Mansfield High School - Hornet / Green Years Yearbook (Mansfield, MA)

Page 17 text:

690 was the attendance for 1965-66 and as usual, Supt. Murphy greeted the students with his senti- ments on obedience and the student dress code. “We have no time to take from our busy academic programs for students who choose not to obey school regulations on conduct,” said Murphy. Murphy sup- pressed persistent complaints by refusing to talk with parents of the offending students. In fall sports action, the Hornets downed Hol- brook 20-14 with some pretty passing, and a touch- down sprint by George Costanza. Principal Qualters approved the construction of an $11,000 language laboratory at the high school. For the first time the school’s budget rose above the one million dollar mark. The cost of running the schools in °66 was $1,021,244. Mr. Gallo announced that the band would travel to Boston to play at a December 18 football game between the Patriots and the Houston Oilers. MHS football captain Kevin Fallon was named to the All-Hockomock squad at the coaches seminar in Canton. John Flammia secured the Don Currivan Memorial Trophy with a Thanksgiving Day jaunt of 90 yards as the Hornets edged Foxboro, 14-13. There were many a close call for the basketball team, as the squad came out on the short end of four overtime games in the first part of the year. All 20 of the Mansfield Hornet cheerleading squad were suspended and the sport ceased after the girls made unbecoming gestures on the basketball court in a game against the King Philip Warriors. The main reason of the suspension was that the girls disobeyed the orders of their faculty advisor, Mrs. Edward Mar- cheselli, Supt. Murphy gave the cold shoulder to com- plaining parents. Wheaton College president William Prentice was the speaker at the graduation ceremonies. The enrollment in Mansfield schools tipped the books at 2007, the first time that the 2000 mark had been passed. The School Building Committee, along with Mr. Qualters, discussed with an architect, the possibility of a “terminal” school facility, holding as many as 1000 pupils. The site of this structure as the adjacent wooded area on the east side of the present high school. Supt. Murphy and Mr. Qualters dis- cussed the educational aspects of the new building. The band went to Boston to greet the President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. Bill Parsons’ football squad dropped the Thanksgiving Day con- test to Foxboro 21-0. The two teams split the gate receipts, each receiving $1292. Combined raises to teachers totaled $100,000 and the school budget was $1,172,000. The two story new high school building that was to be constructed had the approval of Supt. Murphy, and later the plans were set before the voters. A mar- gin of 342-26 approved the $2,400,000 building as long as the state paid 40% of the bill. Jean M. Farquharson was valedictorian and James F. Durant was salutatorian as 109 seniors graduated. Mr. William DeStefano was principal as 800 stu- dents showed up on the first day of school in 1967. DeStefano was a graduate of Dartmouth University, a navy reserve lieutenant, and a former principal at Taunton High School. Supt. Murphy gave DeStefano

Page 16 text:

Class of 1916 at SOth reunion (1966) school year opened with 497 in the senior wing. Ralph DePillo, and Gentili received All-Hockomock football honors, though MHS did not repeat as champs. The budget of $667,571 showed a $45,000 increase Over previous operating costs. The Alumni Association announced that it had $633.57 in its scholarship fund by January, ’61. Gentili led the team to the State Class ‘C’ basket- ball finals, where MHS upset Grafton High 53-40. Diane Cleary was valedictorian and Kathleen Houghton was salutatorian as 96 seniors graduated. The band highlight of the year was an exchange trip with Agawan, a town no band member had ever vis- ited. Mr. Murphy announced that some improvements were in order for the 1961-62 school year. Among his suggestions was a 10,000 volume library, and a lan- guage lab, better lighting, and overall curricula improvement. Murphy’s motives for this were to strengthen the students for college entrance exams. The history, math, and foreign language curricula were all improved. In the high school enrollment of 647 there were ten sets of twins, which assistant principal John F. Maloney said was a record for a high school of Mansfield’s size. The Mansfield Hornet band conducted an exchange with a band from Burlington, Vermont. School Committee Chairman Melchiorri announced that he would not run for re-election, as he had pur- chased the Central Market. All out support was given to the Citizens’ Scholar- ship Fund drive. A road block on route 140 raised a grand total of $4321. Superintendent Murphy announced that the High School had dropped Driver Education as a course because excessive student interest had driven the cost high. Jane Cronin was valedictorian, and Barbara Kudd- zol was the student who rendered the salutatory speech as 111 seniors graduated. The 1962-63 school year was greeted with another mandate from Superintendent Murphy, who stated, “Parents should not encourage children who persist in defying reasonable rules and regulations.” Disobedience of this order was soon to follow, as six students were expelled for vandalism. The offen- ses that Murphy termed vandalism were such things as wrapping toilet paper around the front trees of the high school and pulling out the north goalposts at Memorial Park. Hornet band director James Gallo asked the school committee to permit the entry of more children into the band, but the administrators upheld the previous limit, which said that 72 could participate in the band, and ten in the color guard. Gallo backed up his plea with the fact that there was a surplus of band uniforms, but to no avail. The new elementary school to be built opposite the high school was named in honor of Everett W. Rob- inson, who gave of his life diligently in the forty years of his service to Mansfield High School. Midway through the school year the valedictorian and salutatorian were announced. They were, respec- tively, Diane Marshall and Elaine Maxwell. The MHS basketball team traveled to the Tech Tourney, but bowed out in the first round to a power- ful Rockland team, 65-59. $60,000 was allocated for the purpose of repairing the high school. The area of most concern was the brick wall of the school, which needed to be repained and waterproofed. The original building errors which caused this were said to be “just faulty workman- ship.” The boys tennis team won the Hockomock League title for the second consecutive campaign. The MHS band, drill team, and color guard won the first prize in the city of Quincy’s annual Christ- mas parade in 1963. A Statistic from the superintendent’s office noted that the salaries of the teachers accounted for 7 % of the school system’s operating budget. The band had another exchange, this time with the Princeton (N.J.) High School. The Hornets also gave their annual concert on April 17. 12 students, a mixture of seniors and underclass- men, were accepted into the National Honor Society during candlelight ceremonies in the school audito- rium. $9000 in scholarships was awarded to 117 sen- iors, the largest group ever, on Class Day. The Hornet baseball team, behind winning pitcher James Albertini, captured the Hockomock League title with a 6-3 dousing of the King Philip Warriors. 652 students were present at the outset of the 1964- 65 school year. The valedictorian was Miss Wilma Farinella and the salutatorian was David Ingram. The difference in the averages of the two was .001. A study by the administrative offices showed that 47% of the student body ate school lunches. “We are really moving along,” said Mr. Gallo as the band of 115, color guard of 10, and drill team of 24 prepared to set off an exchange to Newton, New Jersey. Teachers and administrators in the elementary school level were not invited to attend the Com- mencement exercises. Donald Sweet held a pre-class rally in the school parking lot. 300 students were on hand to hear Sweet ask for support of the MHS athletic teams. The boys tennis team won the Hockomock again, this time led by Bob Annese in singles and Dick Dutton and Don Maxwell in doubles.

Page 18 text:

Front Row: Dr. Collins, Mr. Blandori, Ms. Cotton. Sec- ond Row: Mr. Hindman, Mr. Day, Mr. Guerini, Mr. Breen. a vote of confidence, saying that he should be able to handle the tough financial burdens that the new school would bring. Several students at the school were dismissed on opening day, at the order of Supt. Murphy, to either get a haircut or change their wearing apparel. On the gridiron, the Hornets snapped the Franklin Panthers’ 22 game win streak with a decisive 34-13 win. Captain David DeGirolamo was the game’s leading scorer and rusher. The cost of the new high school had risen to 3.7 million dollars, until School Building Committee Chairman James A. Garland finalized the figure at $4,428,732. The town voted on that school, but the 275-206 vote in favor of it was not a two-thirds majority, ther efore voting the proposal down. The town later reversed the decision and ground breaking ceremo- nies were held on April 28, 1968. A former athlete and MHS alumnus, James Alber- tini, was killed in action in Vietnam. Corporal Alber- tini was the first Mansfield victim of the war. 133 graduated, with Mary Durant as valedictorian and Betsy McCoy rendering the salutatory speech. 710 were recorded on the MHS attendance sheets as two new members were added to the faculty. Superintendent Murphy was replaced by Lyman C. Avery. Supt. Avery announced that the schedule in the new high school would be a rotating one. This was done to get away from the strict day to day rigors of the old schedule. The Mansfield High School football team was the tri-champions of the Hockomock League in 1968. The MHS band held their annual exchange with a band from Pennsylvania. Westcott Construction Company, the business hired to build the new high school, notified Mr. DeStefano that the facility would not be completed at the scheduled time, forcing the grades 6-12 to go on double sessions. The opening of the school was delayed longer at the outset of the 1969-70 school year because of a contract.dispute with the custodians. The argument arose when the School Committee cut $25,311 off the custodians’ salary. The dispute was later resolved. A fight arose when there was a question over the length of dresses in the high school. The question was “How short was too short?” October 20-21 were the days when the students packed up and moved into the new high school build- ing, but the school was still not finished. Problems soon arose after the move. The new gym surface in the massive gym was deemed unacceptable. During the winter months three science rooms and the home economics suite began to leak. Raymond F. Federici was appointed to the chair- man seat on the school board. The school budget stood at $1,830,291. Through basketball season, in which the varsity lost 13 straight, no MHS varsity team had won a sporting event. There was one bright spot on the court though; Junior Alex Salachi was the league’s leading scorer with 279 points (21.5 per game). A rash of bomb scares greeted Mansfield High School in the spring. The longest one lasted two hours. The school was dedicated on March 15, 1970 in the 648 seat auditorium. The gym was honored to James C. Albertini, who gave his life in his country’s service. Hundreds praised the structure as they toured it. A study by the superintendent’s office showed that 40% to 50% of the students at MHS were either addicted or had experimented with some form of nar- colic. At the close of the year the band exchanged con- certs with Pequea Valley, Pennsylvania, and the base- ball team dropped five straight to lose a shot at the pennant. 569 was the number of students as the new high school was used in its first full year. The Foxboro Warriors defeated the Hornets 33-0 in the Turkey Day classic that game was the 40th annual, and was played at Schaefer Stadium in Fox- boro. That loss also marked the 48th consecutive set- back for the MHS grid team. Miss Emma Shapleigh, a Mansfield teacher for 47 years, retired May 21, 1970. Mansfield broke a 17 game tailspin in basketball. + “ “oa $ a ix e ode f 5 ‘3 5a) Action during 1976 Mansfield football championship