helped to shape you as a person? 

Actually, I recall the class that I feared the most was Mrs. Blevins’ Junior Speech class, and giving my initial speech probably caused me the greatest anxiety, given my extreme introverted personality.  However, it probably proved to be the one class that best prepared me for adult life, and I have felt comfortable ever since giving speeches and talks to all types of audiences.          

Do you have any regrets about your experiences during your high school years? 

Although sports precluded my trying out for the class play, I wish I could have been involved in the drama club.  I am still in awe of how actors and actresses can remember all of their lines!!! 

Now, 50 years later, has your perspective on your high school years changed at all?  If so, how?

I did teach Junior Achievement Project Business for five years at Concord, NC, in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, attempting to instill a sense of managing your income and expenses, and preparing a “personal budget” (maybe I was somewhat successful as my stepdaughter has become so fiercely independent and fiscally responsible).  What amazes me now is how we had to learn all of our arithmetic tables longhand with memorization, and type up our term papers on the manual typewriter.  Today’s students only know about personal computers, iPads, smartphones, and even the calculator has become obsolete.            

  

What is your fondest memory of your years at NPHS?  

Making the varsity soccer team in my first year trying out for the sport, and NPHS making it to the state quarterfinals, losing to Glen Rock 3-0.  I started as goalie at Bucknell my junior and senior years, and I believe I played against Russell Pollack when Bucknell competed against Cornell.  Yes, my four years at NPHS prepared me well for college and ultimate adult careers.   

What was the craziest or stupidest thing you did in high school?  

I fell asleep and snored in Mr. George Teets’ U.S. History class.  If those of you who remember having Mr. Teets for a teacher, you can understand the possibility of this happening to you.

What was your proudest accomplishment in high school?  

I was elected to the National Honor Society in my Senior Year.  Also, I was awarded the Senior Athlete of the year in 1969.   

Who was your favorite teacher? 

As I perused my high yearbook, I guess the two teachers who made the most positive impact on me at NPHS were Mr. McKenna  (Sophomore Biology) and Miss Bellino (Junior Chemistry).

What was your worst class? 

I guess trying to learn French for three years from Mrs. Johnson with her “southern accent”, who attended Claflin College in South Carolina.  

What is your most powerful or haunting memory during your years at NPHS? 

Although I did not know Bob Gardner that well, his death from an automobile accident in October of 1968 was my first experience of death, and has forever haunted me but prepared me for family tragedies.  In the fall of 1979, ten years after high school, I lost my brother, John (class of 1967) to Hodgkins Disease, and four weeks later (on December 7, 1979), my sister, Michele (four years younger than me), was killed in a one-car automobile accident.  My dad took his own life (bi-polar depression) on July 3, 1988.  I do not know how my mother carried on with life for myself and my youngest sister, (Marilyn). Now, Mom is currently battling severe dementia, with Marilyn (my ultimate saint) as caregiver.   

       

Tossing a rock: Dave Millar's no-hitter  against Watchung, spring of 1969.

RIP Dave Mills, Class of 1969

Dave was named class athlete and was celebrated in this yearbook photo.

Dave died November 11, 2017.  Services will be held Friday November 17, from 4-6 p.m. at Saul Funeral Homes, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690.  Phone number: 609-587-0170.  Remembrances from classmates are welcome at the service.  Here the link to his obituary.

Dave at the 2009 reunion.  He was looking forward to the 2018 reunion and wanted to attend.

Dave snags a pass for the NPHS Canucks in this clipping from  The Courier News.

NPHS Reunion Interview: Gerry Burns, Class of 1968

Gerry tackles another adventure on a zipline in the Poconos in 2015.  

What was your sense of community in your class/in the school at NPHS?  

Gerry Burns:  The Class of 1968 was a very close class. As with every class, there were different groups of kids who hung out together based on interests and personalities.  There were so many of us were involved in extracurricular activities based on our interests and NPHS had a lot to choose from.   Clubs were very popular and attendance was strong.  Friendships were very important to us and club involvement fostered friendships that I still have to this day.

What experiences in high school, positive or negative, helped to shape you as a person? 

Gerry Burns:  My involvement in extracurricular activities and the encouragement I got from my teachers had a great impact.  I was a quiet, shy, average student going into NPHS.  I became not only a participant in many activities, but a leader of several clubs.  My grades also improved.  It really is true that the more you get involved the better your grades become… at least it worked for me.  I think it forced me to organize my time and to learn to work with different personalities.   I’m very organized to this day and like helping others.  I still volunteer in several venues within my community.   

Do you have any regrets about your experiences during your high school years? 

Gerry Burns:  No regrets.  I loved NPHS!!! My days at NPHS were some of the best days of my life!  I just wish my own children had been able to experience high school as I did.

Now, 50 years later, has your perspective on your high school years changed at all?  If so, how? 

Gerry Burns:  I still have fond memories of my days at NPHS and that’s why I’ve enjoyed planning our reunions for all the years.  I know we can never go back but honesty, sometimes I wish we could.  The world is so different now, I know we heard our parents say that of us in the ‘60s, but life is so more demanding now that I feel like kids can’t be kids.  I feel like they don’t interact person to person like we did without electronics and social media.  There’s a lot to be said for the personal touch.

What is your fondest memory of your years at NPHS?  

Gerry Burns:  School Spirit!  We were so proud of our school.  We had fun!  We valued our friendships.  I truly loved our community of North Plainfield, so much that I raised my three children there too.  

What was the craziest or stupidest thing you did in high school?  

Gerry Burns:  I cut Mr. Maurer’s 8^th period chorus class the day of the junior prom to get my hair done. Other girls did the same.   He never took attendance and I never cut a class before so I thought nothing of it.  Well, he took attendance that day and I got caught.  Almost got kicked off the majorette squad.  Never cut class again!

What was your proudest accomplishment in high school?  

Gerry Burns:  Trying out and being selected to the Majorette Squad and then becoming Captain.  

Who was your favorite teacher? 

Gerry Burns:  Without a doubt, Ethel Abrams – She was so supportive and encouraged me to be the best I can be.  I remember being told by my guidance counselor that I would never make it in college because of low SAT scores.  Mrs. Abrams told me to never give up.  She told me everyone has something to contribute.  She encouraged me to follow my dreams.  I proved that counselor wrong, graduated college and became a nurse and community leader in my home town.  I’m so glad I was able to thank her in person several times after college.  She was truly a gift from God.

What was your worst class? 

Chemistry with Mr. Sankus.  I struggled in that class.  He was very nice person, but his teaching style was way above the grasp of high school students.  I felt like he taught more on a college level.  I loved science though, especially Biology and Advanced Biology with Mrs. Martin.  She was a terrific science teacher.  I learned so much from these two classes.  I always wanted to be a nurse. My love for biology and the preparation I had at NPHS certainly helped me with college anatomy and physiology.  

What is your most powerful or haunting memory during your years at NPHS? 

Gerry Burns:  It was actually in 8^th grade when the announcement of JFK’s death came over the PA system.  Always remember I was sitting in Mrs. Nix’s 8^th period English class.  Those next 4 days will be in my memory forever.

Graduation from Middlesex County
College in 1971.  Gerry went on to
become a licensed RN in NJ.  

Hello from the Holy Land

Joe Harari, NPHS class of 1969

NPHS classmate Joe Harari poses on the top of Masada, an ancient fortification in Israel located on top of a barren rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea.  Joe was there this spring.  

Aloha from Franco (Frank) Tramontano

Franco (Frank Tramontano and Richard Muglia (right), May 21, 2015

Richard Muglia spent the evening of May 21, 2015, celebrating the graduation of classmate Franco Tramontano's son Rocco (see photo below with POTUS) from the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.  The picture above was taken at a house Franco rented in New London, CT,  so he could attend the graduation.  Franco, a long-time resident of Hawaii (he rocks a good Hawaiian shirt in this photo if you didn't notice), invited friends to a luau the night after the graduation.  According to Richard, there were two other Hawaiians in Rocco's class so there was a great feast that included native hula dancing led by Franco's daughter Nicole.

Franco moved to Hawaii in the mid-70s and taught there for many years.  Rocco will be stationed in Hawaii so the family will be reunited.

Richard hadn't seen Franco since the night before he and his family sailed for England in 1994 but he stayed in contact with Franco through the years.

By the way, we heard that Franco loves visitors so let me put this out there: 50th class reunion in the 50th state?  We've got a man on the ground in Hawaii who just might be able to help us.

Rocco Tramontano and President Barack Obama. Congratulations Rocco!

RIP Nelson Ernest, 1/10/24-2/21/15, NPHS Music Teacher Who Hit the Right Notes with Students

Nelson Ernest, dedicated North Plainfield High School music teacher

Nelson Ernest, former North Plainfield High School music teacher for more than 40 decades died in Pennsylvania on Feb. 21, 2015.  He was 91 years old.  Here's the obituary.  Please feel free to add comments below about your memories of Mr. Ernest. He was kind, gentle, patient and his love of music was obvious.

RIP Dr. Ronald Schneider, May 13, 1951 - January 2, 2015

Dr. Ron Schneider

Ron Schneider, North Plainfield High School class of 1969, died January 2, 2015, in LaCrosse, WI. He was surrounded by his family according to this obituary.  He leaves behind his wife Michelle, two children and four step children.  He was the Section Chief and Program Director of Gundersen Health Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery in Wisconsin.

Ron and his wife Michelle attended the October 2014 reunion.

If classmates have any remembrances about Ron, please post below or send to me and I will post (hpolskin@gmail.com).

Joe Harari, NPHS class of 1969 writes: It was sad to read of Ron's passage.  He looked good in the picture, as I remember him from school.  We shall all miss our QB.   

Ron and his wife Michelle at the cocktail party an hour before the 2015 NPHS class of 1969 reunion.