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Date: 11/21/2023
AGAWAM — The class of 1963 entered Agawam High School for the first time in September 1959 as mere ninth graders. Nearly four years later, in June 1963, 85 girls and 113 boys proudly walked off the stage with diplomas in hand.
“We were young and excited to be starting new chapters in our lives,” said Beverly (Williams) Fogg. The Westfield resident was among 60 of her classmates who attended a 60th class reunion at the Agawam Municipal Golf Course on Nov. 10.
“It’s wonderful to see everybody — especially those who didn’t make it to past reunions,” said Fogg. “I enjoy talking with people from my class who I didn’t know when we were in school together.”
Also joining the reunion were several retired high school teachers: Miriam “Mitzi” Mackler (English), Peter Mazza (social studies), Geraldine Schilling Nordal (art) and Rosemary Stratton (English). Eloise Clark, who taught first grade at the former Peirce Elementary School — currently the Agawam Police Station — also was invited, but was unable to attend. She’s now 102 years old.
Mackler, 92, said what stands out most about the class of 1963 is the many pranks some students pulled.
“But many of them told me later I was the best teacher they ever had,” Mackler said. “I was very happy to be invited to the reunion.”
Richard “Dick” Benoit, one of the star players on the high school football team, said reunions are a chance to “rekindle” friendships that started in school or on the sports fields.
“It gets harder and harder with more classmates passing away each year. That’s what makes these reunions so special,” said Benoit, who lives in Southwick.
Benoit also was one of eight class members honored at the reunion for their military service. He is one of 45 veterans in the class.
“At our age, reunions are a chance to reconnect with classmates and make new connections with others in our class who we didn’t know as well before,” said Dorrin Exford.
“The older we get, the harder it is to connect with people,” said Exford. Now living in Northampton, she said she’s eager to spend more time with four or five former classmates she saw at the reunion. “When you get to your 60th reunion you’re happy to see people and spend time with them instead of being on your phone or computer.”
Gary Cole has come to all the reunions.
“It brings me back to a happier time,” said the Huntington resident. “I don’t get to see most of these folks, so it’s a good time to catch up and see some of my best friends — both now and when I was in school.”
Cole sang and also played football in high school. He remembers his coach being upset with him when he was late for practice because he was singing.
“‘Here comes Mr. Songbird,’ he would say to me. He was a tough coach — the Vince Lombardi of AHS — but he was good to me when it wasn’t football season.”
He said his biggest accomplishment was getting through his senior year academically. One thing that still stands out from that year is a poem he wrote after his teacher advised him not to. Cole worked hard on the poem and was shocked at his teacher’s reaction after he read it in class.
“He told me it was very good and gave me the highest mark he gave any student that year — a 99. It was then published in the Springfield newspaper,” said Cole.
Michael Haynes said as soon as he got his invitation, he knew he would attend.
“I thought, I’ve got to go to see all my old classmates, see whose still alive and chat with some people,” said the Westfield resident who last attended the 50th reunion.
Haynes remembers that reality that hit him in his senior year: “The whole rest of my life was staring me in the face. I had to make some choices about my life and my future,” he said. “Then I made a pretty dramatic change: I went to college in Chicago.”
This was Louis Cincotta’s third reunion after attending the 25th and 50th gatherings. He enjoys reminiscing with classmates about the fun they had in school.
“Reunions are a connection to your past — especially in high school when you were leaving your childhood and about to become an adult,” Cincotta said.
The best part of school for him was meeting his wife, Marcia Rachek, class of 1965.
“We met during summer dances they had on the school’s tennis courts in 1962. I started courting her in my senior year and we’ve been married for 56 years,” said Cincotta, who lives in Andover, Massachusetts.
John Litchfield became class treasurer in his senior year, and he’s been the treasurer ever since.
“I never thought I would still be doing it more than six decades later,” said the Southwick resident.
Litchfield was part of the committee that planned the reunion. Other members included Robert Biza, Dorrien Exford, Jack Ferioli, Darlene Goss, Dominick Ricco and Raymond Wright.
In addition to socializing, there was a trivia contest with questions about Agawam and the schools during the early 1960s, and several giveaways.