Archbishop Kennedy High School - Kencensus Yearbook (Conshohocken, PA)

Page 12 text:

shohocken’s business district. I was shocked. Alissa DiCicco, Kennedy sopho- more, not only heard fire- works on the Fourth of July but she also witnessed the screams and cheers of fans along Fayette street as she rolled her way to victory in the Conshohocken Soap Box Derby. In future months, this first place trophy would take her to more places than just the winner’s circle ... to Akron, Ohio, and a guest spot on Good Morning America. Speaking of winners, Boris Becker, 18, won Wimbledon for the second straight year on the 6th, and Mikhail Baryshnikov became a U.S. citizen on the 3rd. On the 14th, Doctor Robert Ballard and his crew explore the Titanic. Back on dry land, Attorney General Edwin Meese, on the 9th, stood under a semi- nude female statue (the sup- posed woman of justice) and delivered his pornography commission's report. It called for serious attack on our nation’s pornography and urged immediate citizen action. In the English royal tradition, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson married on the 23rd, com- plete with pageantry, parades, and pomp. Another wedding became big news in luly. Caroline Kennedy (daughter of the late president lohn F. Kennedy) married Edwin Schlossberg on the 19th. Boy George caused a big stink on the 29th when he admitted his heroin ad- diction in court, but the city of Philadelphia had the wor- st smell of all. From the 1st to the 21st, garbagemen striked for pay raises and better benefits while citizens suf- fered. August August began on a smashing note when tennis pro John McEnroe married Tatum O’Neal on the first. Zsa Zsa Gabor never seems to tire of marriage; she wed her eighth husband, Prince Frederick von Anhalt, on the 14th. But, while Zsa Zsa was en- joying her cake, President Reagan was back in Washington approving the disinformation policy to scare Libya. Other Washington news: Congress passed the new tax-reform bill on the 16th. The White House underwent some serious security reassessment when Nancy Reagan's personal maid, After winning the Con- shohocken Soap Box Derby, Alissa DiCicco packed her bags and headed for Akron, Ohio. Although she did not win, she did appear on Good Morning America. Anita Castelo, was indicted on the 27th for attempted gun smuggling. America said “good-bye to many well-known people in August. Roy Cohn, 59, died of AIDS on the 2nd. Actor Ted Knight, 62, passed away on the 26th, and sculptor Henry Moore died at eighty-eight on the 31st. Tragedy struck on August 20th in Oklahoma when a postal worker killed fourteen co-workers, then shot himself. September Almost everyone remem- bers actress Whoopi Gold- berg — if not for her acting then for her unique name — and it was on the first of Sep- tember that she married David Claessen. Cathy Evelyn Smith will be un- fortunately remembered as the girlfriend to John Belushi who was “respon- sible” for his death. She was sentenced on the 2nd to three years in jail for ad- ministering the fatal drug dose which killed him. Another drug-related arrest in Tinseltown happened on the 24th; Joey Heatherton was indicted for possession of cocaine. On the brighter side of Hollywood, Cagney Lacey's Sharon Gless finally won an Emmy on the 21st. For those who lived through the turbulent Hostage crisis at the end of Carter's administration, they witnessed the fleeing of the Shah of Iran. His son, however, has not forgotten his claim to his homeland throne. On the 5th, Reza Pahlavi made a pirate TV Broadcast in Iran vowing, I will return.” America rejoiced on the 29th as jour- nalist Nicholas Daniloff was released from the Soviet Union. Kennedy was brought back to life after its summer sleep on the third when freshmen entered high school doors for the first time as full-fledged students. October Perhaps the most con- troversial and political bill was passed on the floor of Congress this 2nd of October. Congress imposed economic sanctions on South Africa in protest of its apartheid gover- nment, overriding President Reagan’s veto. Many felt that the sanctions would hurt those blacks already suf- fering from the govern- ment's racist and oppressive laws. Others believed this would show South Africa that our nation would not support a country whose beliefs went beyond violating civil rights. Crime news was quite prevalent in October, af- fecting a wide range of citizens. The almost in- vulnerable Dan Rather was mugged walking home in New York City on the 4th. The criminal trial of John DeLorean began in Detroit on the 6th. A former automobile wizard, his charges included rack- eteering, mail fraud, and tax evasion. Edward Marks was sentenced to twenty-seven years in jail for putting rat poison in drugs on the 30th. The fifth proved to be an embarrassing day for First Lady Nancy Reagan — she fell off a White House stage while descending. While on the subject of First Ladies, Comedian Chevy Chase was reported under treatment at the Betty Ford addiction cen- ter on the 10th for painkillers. The pills were used, ironically enough, because of back pain caused by Chase’s excessive falling during President Ford skits on Saturday Night Live. October 5th also was the day when pilot Eugene Hasenfus was shot down over Nicaragua while flying supplies to the contras. Hasenfus was held, later tried and convicted in Managua. The United States insisted on his release. Jean- Bedel Bokassa, ex-emperor 8

Page 11 text:

sponsor Comic Relief which airs on HBO on the 29th. April Altruism may have become a recurring feature in our decade, but a more horrible and security- threatening trend has ap- peared once too often: terrorism. On April 2, four American citizens died in a TWA bomb blast over Greece. As tension escalated, another attack, this time in a West Berlin discotheque, happened on the 5th. The bombings, linked to Libya and other radical Middle Eastern factions, resulted in Reagan's stem reaction of bombing Libya on the 14th. Another tragedy blanketed April and the Ukraine on the 26th as a reactor fire at the Soviet Chernobyl nuclear power plant released a radioactive cloud detected by an alarm in Sweden, 800 miles away. Thirty-one Soviets died in the reactor fire and it was estimated that the radioactivity — more than what was released at Nagasaki and Hiroshima — may eventually cause at least 4,000 deaths. April was not a total month ... well, they used to. (Photographs by lack Coll) %» of sadness. Clint Eastwood celebrated his election as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California on the 8th, and Hugh Hefner celebrated his sixtieth birthday on the 9th at a mansion-bash. Un- fortunately for Hefner, on the day after, Playboy magazine were pulled from the shelves of 4500 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Another flop: Geraldo Rivera in- trigues the nation into wat- ching the most highly Neilsen-rated television show about the revealing of the secret contents of A1 Capone’s vault. What was revealed? Absolutely nothing. Wedding bells chimed on the 26th for former Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarz- enegger and journalist Maria Shriver. Who said brains and brawn don’t mix? May May was certainly a month for celebrities. Dolly Parton opened her theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and loan Rivers decided to aban- don Johnny Carson and quit The Tonight Show. Celebrity babies flourished this month: Meryl Streep gave birth to her third child, Grace; Tatum O’Neal and John McEnroe have a son, Kevin. Rocker Tommy Lee married television’s Heather Locklear on the 10th, and Vanna White’s boyfriend, John Gibson, died in a plane crash on the 17th. The ever-turbulent Phil Donahue had a misfortunate run-in with a Lyndon LaRouche disciple at LaGuardia airport on the 11th, slugging it out with him. Still, a bright spot glim- mers on the 1986 calendar: on the 25th millions of Americans joined hands in support of our own poor in the feat everyone thought could never be ac- complished, Hands Across America. June The Amnesty In- ternational Tour, a call for the freeing of wrongly-held political prisoners ended in New Jersey on the 15th. Am- nesty’s objective is to peacefully free or better the conditions of prisoners by sending personal letters of outrage collecteld by all citizens to the oppressive government. Because of the tour and the support of millions around the world, the South African govern- ment acquitted and released Thozamlle Gqweta. The nation turned its eyes toward the serious drug problem in the U.S. when University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias died at twenty-two of a cocaine overdose, two days after becoming the Boston Celtics’ first-round draft choice. The tragedy sparked immediate action by Congress who passed a no-expense-barred anti-drug bill. Bias died while celebrating his draft pick on the 19th. Citizens also mourned the death of two other greats: Benny Goodman, 77, on the 13th and Kate Smith, 79, on the 17th. The decision of the Supreme Court on the 30th outraged many in the nation while others saw it as a step toward the renewal of morality. On this day, the Court upheld laws banning sodomy. July July went off with a big bang in more than one way this year. The July 4th celebration commemorated more than our inde- pendence. After a two year make-over, Miss Liberty was ready to join in the grandest Fourth of July ever. Twenty- eight minutes of awesome fireworks emblazoned the New York sky in what Mayor Ed Koch described as the best fireworks since Nero set Rome on fire.” But, the noise wasn’t only in New York. It wasn’t on the Fourth that Conshohocken residents felt and heard an explosion . .. the destruction of the Matsonford Bridge as we knew it. That’s all everyone needed to hear. With the reconstruction and redevelopment of The Schuylkill Expressway, the Turnpike, and many other local roads, area residents found travel difficult enough. Now, an alternate route had to be found in or- der to reach the already car- dense expressway. Progress? Well, the new bridge under construction boasts an estimated cost of twelve million dollars and is projec- ted to aide the already developing borough of Con- 7

Page 13 text:

of Central African Republic, returned from exile in Fran- ce and was arrested for mur- der and cannibalism on the 23rd. The Reykjavik summit between Reagan and Gor- bachev, held on October 11- 12, ended abruptly after the two superpowers could not agree on Reagan’s Star Wars defense plan. At last but not least, The New York Mets defeated the Boston Red Sox in the seventh game of the World Series, October 27, 1986. No Kennedy student could forget the afternoon of Oc- tober 17th. At approximately 1:30, on this Friday af- ternoon, a particularly mischievious squirrel caused utter pandamonium. Obviously not an acrobat, this squirrel attempted a regretful feat. By touching both electrical wires simultaneously, he was elec- trocuted and short circuited the school’s wiring. As a result, alarms sounded and two fire trucks, an am- bulance (for the squirrel, perhaps?), and police cars all jammed themselves in Ken- nedy's circle. They were prepared for the worst, but all they heard were tails of an electrified squirrel. November A catastrophic chemical disaster marked the begin- ning of November, 1986. A burning warehouse in Swit- zerland emptied a deadly chemical spill into the Rhine River, turning it ran- cid. Back in America, Anita Castelo was cleared of gun- running charges, the Democrats gained control of the Senate, and big- businessman Ivan Boesky was fined $100 million for insider trading. However, the most shocking story to hit the United States began to unfold When an unlucky squirrel performed his high wire act, not only did we get a visit from the fire company, but we also were dismissed early. with the release of hostage David Jacobsen in Lebanon. Most agreed that Anglican envoy Terry Waite was a fac- tor in the release of Jacobsen. Yet, with his freeing came reports that Waite was not the only factor involved and that the United States had ventured into arms deals with Iran. The situation escalated on the 19th when Reagan, in a speech to the nation, admits to sending arms to Iran. The Senate In- vestigating Committee im- mediately ensued in- vestigations to determine whether a law had been violated. It was then discovered that the funds acquired from the sale of these arms were deferred to the Nicaraguan contras. Still, amongst the Washington chaos, a more admirable ideal was being upheld. On the 15th, the Peace Marchers who had started in Los Angeles months before finally arrived in D.C. December In continuing the 'Tran- seam saga, on December 1, Lt. Col. Oliver North began congressional testimony con- cerning the transferring of funds to contra rebels. Search for Tomorrow” airs its last episode after thir- ty-five years on the air on the 26th; it was the longest run of any TV drama. January January's blistering cold brought the biggest snowstorm to hit the Delaware Valley in years. The 22nd gave the Philadelphia area up to thir- teen inches of snow. Cape May and many other Jersey shore points were even hard- er hit on the 26th. Cape May received an estimated nineteen inches of snow — its total projected snowfall for three years. The 27th marked the 20th anniversary of the Apollo Fire, and ironically, the 28th represented a year which had passed for the Challenger explosion. History does repeat itself. Maria Iannozzi A MEDITATION God has created me to do Him some definite ser- vice; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission — I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a In Memoriam Courtney Rambo bond of connection bet- ween persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not in- tending it — if I do but keep His Com- mandments. - Cardinal Newman 9