Grady High School - Encore Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 43 text:

young men and women held a farewell dance at the Hotel St. George . . . the Swim- ming Team did a lot of splashing but managed to win a good bath only . . . the Basketball Team, sparked by Glen Rowan, John Choynowski, and Joe Cestari, man- aged to put two wins together . . . dramatic productions under Miss Jacobson and Miss Gold included The Bid Was Four Hearts, the story of the four Chaplains, and Pecos Bill . . . the Track Team, under Mr. Hyde, ran its legs off, but got nowhere . . . the Golf Team hacked and sliced its way under the guidance of the Grady Pro Mr. Merrill . . . a Handball Team, also under the supervision of Mr. Sandack, found the black rubber ball hard to hit . . . a second group left at the end of this year . . . 216 this time . . . we gave them a rousing sendoff . . . The new Baseball Team under Coach Fino managed a fine first-year record . . . pitchers excellent, especially Sal LoMonaco, and Rich Falcone . . . former signed by Baltimore Orioles farm team, Ted- ford Mines, ln Canada . . . elevator service still bad . . . John Massera won the de- clamations by reciting The Creation . . . Year 1953-4 . . . the highspot of this year, and of the entire four years, was the news that we were to have a large, single, new Plant . . . our Chairman of the Board, Mr. Becker, put up a terrific fight and finally won . . . and best news of all, the Plant will be only three stories high . . . imagine! no more five flights to climb! . . . our Swimming Team, now guided by Mr. Hyde, still splashed merrily . . . our Basketball Team managed three wins this time . . . 3 years, 3 wins . . . in seven more years we should have an unbeaten team . . . Glen Rowan, lohn Choynowski, Joe Cestari, and Pat Grace starred this season . . . the Baseball, Golf, and Handball Teams are still to be heard from, but we are sure of success . . . our own group is the largest of those leaving, 267 . . . Tony LoBianco declaimed on Cyrano's nose all the way to the City Finals. . . So end four years at Grady-four short, happy years which have stamped them- selves firmly on the memory of every girl and boy of the Class of June, 1954. They are four years which will never be forgotten. 39

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Four Years-A Progress Report This Encore marks for us the end of four happy, interesting years with the William E. Grady Corporation. We pause now to look at some of the highlights of these years. We remember our first day at either the 192 Plant, the 212 Plant, or the 180 Plant. . . the knowledge that we were part of the new organization known as William E. Grady filling us with pride . . . our first meeting with Mr. Becker, the Chairman of the Board . . . and other Board members . . . Mr. Pendergast, Miss McCormack, Mr. Hyman, Mr. Emil, Mr. Bromer . . . the poor elevator service . . . making us walk endless flights of stairs . . . those gigantic hero sandwiches for lunch . . . our being allowed to try various shops and departments . . . Metal Trades . . . Commercial Art . . . Printing . . . Needle Trades . . . Woodworking . . . Electrical Trades . . . Beauty Culture . . . Auto Mechanics . . . the impressive ceremony which saw Mr. Becker officially installed as Chairman of the Board of Directors . . . all these made 1950-1 a memorable year .... Year 1951-2 . . . instead of getting one large plant we were given another small one, 45595 . . . and another Board Member, Mr. Winston . . . now we had four plants scattered over South Brooklyn . . . still having trouble with elevators . . . those stairs keep getting steeper and steeper . . . the Corporation organized its first team . . . the Swimming Team, coached by Mr. Glading . . . the boys, 60 of them, didn't win any meets but they had a lot of fun . . . Mr. Sandack had a little more luck with his Basketball Team . . . they won one . . . Glen Rowan, Barry Fortunato, loe Fanto, and Bill Shanley starred . . . by the end of this year we were all working in our own special shops . . . one of the high spots of the year was the presentation of Finian's Rainbow, under Mrs. Manyuk . . . Al lside won the first declamation contest . . . Year 1952-3 . . . began with some much-needed improvements at Plant 180 . . . the Beauty Salons got a face-lifting, and some important power machinery was installed in the Needle Trades Shops . . . the highspot of the year was the Com- mencement of the first Grady unit . . . 76 were in this group . . . before leaving the 38

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E N THEIR leisure time, Grady employees occupy themselves with a variety of interests and hob- bies. Some are interested in music, both classical and popular, others are part-time poets and writers. Talented sportsmen also grace our halls. In the following pages the editors of Encore wish to introduce you to some of our members who are inter- ested in a variety of leisure time pursuits. The reader will also find samples ofthe creative work, both literary and artistic, of our employees.