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

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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

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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

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beating Westport 87-64. Salachi scored a school record 45 points in that game. The school budget rose above 2 million dollars , at $2,081,611, in 1970-71. In February of 1971 the custodians went on strike over a contractual dispute, as did the cafeteria work- ers and clerks. The Hornets Hoopsters broke their Hockomock League losing streak with a 71-67 win over the King Philip Warriors. Alex “The Fox” Salachi netted 32 points. Salachi also made All-Hockomock in basket- ball. The MHS Band held an exchange concert with a band from Amherst Central High School in Snyder, NY. The new Hornet track was dedicated to James J. Kelly. The first annual Kelly relays also took place that year. Harold Qualters passed away on April 25, 1971, —and the old high school, which was being used as the Mansfield Middle School, was named after him. In 1971-72 the Math team went to the finals in the State. The school budget stood at $2,348,154, and the Middle School principal Dr. Gerald Bourgeois named supervisor in charge of secondary school cur- riculum. In 1972-73 season, Tony Day took over at the helm for MHS football. He guided the team to its first win in 27 games, a state record for losing streaks, as Paul Ferrara and Paul Pedini scored in a 13-0 win over Norton. Later in the year the Hornets picked up their first Hockomock League win since 1968, a 15-7 win over Oliver Ames. Bernard O'Malley was elected Chairman of the School Committee. Jack Auld placed his name on the top ten scoring listin MHS history by scoring 244 points in the 72-73 basketball season. He had a career total of 645 tallies. Ray Lively scored 295 in the 72-73 campaign. Avery resigned from the superintendent’s position, ending a time span in which he made MHS the “envy of area communities.” The Hornet band picked up a first place in the Southeastern Massachusetts District Music Festival. At the outset of the 1973-74 school year, a Houston educator, Dr. John Collins, was appointed as superin- tendent. The major highlight of this year was the band’s trip to Disney World in Florida. The band Mansfield High School 1978 : De Centennial Class Graduates also won first prize in the State Marching contest. On Homecoming Day, 1974, the Hornets sent the town of Mansfield into a continuous three day cele- bration as Mark Wood scored a list minute T.D. ona long end run to give MHS a 19-14 win over the Franklin Panthers. The Hornets ended that season on a down note, losing to Foxboro 39-27 on Thanksgiving Day in the snow and mud. Steven Corey led the 14-2 boys tennis team to the Hockomock League title. The Hornets also won the J.J. Kelly Relays for the first time. In October, 1975, a student’s suspension caused 150 students to boycott classes. The student dress code also received a face lift, as moustaches and beards were allowed for the first ttme. The MHS boys track team won the Hockomock League Title with an untainted 11-0 showing. The 1976-77 version of the Mansfield Hornets foot- ball team won its first Hockomock League champion- ship since 1968. The team lost only one game, that being a 21-20 decision to North Attleboro, and that loss kept the team from the state championship. Elmars Reks was the team’s leading rusher with 1,013 yards, and he made All-State defensive end. Steve Lively and Joe Nett, both juniors, were among the six Hornet players to be named to the All-Hocko- mock team. The winter of 1976 saw sophomore Paul Souza become the first MHS sophomore to score 300 points in a season. Souza also enjoyed a successful spring, as he leaped to a height of 6-10” in the high jump.