In this edition of the Prep '58 Blog...
... we're looking at the September 30th, 1955 issue of the Petroc. By now our sophomore year was in full swing, so check it out later in the Blog.
A report on the Zoom Cuppa call on Oct. 12th...
We heard from Allan McCarthy with a look back into the 50's.
Rich Campion sent in a remembrance of Fr. Jaschko, which you can read here.
In a mid-October, 1955 edition of the New York Times, there is news coverage that is very reminiscent of what's going on today. Check it out.
A recipe from Desserts With Stephanie for Halloween Meringue Ghosts and...
...a 90th Birthday party.
The Petroc - Sophomore Year
We have been highlighting an issue of the Petroc in each edition of the '58 Blog and we welcome your comments.
This issue of the Petroc was published on September 30, 1955 and features a story on the Prep marching band. You may recognize our own Randy Orlowski on trumpet and Joe Andrews on Pepsi.
There was also a story about the '56 Petrean yearbook, mentioning Fr. McCusker, who wanted to do something special to mark the 400th anniversary of the Society of Jesus. "It will be completely different from any former yearbook," said Father. If you have a copy of the '56 Petrean, you know how it turned out. Click here for more...
As the basketball season was just starting, there was a story about the departure of Roy Leening, Prep's basketball coach, as he made his way to Holy Cross. You can read the story of Coach Leening's tenure from his early days at Prep.
Here's the main stories from the NYT front page from October 15, 1955.
- The Dodgers won their first World Series, and the only series in Brooklyn.
- A fierce gale struck the east coast which produced flooding and wash outs all along the east coast;
- Henry Ford announced a $500 million expansion program for Ford in the United States;
- US and Great Britain continue to bid Israel to seek peaceful means to avoid a war in the Middle East;;
- President Eisenhower spent his sixty-fifth birthday today confined to a hospital bed but very much in a "happy birthday mood." and...
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at $302.49.
Just in case your memory is as iffy as the Editor's, we found a site that lets you access the top news stories from back in the day. You can select the year, month and day, and then go thru major news events for that day in the New York Times, page by page.
You can see it all right here!
We Heard From...
From time to time, we get notes from the gang about family events and activities.
Below is the note Allan McCarthy sent in recently. We searched in our archives and found this photo of Allan and his wife Pat sharing a smile dancing at our 50th Reunion in a video created by John Connors. It appears they are having quite a good time.
Our congratulations to them, with a big thanks to Allan for sending the story in.
If you have something to share with the '58 gang, send it to Vince and we will certainly post it.
"October 11th, 2026
Good Sunday morning, Vince,
I am not sure if you can use this little tidbit in the blog, but I met my wife , Pat Faber, of Sacred Heart Academy Hoboken, 70 years ago today at a Prep Columbus Day dance. We have pretty much been together ever since. Best day of my life.
Best as always to you and yours.
Allan McCarthy "
10 guys showed up for our Zoom Cuppa call on Monday, OCT 12th. Bill Wittman and Rich Campion from Canada,. Walt Braun CA, Phil Campana TN, Tom Reilly CO, Rich McConville MA, and Mike Curtin, DC, joined the NJ Crew: Peter Donnelly, Bob Pipchick and Vince.
We had a lively call, but missed some of our regular callers, and hope we see them in November.
The Zoom calls lets us stay in touch and share what's going on without having to get into a car. We have been doing these calls since 2020 - let's keep the tradition going.
We have been having lunch at the Reo Diner in Woodbridge since we started the Cuppa Club more than 10 years ago.
We catch up on Prep news, and share a story or two about travels, G'kids and the like. But the real reason we get together is to keep the Prep '58 spirit alive. After lunch we take a photo to prove we were there and head home.
We were notified that the regulars at the Reo were not going to make it, and since no others got back to us, we missed getting together in October.
You should join a Reo Cuppa if you can. We have had as many as a dozen attendees in the past, and would like to get a good crowd every month.
We schedule the Reo Cuppa for the 2nd Tuesday of each month to allow as many guys as we can to attend by planning around the date. Our next Reo Cuppa is on Tuesday, Nov 10th. We hope to see a good crowd there.
We started the Blogtoons feature to share some of the humorous cartoons we get from time to time. Here's the back story on the creators of some of our funnies...
Vince Rozmiarek (known online as "Vince the Sign Guy") is not the original "Sign Guy." While he is the original creator behind his own viral roadside pun boards, the moniker "Sign Guy" or "Sign Man" has a much longer history that pre-dates Vince’s internet fame.
Depending on the context, the title of the "original" sign guy belongs to a few iconic figures:
42 Bio's, and counting...
We are still on the hunt for After '58 Bio's and we know there are dozens of 58'ers out there who read the Blog, but have yet to submit a Bio. Every one we get has an interesting tale to tell, and we hope you will add yours to our library.
And... remember those cookies! Send yours in and we will get them right out to you! Take a look at the Bio's we have.
'After '58' got started in March, 2017, when we received this suggestion from Bill Kretzer to collect stories from the '58 gang about what they did after graduation.
"I think there would be a bushel of interest in interviews with each & every ‘58 graduate. I for one, since I went away to college and never returned to NJ, didn’t keep in touch as much as I should have and would be curious to hear how everyone’s life turned out."
Bill sent in his Bio, and 8 years later, we are at 42. We hope every one of the '58 gang will pick up on Bill's suggestion and send in their story in an email to Vince.
It takes no more time to put your story together than it would to tell it to your grandkids, so how about it? We will return the favor by sending a baker's dozen of Stephanie Grillo's famous Chocolate Chunk cookies. We've already shipped out over 500 of the best cookies you've ever tasted, and there's more where they came from.
Meringue Ghosts with Almond & Chocolate Filling
Vince's wife Stephanie publishes a Baking Blog - Desserts With Stephanie - featuring 100's of recipes for cakes, cookies, pies and other delicious desserts. Her recipes produce delicious results, and are easy to follow. We have been featuring them in our '58 Blog.
These Meringue Ghosts with Almond & Chocolate Filling are the perfect addition to Halloween or other spooky-themed events. These treats add a festive touch to dessert tables and work nicely in gift bags.
We thought you might like to try it at your family Halloween dessert. It will definitely generate a 'Yummy" or two.
Click here to take a peek at the recipe.
If you like it, give it a Thumbs up. For more delicious recipes, support Stephanie by becoming a Subscriber.
Click here to subscribe to Stephanie's channel.
BTW, in addition to his duties as videographer, the Editor offers his services as an official dessert taster, and looks forward to sampling them every month. These treats are delicious and the recipe makes them easy to make. Try it!
Happy Birthday, Mom
This is not a story about a particular G'kid, but since there are G'kids in the narrative, we're making an exception...
On Sept. 20th, Vince's wife Stephanie and her siblings got together and threw a party to celebrate her mother's 90th birthday. They set up a tent that comfortably accommodated family and friends, hired a caterer to take care of feeding the gang, and had a great day.
Steph's mom is in good physical health for her age, still spends time with her friends, many of whom were at the party, and is a regular at her spa and pool where she does water aerobics several days a week.
