My special memory of Sandy Valley Schools is not one from when I was in school, but one that is much more recent. When the 50th year of the consolidation of Sandy Valley schools was celebrated at the alumni banquet in 2005, I had the pleasure of inviting Charles Porter to be present at the event.
Mr. Porter was the first superintendent of Sandy Valley Schools and was responsible for leading the consolidation of the schools from Waynesburg, Magnolia, East Sparta and Sandyville. His family was close friends with my family since I was a child, and I've continued to stay in touch with him, even though he has been a resident of Florida from many years. He was 92 years old when I invited him to come to Ohio and spend four days with my family. His daughter flew in from California to join him and they both attended the banquet.
For those who were present, we all remember the fun and informative speech Mr. Porter gave as he shared his memories regarding the start-up of the district, along with some amusing stories of his former students. I have kept him informed regarding the building of the new school, and he has been very interested in hearing the progress. Mr. VanFossen provided me with photographs of the new campus, and Bill and I showed them to him when we visited him in Florida last April. He was thrilled to see them and still talks fondly of his attendance at the banquet and his visit with many former students.
Although his health will not allow him to make another trip to Ohio, he is very grateful for the opportunity he had to visit three years ago and has very good memories of his years in our district. The red concrete cardinal that is displayed in the yard in front of his house in Florida is an indication of his more than 50 years of affection for Cardinal Country.
Nancy Farber,
Waynesburg
Sandy Valley
Class of 1968

As I think back on my childhood and life in Waynesburg, Ohio, I could not help but think about the village, the people, the lifestyle and the activities in this small Ohio village. I was raised in Waynesburg during World War II. The many thoughts I had during this period of time (1940-1945) left many positive impressions on my young mind.
The absolute center of activity in Waynesburg was the Waynesburg Schools" grades 1 through 12. During my third grade at Waynesburg, a new principal/superintendent was hired and his name was John Owen Fox. Little did this village know that under Mr. Fox's school leadership that education in this school and village was about to change.
Permit me to describe Mr. Fox through the eyes of one of his students. He wore a three piece suite but always walked the halls in his vest jacket. I say walked the halls because it seemed that he was always on patrol. H stood about 6' 2" tall, rarely smiled and was all business during his "rounds."
Students running in the halls, loud noises, strangers in the building, fights, checking classrooms and generally policing the entire building were all part of his patrolling routine. He was in total command of all aspects of the Waynesburg Schools. His reputation soon became one of a hardened disciplinarian. If he found you making an offense, you were punished, on the spot. His was a no nonsense manner of discipline. You did the "crime" and you paid for it, instantly. It made no difference to Mr. Fox the color of your skin, ethnic background, religion or creed, all were treated in the same manner. If you obeyed the laws of the land and the school, you could enjoy walking to, from, and during school, in total harmony. Lord help the occasional student who might want to assert themselves by acting outside acceptable parameters, parameters, that Mr. Fox instilled in the entire building. Building? I should say community " for J.O. Fox brought to the community of Waynesburg a discipline that permitted success in the classroom. Mr Fox would not waver in any aspect of his control over the school. A student in trouble had to face Mr. Fox and that in itself was enough to make ones blood curl. The students rapidly nicknamed him "The Claw." This term was not one of disrespect, but one that was always spoken with reverence, fear, and total respect. While we feared "The Claw" we had the utmost respect for his presence and the authority he commanded.
Mr. Fox, single handedly raised the morale of the school and at the same time brought to the village of Waynesburg a high degree of needed discipline. I can say without reservation that J.O. Fox was the single most reason why Waynesburg had little,if any, crime problems, or outlandish behavior, of students, in or out of the village.
One would be hard pressed to find a real criminal element in Waynesburg during the reign of Mr. Fox as head of the Waynesburg Schools. One man with an educational purpose and a goal to control students was the biggest reason why Waynesburg prospered greatly during the 40's and 50's and had a high morale level.
What has happened to many of our public schools these past 50 years? Students now seemingly have the right to say what they want, when they want and with, at times, language that only the lowly would use. The courts have taken the heart out of our schools with their mandates to protect the rights of students " or should I say the disinterest of the student's parents. Discipline is a thing of the past in our schools. Punish a misbehaving child and "John law" steps in to chastise those who try to bring an
as semblance of calm and positive educational environment to the front.
Teachers no longer have the right to control their classrooms with authority. They must now take the insults of student thugs, misguided mentalities, and worst of all, parents who rarely stand behind teachers in cases of discipline. The almost cavalier attitude of today's public school students displays an almost universal disrespect for public school education.
J. O. Fox would never have been permitted to control "his" school with his manner of correcting situations in need of correcting. He was tough but he was fair. He never picked his "battles," the battles always found him and he stood tall in the face of parents, the courts, the students and even his teaching staff. All in his presence were well aware of the consequences one would have to pay if they crossed his line of acceptance.
If one were to interview any of the students during J. O. Fox's headship in the Waynesburg Schools, to the person you would hear: "The Claw" had my respect; and was the main reason why such control in the school was prevalent."
One final note: Waynesburg was a racially mixed community of Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics. How this community could get along without racial strife should not really boggle any minds. J.O. Fox was the common denominator who held the key to a rare integration of the races. It seems that in order for all races to survive the "wrath" of "The Claw," they needed each other and bonded together. As a school student it was not race that ruled the day " it was survival on a school day to school day basis. Talk in the classroom, cafeteria, halls, to and from school and locker room was controlled by just the mere thought of "The Claw" hearing the discussion or activity. We learned instantly how to treat each other and bonded together, protecting each other together, laughing at the situation together, in awe of the situation together and always respectful of the situation " together. The prevailing attitude of the entire village took on an attitude of compliance since the children of the village kept their parents informed of the school situation. Parents who did know J.O. Fox stood in awe of the man and the reputation he had.
I can well remember that Mr. Fox would not permit students to walk on the school grass. He made this clear many times by standing guard by the lawn and punishing those who would blatantly walk on the grass. The students formed a mini protest one day after lunch, all walking into the building single file. All done with Mr. Fox standing by and watching. I can say that even during this peaceful demonstration, all participants held their breath when they passed by Mr. Fox before entering the school. To this day I refuse to walk on grass " unless mowing the lawn.
Mr. Fox was not our enemy. He represented authority and the kind of authority the parents and students respected. I would be surprised if ensuing letters to The Press News would contradict what I have written.
Thank you Waynesburg Schools and Mr. J. O. Fox
Richard D. Mathey
Bowling Green, OH

I have many memories of Sandy Valley High School" back in the "80s I remember hanging out in the newspaper/yearbook room, the squeaky auditorium chairs that Mrs. Parmenter kept telling us to keep quiet in during study hall" we won't miss those will we?
I remember going to basketball games in our "Give "em the Bird" T-shirts, the night our junior class had an all-night "Rock-a-Thon" in the cafeteria to raise money for prom, and then the next year having an all-night dance for the newspaper in the gym" yes we used to be able to have dances in the gym!
I remember eating the yummy peanutbutter bars that Mrs. Costello and Mrs. Falbo made for lunch. I remember the Foreign Language Club festivals in the cafeteria with Mrs. (Korzan) Lotz. I remember struggling to climb the rope in gym class under the direction of Mr. Izer and Miss Valentine (now Mrs. Sulzener.)
It's hard not to remember the school without the memories of the teachers who were a part of our daily lives back then: Mrs. Nuzum, Miss Bogard, Mrs. Corbett, Jerry Reeder, Mr. Pickard, Mr. Dietrick, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Loy, Mr. Leach, Mrs. James, Mr. Whitman, Mr. Grodhaus, Mrs. Elson, Mr. Miller, Mr. Schuler, Mrs. Patterson, Mr. Hannan, Mr. and Mrs. Salom, Mr. Cobbs, Mr. Widder, Mr. Rarric, Mr. Richards and Mr. Lidderdale. I also remember Mr. Noretto, Mr. Hunter, Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Slutz in the office. We all depended on BJ Biggums, Tim McDade and the two Mr. Duerrs to keep things running and clean.
I remember watching my siblings, Karen and Steve France, sing "Gloria" under the direction of Mr. Davis. I also remember watching them perform plays that Chey (Costello) Shubert directed.
As a parent of two SV alums, I know my daughters Penny and Kristen have their own memories of SVHS. I have memories of watching them perform on the same stage for band concerts that I did for choir, going to basketball games to watch Kristen cheer, and listening to Penny talk about hanging out in the yearbook room with Mrs. DiSabato.
But I also have memories that the high school is aging " the hot, small gymnasium, the broken chairs in the auditorium and cafeteria, and the buckets set up to catch water from the leaking ceilings. We may all be surprised when we see the old high school gone, but I'm sure the new state-of-the-art SVHS will provide many memories for future generations.
Sandy France Ionno

My most profound memory is from 1960 when Dr. Hall superintendent of Sandy Valley Schools came to our home. At the time my mother Mary Corbett was teaching 7th- and 8th-grade English at Magnolia Grade School. Dr. Hall asked my mother if she would be willing to return to college and get her master's degree in library science.
The school district needed her to do this in order for the Sandy Valley District to become fully accredited. Of course, my mother did return to college and received her master's and became head Liberian at Sandy Valley. She retired after 25 years in the district.
My memory of her unselfish decision to pursue her master's degree had a profound affect on my life and the lives of many of the students at Sandy Valley High School.
Claudia Corbett Rogers
Class of 1970

My favorite teacher was Mrs. Cain at Magnolia Grade School. After lunch recess to get the children settled down she would read a chapter of "The Bobbsey Twins Books." All of the class looked forward to that part of the day. Because of Mrs. Cain that is where I learned to love reading books.
Jane Leichtamer Davis
Class of 1965

My mother Marjorie Sickafoose Comber was a member of the second graduating class of Magnolia High School in 1933 and my husband and I were in the last graduating class 1954.
She was a grand old school, full of fun, dignity, disipline and learning. We had a lot of respect for our school building and wouldn't think of defacing it in any way. There are so many memories of our school days but too many to put down on paper.
I want to congratulate our school district on our beautiful new buildings. Our hope is for the students going into these new schools, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren included, to respect and be proud of what you have.
Take care of them so that someday you can show your grandchildren where you went to school, and they will be just as nice as the day you moved in.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our thoughts.
Carolyn & Jerry
Nicholson

I only lived about one block away from Magnolia School when I was young. I was in second-grade and my desk was near the windows. We were on the second floor.
My mother used to bake bread in an outside oven (kiln). I could see her going in and out of the house and I started to cry. I was a bit of a crybaby when I was little and I missed my mommy.
My teacher was Mrs. Janet Downes. She came over to me and whispered in my ear that she would let me go home at recess if I brought her back a loaf of bread. I stopped crying and got to go home for a hug and Mrs. Downes' bread.
Nancy Neisel

I attended Magnolia Grade School and High School. I graduated in 1952. My fourth-grade teacher was Miss Lois German. I come from a family of 15 children. Miss German taught everyone of us. That is a lot of years she taught at Magnolia School. My memories of my school days are numerous and wonderful.
Betty Lancaster

In September of 1931, I had the privilege of being a member of the first grade (grade one) to start in the brand new school in Magnolia, a building which contained all 12 grades.
Our teacher was an older lady named Naomi Cornish, and she really gave our class a great start. One of my fondest memories was the janitor of the school, Emment Close, who always met us at the front door with greetings and great smile. School was from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. There was no cafeteria available, so we had to go home at lunch. I lived on Plain Street in Magnolia, so it was a half mile walk each way, and there was school every day in spite of inclement weather of any kind.
Another memory was that Mr. Sanford Gotshall built a small building across Harrison Street (now Larson Garage) and he some how obtained the business of selling textbooks. Prior to school starting, we had to go there with our parents to buy our books for the year.; I think this continued until I was in the fourth-grade.
It was good to have upperclassmen in the same school as it tended to make you idolize some of those ahead. I was In the first graduating class (1943) who spent all 12 years in this building.
Harold J. Farber

In 1937 as a first grader, Magdalene Herstine and I became fast friends. During recess we sometimes would sit in the shade of the many Elm trees (that my dad and friends planted when he was the superintendent of Magnolia) sharing and eating white paste which tasted sort of like spearmint and was actually good. Maybe that is what has kept us "pasted" together, as we are still good friends after 70 years.
In our freshman year there was a "girls dance." The girls invited the boys. I took John Greer. We had to make the boys a corsage of vegetables. What fun and lots of creativeness. We girls had to go to the boys' house and escort them to the school gym and afterward walk them back home.
Bless Mrs. Greer as she had an elegant dining room table all set for us with ice cream and cookies and hot chocolate before my mom picked me up and drove me up the hill home.
Before first-grade I told my mother she did not have to take me to school the first day because I was "related" to the school. I spent many summer days there with my dad from the time I was 3 or 4 years old.
Margene (Kohr) Wilson

During recess, I would "ride" the giant strikes at the playground. Gloria Caddell and I were the giant strike queens, meaning we were the best (at least I thought so).
I joined the band with my clarinet in the fourth-grade, marching at the Stark County Fair that year (even though I could not play the clarinet yet) and every year thereafter until I graduated in 1958. When I think of the Waynesburg band, I think of Junior Longo and Willie Richardson playing the drums.
I was always afraid of the superintendent, J.O. Fox, and "walked the straight and narrow" when he was around. I was also afraid of my 8th-grade English teacher, Miss Voglesang. She made us stand up in class and conjugate verbs. She also made us buy a book called "Plain English Handbook," which I still have. It served me well through high school at Sandy Valley; college at Kent State University; teaching business at McKinley, Canton South, and Sandy Valley (20 years) high schools; and working seven years at the "Press-News." I think I'll will it to the Waynesburg Historical Society (ha) even though it's missing its gray with pink lettering cover.
I have many fond memories of the 1940s and "50s of Waynesburg School; of my teachers; of my friends; and of my family, including those mentioned above and my sisters, Carolyn (Shearer) and Janet (Kail); but I'll stop here and allow the other memories to dance forever in my head.
Kathleen Ickes Patterson
Sam Walter Sr., who now lives in Sebring, Fla., has many fond memories of attending Waynesburg School for nine years.
Sam attended grades one through nine at the school, but had to quit when his father broke his wrist and needed help in the family's roofing and spouting business. However, that did not keep Sam from living a successful life and raising a responsible family of three children.
Sam was a member of the eighth-grade championship basketball team. He remembers that some of his teammates were Ben Trilli, Carmen Longo and BJ Biggums. Sam, who was 5 ft., 9 inches tall at the time, played either center or forward. He said coach Brown led the team to wins over schools such as Canton South, Sandyville, East Sparta and Magnolia. During a tournament game with Canton South, the coach took the boys to the dairy store at halftime and bought them Hershey bars to give them energy for the second half.
Later, Sam remembers his sons, Sam Jr. and Bill, who went to East Canton Schools, playing junior high games against Waynesburg in the school's gymnasium. What he thought at one time was a good size gym, seemed very small years later when he became a spectator.
Sam Sr. was also successful in another sport that was extremely popular in his school days" marbles. He was the marble champion in the fourth-grade. Playoffs were held and one year he had to go up against players such as Bill DeGraffinreed and Joe Serafini.
"We played marbles in the alley, near my house," said Sam, who lived near the old train station, in the building that now houses Eileen's Beauty Salon. "I played against the Aquino boys."
A few of his friends at the school were Jack and Ted Wilson, Boots Leatherberry and Dale, Joe, Bob and Sam Serafini. He also remembers that Ray Sprankle was a janitor and the teachers names included Lappin, Isaly, Hoover and Vogelsang.
Sam Walter Sr.

My memories of high school of Sandy Valley are basically all good. I took college prep courses and felt prepared for my nursing courses at Kent State.
My best friend, Mary Walker Squires, and I were a clique of two. Going to a smaller school gave us the advantages we weren't aware of at the time. Only after experiencing larger school systems with my own children, did I realize how nurturing and comfortable a close-knit community can be.
My wishes for the new school and all those involved would be to maintain the same sense of belonging I felt there.
Nancy Wetter Stark
Class of 1971

I did not attend Waynesburg until the third-grade.
I went to Plain School in grades one and two, drinking water dipped from a crock (we all"grades one through four"drank out of that same dipper); going outside to "the bathroom"; and playing fox and geese in the winter with my classmates and our teacher, Mabel Sickafoose. My first teacher at Waynesburg was Miss Rinehart, and the classroom was next to the school office. I would slip over there now and then to see the secretary, Mary Jane Lewton, who was a good friend of my mother's, Evelyn Ickes.
At lunch time my best friend Rosemary Gallagher and I would eat lunch in the cafeteria and then go uptown to walk our townie friends Billy Bankert (yes, the Hall of Famer John William who will always be Billy to me) and Delana DiSabato back to school.
Since we rode the second bus home after school, Rosemary and I had time to walk uptown and buy a bag of pretzels (dipped from a large pretzel can into white paper bags) at Elsass' store for 5 cents or go to Isaly's for a Klondike bar, 10 cents. Sometimes after school, bus owner and driver Tony Mastroine would let me ride on the heater right beside the driver's seat on his first route of the afternoon. Tony was a buddy to me and my brother, Dwain Ickes, because our dad, Ralph Ickes, drove school bus for Tony.
Kathleen Ickes Patterson

I attended Sandyville School and graduated from East Sparta High in 1947. My Sandyville memories included going out at recess and watching them move houses from old Sandyville to new Sandyville. They moved some of them by the playground in back of the old school building.
I also remember one Arbor Day we planted a tree on the south corner of the front lawn. This was some time in the last 1930s. We kids put marbles and other items along with our names into a mason jar and buried it along the roots of the tree. Although the old school is gone, I believe the tree is still standing.
In the ninth-grade at East Sparta, I earned a half credit for taking a course in Morse Code. This was in 1945, and the Army needed code operators. All the course material was furnished by the government, and superintendent Mr. Pond was our teacher.
I played football on the old field behind East Sparta High School. There was no artificial turf or lush sod; just chalk lines on the playground with goal posts at each end. In the summer of 1946, the school board decided to grade a new field on the site of the old one. Since it wasn't ready by the football season, we played all the games away. We practiced on a vacant lot at Sandyville.
One winter day in the 1946-47 school year, the superintendent Mr. Pond advised two of us senior boys to take his car (which might have been a DeSoto) and go to the Magnolia bank to deposit some school money. All went well until we reached the curve in the road where the Magnolia Drag Strip is now. Luckily for me, Ed Clinger was driving when we slid into the ditch.
Ray (Vic) Lehman
East Sparta Class of 1947

While going to the East Sparta grade school, I was presented a book "The Story of a Sawdust Doll" by Laura Lee Hope, for perfect attendance for the year of 1927-1928 by my teacher Miss Cook (Vera Cook Paul).
Irene (Tuillen) Broad

My favorite teacher was Mrs. Merle Cain at Magnolia Grade School. After Lunch recess to get the children settled down she would read a chapter of "The Bobbsey Twins Books". All of the class looked forward to that part of the day. Because of Mrs. Cain that is where I learned to love reading books.
Jane Leichtamer Davis
Class of 1965

Thank you to all the students and athletes of the Sandy Valley Schools for all the wonderful memories that I have of my 35 years teaching and coaching there. I really appreciate all the hard work and effort you put forth during my career. Some of you have mentioned the following so I hope it will bring back a fond memory or two.
Academically there was the Top Dog and Most Improved Awards and getting you picture in the Book of Fame, knowing your states and capitals, and winning county math tournaments against the bigger schools.
Athletically some of the memories include J. H. football and basketball, the indoor hockey league, and the Presidential Physical Fitness Awards.
Community contributions would include the Statue of Liberty restoration project, the St. John Villa Christmas project, and the Santa Claus of the Year contest.
On the fun side there were the haunted houses, the J. H. Dances, and the overnight game nights in the gyms. The silly times with the "ugly stick", banana jokes, the fabulous flying fickle finger of fate, and going to the window to say that you "cared."
And lastly, congratulations to all the special students who won the Lori Sickafoose Award (named after a very special girl who showed us all that a physical handicap does not keep you from being a friendly, happy, caring, fun loving, hard working, and wonderful person).
Mr. Joe Marcoaldi

One of the memories that sticks out in my mind when I think of our old school buildings is when the big piece of ceiling fell from the gymnasium at East Sparta. It was quite an event in the eyes of many fifth and sixth grade students and also many teachers. I remember having to walk around the large piece of debris and just praying that our community would pass the levy. That's when it really set in for me how badly we needed the new schools.
Another funny memory I have (again of East Sparta) is when a student fell down the very steep steps of the gym. It wasn't funny, actually kind of tragic, when they first fell but when they got up and started laughing, everyone who saw it couldn't help but let out a giggle or two.
The last memory I have to share is of the high school. One day last year, I was walking down to the office to drop something off for a teacher and I turned the corner and found a large piece of plastic in a funnel-shape hanging from the ceiling dripping water into a big trash can. Not only did it make me laugh because of the wonderful setup but it was another eye-opener of how thankful I am for our new schools.
-Morgan Welker, 9th grade student at SVHS

My first two years at East Sparta Elementary were in the original four room building just to the east of the present building. Mrs. Paul was my first grade teacher. My assignment, since I was a "town kid" and among the first to get to school, was to remove the dead mice from the traps each morning. We also had a huge cardboard box that we made into a play house. At Halloween, we came dressed in costumes and paraded through town. Many people came out to see us.
We were told of the consolidation of Sandy Valley Schools in the second grade by Mrs. Gunn, our teacher. Stanley Neading jumped up and asked where he should move his desk. Time was not a concept we totally understood in the second grade.
We all looked forward to the third grade because Mrs. Clapper was the best looking teacher in the school! Hey, we were guys! What did you expect? After all, some of us were admonished by Mr. Brothers, our school principal, way back in the second grade, to quit kissing the girls during recess! My guess is he was jealous.
But he was very serious when he called us out of our fourth grade class (Mrs. Wagner) and warned us to stop chasing the girls after school. I also remember writing Valentine cards and passing them out to each of my classmates. But the worst moment of the fourth grade for me was the night that my parents took me to see the Ice Capades. Why? My teacher and her husband went with us! I was not able to relax all night!
I spent my fifth and sixth grade years at Sandyville. Mrs. Lehman, who attended my church (Grace Lutheran, Sandyville) was my teacher. For some reason, even though I knew how to spell the words I cheated on my spelling test. She caught me and said something to the effect that I did not need to cheat. I never cheated on a test again - all the way through law school where we were on the honor system. That was a life changing moment for me.
Mr. Snyder was my sixth grade teacher. Our home room had a dynamite softball team with a record of 42 wins and 3 losses. One of the losses was to "the girls." One of the losses was to "the girls." Of course, Mr. Snyder was the umpire. The strike zone never got defined, so anything they threw was a strike; anything we threw was a ball. But then, at the end of that school day, he insisted that we boys admit the girls were better before he would let us go to the first bus to East Sparta. We would not! He was going to make us all go on the second bus, about 15-20 minutes later. No one spoke. I finally got up and said something about how he might have a point - meanwhile, slowly edging toward the door. When I reached the door, I turned toward him and said that the boys were definitely better and kept on walking. I can still hear him yelling at me back in the room. I think I was the only sixth grade boy on the early bus that night.
I went back to East Sparta for the seventh and eight grade years. In the seventh grade, our teacher gave us mostly D's and F's the first six weeks grading period. I got an F. My dad went to the school and talked to my teacher. My grade went up to a B the next six weeks! I never forgot how my dad spoke up for me because the rule in our house was "whatever happened at school, I got twice as much at home." I always wondered if the fact that he was a school board member made any difference!
Mr. Angeloni was my teacher in the eight grade. We went through the books TWICE! We also watched many movies in a series called "The Ohio Story." And that was the year that I got into politics. We formed two parties to elect a class president. My party was the Aristocrat Party. It was a close election until Tom Duskey, who was running for vice-president on our party ticket won the independent vote with his famous speech. "I have never smoked, drank, or been in jail. Vote for my party!" We won in a landslide. (Or is that my foggy memory playing tricks on me!)
Sandy Valley High School was a great place to go to school. I have so many memories of that place. It was the first time I went to school with black students. Sonny Thomas, Mike Cheek and Darnell Johnson were some of the finest people I have ever know. Sonny was the only senior to still be hustling in the final days to get good grades. He had a chance for a football scholarship at Central State. And, by golly, he got it. I believe he also made Central State's football hall of fame. And I believe that Sonny, who played semi-pro football with the Wheeling Ironmen and players like "Mean Joe Greene", would have been part of the famous "steel curtain" of the Pittsburgh Steelers if he had not died from an infection caused by a knee injury.
One of my best friends was Anne Hughes. She was a strong Democrat; I was a strong Republican (still am!) We had all heard that President Kennedy had been shot but we did not know it was serious. So I shouted at Anne as I passed her on my way to eighth period physics class that getting shot was a cheap way to get sympathy in his campaign against Republican Barry Goldwater. When I got to class, it was announced over the PA system that President Kennedy had died. All I could think about was the stupid comment I had made to Anne. Fortunately, good friends separate the wheat from the chaff. Anne already had heard about the president's death, so she knew that I hadn't heard the tragic news yet.
We had some very dedicated teachers at Sandy. Mr. Hannan taught government and worked very hard to get all the seniors through that course that was required to graduate. I remember Rodney Bungard's answer to the symbol of power in the US House of Representatives. It was a six foot pole with an eagle on top and it's called the "mace." But Rodney couldn't remember the answer and he wrote "bird on a stick." Mr. Hannan gave him credit. He should have been teacher of the year.
Mr. Dietrick taught chemistry and physics. He was tough! And for those of you who had him - remember that STP is not a type of automotive oil - it stands for standard temperature and pressure! Of course, the most famous episode in our class of 64 occurred in Mr. Tozzi's math class. Terry Hanni wore contacts and one popped out of his eye somehow. He couldn't find it. Finally, someone got the idea it might have gone into Sharon Gaier's dress who sat just ahead of him. So, she went into one of those small rooms between the classrooms with some other girls and took off her dress. Alas, no contact lens. I'm not sure if Terry ever found it. But that incident will live on long after high school is just a bunch of dust.
I played in the high school band under the direction of Mr. Wenger. We were pretty good. In fact we were so good that we gave the professional bands serious competition for jobs. So they got a ruling from the county board that we could not use a school bus to go to our "gigs" No problem. We loaded our music and instruments in the trunks of our cars and drove ourselves to our "gig." So the professionals countered with a ruling from the county school board that high school dance bands could not play at other high school dances unless there was a reciprocal agreement. Well, we only had one dance - the military ball - so our dance band played one date my senior year.
We had a pretty good band under Mr. Wenger. But, if we screwed up, we knew it. One day, he told us trombone players we were the worst section in the band. Several weeks later, the trumpets messed up and when he told them they were the worst, the whole trombone section stood up and cheered. When he asked just what we were doing, we told him that we were no longer the worst section in the bans! We all had a good laugh. I do remember one very cold football game. I had a whole note in sixth position. (slide extended all the way, for you non-trombone players) and that was it. The slide froze in that position. The reed instruments were the only ones still playing at the end of our half time show. And then there was the Friday night, about one hour before the game when my inner slide just snapped in two. Fortunately, it was a home game and Joan Edwards had an extra trombone for me to use. I liked it so well that I bought it from her. I still have that trombone and play it occasionally.
It has been a few years since I graduated from Sandy. I have had some great experienced and met some very interesting people. But I have to say that my favorite memories are still of my years in the Sandy Valley Schools. (OK, maybe Ohio State winning the national championship while I was an undergraduate is also among my favorites. And I better mention meeting my wife at OSU, too.) I consider myself very blessed to be a Cardinal alumnus. To be from Sandy Valley means you had wonderful classmates and outstanding teachers who always gave you the feeling that you were a special person. And we were and still are - because we are the Cardinals! And for that, I give thanks every day.
John F. Moffett

How do you put over a century of school memories into just a few pages?
There is no way it can be done, and I have literally had sleepless nights thinking and worrying about how to get all your wonderful, amusing and inspirational comments into this issue. As a Sandy Valley graduate, I had many memories to share, but decided since I had already shared some of those in regular issues of The Press-News, I would leave room for your memories in this special issue.
We somehow were able to get at least part of what everyone submitted into the issue. We were forced to cut back on those submissions that were a little longer. However, those we had to cut back on will be on our Web site, www.the-press-news.com in their entirety.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a memory and to those who supported this issue with your advertising dollars. I hope all take a very close look at the advertisers; they are the ones who support your schools and community. Please give them your support.
Staff member Andrea Gallucci and I were responsible for the layout and design of this issue. Linda Stark was responsible for the advertising. And you" my fellow Cardinals" were responsible for the great memories!
Karen Mundy
Editor
The Press-News