70th Birthday TAHS
The performers are:
N = Norman (Chico) Roth
P = Pat Cunningham
J = John Spear
N: Happy Birthday classmates, its the Big 7-0,
Well what do you know, where did the time go?
P: Hey, Whaddaya talkin, Whaddaya mean?
As I survey this incredible scene,
Everyone I see is still 17
J: (SONG) To Allderdice, a song of joy we raise
Have a banana (sung to the trumpet part)
N: A song of joy, indeed!
Let us count the joys!!
P: At Allderdice we had a World Class Social Studies
Department that was the envy of every high school in the country featuring
J: Boom Boom Beck
N: Sam Blitz
J: Annie Kasnitz
P: And Dr. Quatrocchi, Dont forget to turn your papers
from the bottom up.
N: And there were other joys:
J: Playing sports on a field that was hard as a rock & coated
with thick, black oil.
What were they thinking?
P: Hygiene classes for the girls, taught by a woman teacher,
who never discussed the menstrual cycle.
What were they thinking?
N: In the cafeteria, shriveled hot dogs, soggy veggies
and oh those mashed potatoes.
What were they thinking?
J: (SONG)
Her tri-fold creed, in word and deed we praise
Have a banana
N: Know something Yes, at age 70 we all know something thanks
to our exemplary teaching staff
P: Senorita Goldstein
J: Mr. Wiegand & his paddle
N: Boom Boom Beck & his ruler
P: Mr. Voyvodich throwing his baton at someone
J: Miss Skarinsky throwing a typewriter at someone
N: Mr. Hyman spitting tobacco
P: Miss Ziegler fidgeting with her glasses
J: Puss Irwin shooting foul shots underhand.
N: And the worlds best swimming coach with my favorite nickname:
Claude Balls Sofield
J: (SONG)
She stands on high to guide us thru our days
Have a banana
N: Yes Allderdice does stand on high. And they had a 20 million dollar
renovation and it was worth every penny. Because now the front of the building
looks like shit.
P: And you can hardly see out beloved flagpole
J: (SONG to People)
Flag pole
Meet you after school at the Flagpole
With that phallic Flagpole, we were the luckiest people
In the world
N: But even 20 million dollars couldnt fuck up our most treasured
Allderdice landmark.
J: (SONG to Oh You Beautiful Doll)
Oh, you beautiful Wall
Lets meet during lunch at The Wall
Wed hang out & have a coke there
We would often sneak a smoke there
N: Buck Buck, how many fingers up?
J: One
N: You lose, Two
P: Oooo, that hurts
N: Know something, Be something, Do something.
No one embodied that motto better than Maye & Faye Rattner. They may
have passed away, but their economic policies will live forever. You all
know what Im talking about:
the famous Fannie Maye Rattner and the Freddie Faye Rattner.
J: Not all of us succeeded like Faye & Maye Rattner,
Most of us spent too much time walking up street after school
to Isalys.
N: Or participating in extra-curricular activities,
Clubs that would really really help you
Be something like The Slide Rule Club
J: Or the Ping Pong Club
N: Or my favorite, the The Ham Radio Club
P: And just think about how your future lives were enhanced by being
on The Fourth Period Hall Patrol
J: Or The Gift Committee
P: Or my favorite, a student council alternate
J: (SONG)
Our loyalty, we pledge to her always
P: Yes Allderdice, we are here tonight because we are loyal &
we are loyal because of all the priceless memories like all the special
days like, for example,
Turkey Treat Day
J: First day of school, the day after Labor Day,
the day God intended school to start.
N: Class Day and my favorite Kennywood Picnic Day
where I envied the tough kids whose girlfriends walked close to them with
their hand on their boyfriends ass.
P: Then there was Cutting Class Day to go to
The Hot Puppy Shop
J: Heres to Good times, Good friends and Great memories
N: Heres to all the kids who dropped their tray in the cafeteria
(Let me hear it oooo)
P: Heres to Mr. McClymonds who before each
A Capella Choir or Orchestra or Class Play
Performance in the auditorium would say,
This not cel-lu-loid
J: Heres to being thrilled when you were mentioned in The Keyhole
N: Heres to the day you finished your Senior Theme
P: Heres to Rosie Hartz with her famous red pencil
teaching us that neat margins lead to a neat life
J: Heres to our classmates who sold lunch tickets
N: Heres to Mr. Thomas stopping one of us & asking,
Wheres your hall pass?
P: Heres to the real Taylor Allderdice High School, the one
that has 3 sets of steps leading to the front door.
J: Here are some more memories sent in by classmates:
N: Marshall Wnuk remembers Mr. Hackett, the biology teacher with his
hunched over posture. It seemed he was looking for a dime he dropped on the
floor. One of his favorite sayings was, You dont need to be a
Phi Beta Kappa to know the answer to this question.
P: Marshall also remembers the girls gym outfits. He says, and
I agree, Hard to believe.
J: But that didnt stop him from noticing & I quote
Marshall, the abundance of pretty and smart girls at Allderdice. And he remembers
taking some of them to Dinty Moores on Freeport Road where you got
to keep the menu which had on the front,
My dreamboat for tonight is: Rita Weinstein, Linda Linton, or you fill
in the blank
N: Irene Kaufman remembers the girls wore the shapeless grey cotton,
one size fits all bathing suits with a string around the neck to hold it
up.
P: Esther Latterman wrote in that Mr. Ralston loved to play with the
window shade cord in his room, and also play with his tie. One day he got
his tie and the cord knotted together somehow and the shade went up and he
almost hanged himself.
J: Jack Moss remembers sitting in class learning how to diagram sentences
from Mr. Wiegand, and then later seeing him drinking at his Dads bar,
The Elbow Room on Ellsworth Avenue.
N: Dave Mason will never forget the stoic patience of Mr. Hackett
for the pranks of the wise birds as he Referred to the perpetrators.
He never showed any frustration or other emotion. He would simply say,
I aint gonna penalize you, but I aint gonna help
you.
In retrospect, the man was a saint.
P: Dave Mason also has fond memories of teaming up with Dick Feldstein
to win the city high school tennis doubles championship.
J: Thank you God, for the good times, the good friends, the great
memories
P: Thank you God, for a great school, Inspiring & Committed teachers
and stimulating activities & sports.
N: Most of all, we thank you God tonight, for the name tags.
P: In Closing, Chico, John & I were trying to figure out why we
all feel such a close bond to each other.
N: We think it comes down to a 2 word question that John will now
ask you, & you all will answer as loud as you can. John!
J: Who can?
All: A-mer-i-can
N: Once again, lets hear it for Jim Reich and the entire reunion
committee.
On my far left
John Spear,
in the middle
Pat Cunningham,
and me
Norman (Chico) Roth.
Happy Birthday classmates, its the Big 7-0, now where do we go?
Its on with the show.
Be Healthy
J: Be Happy
P: See yunz at the next reunion!
 |