Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute - Aggie / Maple Yearbook (Hathorne, MA)

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Well ... here we are; 1979 already. It seems like yesterday that we were sitting here in the brand new gym, enjoying our Senior class banquet. Instead of the class banquet, however, a group of paunchy gents, some getting gray and others with very little to get gray, are attending the 20th annual alumni banquet. As we glance around, we see many familiar faces, and the joyful exchange of handshakes. Over in a corner Jeff Martin and Bob Rowton are trying out the new muscle building equipment. Jeff, I under- stand, owns a large poultry plant in Saugus and in his spare time coaches a little football. Bob, I am told, owns a chain of Ice Cream plants. Looking around the room some more, we noticed a huge display of colored lights. When we inquired about this we were told that this was installed by Ernie Castle, reputed to be the best electrician in Essex County. Spread all around the room are some of the most beautiful flowers ever seen at the school. The flowers were arranged by Dave Fletcher, now working as head of the Floriculture Department at the school; Sandy Hibbard, owner of the Hibbard Nurseries in Wake- field; and John Dougwillo, now raising experimental plants for the Essex County Plant Growers Asso- ciation. Silence falls on the gym as the Master of Cere- monies, our former class president, Don Lavender, takes the stand to introduce the speakers of the eve- ning. Don himself owns and operates a group of greenhouses in Essex County. The first speaker is Mike Cross, the new Director of the school, giving the welcoming address. Mike then introduces Paul Bleau, now serving his second term as the Secretary of Agriculture. George McLean is next and he tells of his experi- ences in the newspaper business. George is owner, operator, salesman and “Jack of all Trades” for the Middleton Bugle. Roland Brown and Paul Nicholson, now milk in- spectors, were next on the program. They gave a very interesting talk on the “Necessity for Cleanliness in the Barn”. Not to be outdone, the poultry boys, Barry Birch and Dick Lounsbury, tell of the thriving bird busi- ness. Both boys own large poultry operations. Barry CLASS PROPHECY is doing the raising and Dick, the packaging and selling. At this point, Don Lavender suggests that each member of the Class of 759 stand up and tell the rest of us what he is doing. Little Tommy Tucker, who sang for his supper, is the first to take a bow. Tom is now Thomas Tucker, D.V.M., the best and most popular Veterinarian in New England. Next are Bob Blake and Pete Branden who own the “B and B” greenhouses. It seems that the boys are building some new greenhouses and have hired the Brown Land Clearing Company to do the job. Yes, Harold Brown still has his chain saw and is clearing land all over the state. John Cameron spoke for Bob Lee, Chet Mazer and himself. These boys own the biggest chain of poultry produce in Néw England. Sports came into the picture when Bob Gray and Larry Coyle told of their experiences in professional basketball. Incidentally, I hadn’t seen Larry for some time and hardly recognized him with his classic snozzola. Bob Holbrook, not to be outdone, showed some of the trophies that his team won at the B.A.A. track meet. Normie Rand is up to his old tricks managing teams and is working as Bob’s assistant. Joe Spero announced that he had accepted the job as boss of the farm at the State Hospital. Glatzer and Hinds announced that they were building a new dairy plant provided of course Pete Schmink, boss of the credit union, gave his consent. Jim Cole and Ron Hebert now own a part of the West Peabody Speedway and are up to their old tricks, still doing some racing. Rollins, Roberts, and Margosian are partners in the Eastern States Nurseries Inc. These boys raise some of the best plantings in the country and are doing a land office business in mail orders. . .Estel and Gallagher, owners of the North American Nurseries, are their chief competitor. Apparently there is room at the top for more than one providing they know their business. The service men take over next as Paul Krukonis and Jim Dorman of the U. S. Navy argue with Dick Costa and Bruce Gordon of the U. S. Marines about which branch of the service is best and who won the war. Bringing up the rear are Robinson and Searles. Robbie is working at the school dairy and Searles is the official milk inspector for the county. As the evening wanes and the fellows start for home, we are greeted by Jim Krause, all decked out in his brass buttons, as he directs traffic. Jim has taken over the duties of Mr. Lee as Chief of the Kampus Kops.

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