We now have a Facebook page!

Since everybody seems to be on Facebook these days, we've also created a Facebook page for the class of '71 here.
Besides being able to post to the "Wall" on that page, you can also view all the entries on this blog by clicking on the "Blog" tab. In the future, anything posted to this blog will also show up on the Facebook page.

We have a date!!!!!!

Please plan to save Saturday, March 19, 2011 for the MHT Class of 1971 40th reunion. We are hoping this will give all of you "easterners" an opportunity to get out of the cold and visit during our beautiful spring weather. Many of you are teachers, so we took into consideration all your Spring Breaks and found this to be a good a date as any. We sure hope you can join us!

If you need help in planning on where to stay or a ride from the airport, just drop a line. We aim to please!

Sharon Mattson Johnston
sljraj@aol.com

Millard Family

In November 2008, Cathy, a mother of three young children and Terri Millard's younger sister of 12 years, was diagnosed as having a malignant brain tumor called Glioblastoma Muliforme Grade IV. Despite the many levels of terrible news, Cathy remained unfailing in her Faith and asked only for confident prayers of friends and family to seek God's miraculous healing upon her. Her simple request was filled instantly, as her "inoperable" tumor became operable after all. For the past 2 years, Cathy has courageously battled brain cancer. Today, new hope comes in the form of a dendritic cell vaccine that engages her own immune system to seek and destroy the cancer extending precious days with her family. Although this vaccine is unavailable to Cathy in the United States, UCLA Medical Center now allows tumors to be transported to a hospital in Israel where the vaccine is approved for use. Cathy is on her way! The downside of this is the huge expense that it is estimated between $100,000.00 and $150, 000. A foundation has been set up to aid Cathy and her family. Help can be in the form of monetary donations, airline vouchers, fundraisers, both organizing and/or attending, and most of all, prayers. For more information about Glioblastoma Muliforme Grade IV please visit their website: http://www.faithforcathy.com/.

Sister Angelina, 102

Eighty-six years.
That's how long - since Calvin Coolidge was president - that Sister Angelina Wald served the Catholic church in religious life as a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She joined the sisters in 1924, finishing her high school years at Mount Notre Dame Academy in Reading. She earned a bachelor's degree in education from the Athenaeum of Ohio. She initially wanted to be a missionary, but ended up becoming a teacher, principal, religious education teacher and community outreach worker at assignments in Ohio, Illinois and Arizona, including at Sts. Peter and Paul in Reading, where she taught in the 1940s and was principal. Sister Wald died June 30 at Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Reading. She was 102. In the 1950s, she led the first group of local sisters out to Phoenix, where they started schools for migrant workers' children and worked with ranchers to help them better treat the workers. She often said she found her greatest joy in her Arizona work.
She retired in 1985. She returned then to Mount Notre Dame and worked there in community service until 2008. She was particularly good in reaching middle-school boys, said Sister Mary Ann Barnhorn, now development director at the convent. Sister Barnhorn had Sister Wald as a teacher in elementary school and was inspired to follow her into religious life. "Her boys are now in their 70s and they still come to see her," Sister Barnhorn said. "She was ahead of her time."
Her funeral is expected to draw many of her former students. Sister Wald was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1908 and was given the middle name of her mother, Mary Angelina Wald. She was baptized Helen Catherine. She outlived her siblings, three sisters and a brother.
Survivors include nieces and nephews.Though her service to God occupied much of her life, Sister Wald also loved to make fudge, crochet and study birds, ants and butterflies, which she called "little living beings." She also liked gardening and reading, mostly biographies, natural history books and inspirational messages. She never made it to an international missionary assignment, but she kept in touch with other missionaries, including her nephew, Father Eugene Watrin, SJ, who spent almost 50 years in India and Nepal, before his death in 2004.

Class of 1971 Directory

The Class of 1971 Directory, with pictures, has been emailed to those with current email addresses on file. If we do not have your email address, and wish to provide one, please contact me at: SLJRAJ@aol.com Otherwise, I will be forwarding one to you via snail mail, but again, only if I have an address to do it.

Please mark your calendars for mid March 2011 for our 40th reunion celebration.

Sharon Mattson

UPDATE

On Saturday, May 8, 2010, alumni Teresa Kiley lost her dad, Tom, to Parkinson's Disease. All four Kiley children attended MHT, Brophy and Xavier. Teresa's youngest sister, Mary, lost her battle with breast cancer several years ago. Services will be Tuesday, May 18th, in Arizona. Condolences have been sent to the family on behalf of the MHT Class of 1971.

Letter from Sister Margaret Cecelia

Click to enlarge. And thanks to Sharon for getting and scanning this letter from Sister Margaret Cecelia.

KRIZ on the last day of the 60's

One thing about our MHT years: they sure had a great soundtrack! Many of us remember listening to the great Top 40 hits of the day on KRIZ and KRUX and later, all those wild album tracks on KCAC and the early KDKB.
For a flashback, here's an aircheck from KRIZ on the last day of the 60's, 12-31-69, featuring DJ Mark James counting down the hits from Eclectic Mouse to the Cornerstone (OK, so it wasn't all great!), with then-new singles by the Rascals, Grassroots, Peter, Paul & Mary, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and others. There's even mention of one Bruno J. Grunion, a fictional character voiced by Don Pietromonaco (Pietro), that some of us tried to draw in a coloring contest back then. I think I might have won a bumper sticker.
It runs about 30 minutes, so you might want to just play it in the background, open a new window and continue your Web browsing experience.


Or just download the file here for your later listening pleasure.

Memories.....

thanks to those of you who provided "classic" photos for our use. Please visit the "memories" section above to view others and feel free to comment. We are always looking to post more!

L-R: Nicki Kirkeby, Julie Breed, Maureen Brady

MHT alumni at the Sunnyslope HS 10 yr. reunion, 1985. L-R: Monica Juhl, Annette Allain, Bill Lazarus, Terri Millard, Sue Hahn

Ahhh, to be young again......................

Who are these kids???? L-R: Jim Lagattuta, Patty Kessler, Julie Breed and Karl DeFrancis, Bob Walker and Jim "Ace" Clingan.

Julie Breed-Reunion Part II

How wonderful it was to see Julie Breed after all these years. Of course, she has failed to age as the rest of us, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer girl. For those of you who missed her, we have her all dialed into visiting us next March. However, if you are ever in the Massachuttes area, don't hesitate to give her a call.

I have a few pictures I plan to share from 40 years ago as soon as I figure that part out.....but I will! Jim Magahern is an incredible, and patient, teacher. L-R Sue Hahn, Sharon Mattson, Julie Breed, Theresa Kiley, Bill Fay, Judy Locher

We've got video, too!

Live and direct from the Whelan house: Jim Lagatutta reads from his 8th grade autobiography as Pat Whelan, Sue Nisky, Bill Fay, Sue Hahn, David Knobbe and others look on:

More photos added!

We've added a couple more photos from the reunion! To view full size, click on the "Photos" link near the top of the page.

How did it all begin.................

many of you have asked, "How did this all come about?" Well, we have that sexy, smiling Mr. Lagattuta to thank for it! Exactly a year ago I took my daughter to visit an Art Show in Tubac, AZ. Yeah, that's what I said, "Where is Tubac, AZ?" I asked a kind, OK, cute hunk of an artist where we should eat. He suggested a local bar and grill. We sought it out, asked a very busy gal about getting a seat, put our name in and proceeded to "use the little girls" room. Upon exiting, a tall, handsome, guy seemed to be glaring in my direction at the end of the hall. I decided I'd put this stud in his place and confront him. Looking somewhat familiar, I asked if I knew him. He responded with a smirk and a "Do ya wanna know me?" comment. There was something quite endearing, and yet quite scary all at the same time about this local. It was the smile. That smile that so long along stole the heart of many a young MHT girl. I recognized it immediately and confirmed it was indeed our Jim Lagattuta. He firmly took my hand and led me to the lady who had directed us to the restaurant....it was Laura, coincidentally visiting from California. Well, that as all it took, that and a trip to Tubac in March for the annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.................can you say "jello shots?" It was as if no time had passed and there were several trips to "the island" to catch up. The first of February, however, Laura and I visited on one of her Phoenix layovers. The topic of conversation, "I wonder where................" Dinner and a drive by the ole school and neighborhood would eventually lead me to look for our old friend, Theresa Kiley. That took about 24 hours, and so heck I thought why not, Kelly Shannon. Kelly stated she'd be in Phoenix and "some" of us should get together. Of course, that meant locating Patrick Whelan, part of that 7th Avenue group and from that point the rest is what you saw happen on March 6, 2010. Bill Fay and Sue Hahn had our old graduation picture and from that we began to compile a list of alumni and locate them. So there ya have it, how we have now become reunited through friendship and in some part, miracle. Here's to making more memories!

Reunion/Update 2010

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! What can I say? It was wonderful reconnecting with all of you at our first gathering in almost 40 years. Special THANKS to Pat Whelan and his wife Paula for not only hosting our event, but their friendship. Many of you do not know this, but without Bill Fay's positive support and contributions, this might not have been able to have been pulled off in such a short time. He was truly my backbone, and you all, my inspiration. We have since located many more alumni....Mr. Bittner, and hope to do it again next March where it will be our official 40th Reunion. I had the pleasure of visiting MHT recently and WOW, what a trip! If you are a golfer, and I learned many of you are, consider joining them for their upcoming Alumni Golf Tournament in May.

I hate to report that several of our old friends have passed on; Annette Allain, Marianne Orta, Vicky Wingo and more recently Karl DeFrancis. I have contacted some of their families to let them know they are with us in spirit as we reconnect.

A big THANKS to Jimmy Magahern for getting this blog up and running. I am hoping we can all keep up to date on alumni happenings as we prepare to reunite next year!

Sharon

Welcome Back, Class!

After a 40-year hiatus, members of the 1971 graduating class of Most Holy Trinity School in Phoenix, AZ met at the home of alumni Pat Whelan for what was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime reunion. The group had so much fun, though, they vowed to make it an annual event, and we've now opened up this blog to all alumni, family and friends from the class to share memories, photos and updates on where they are now.
If you were a part of MHT's Class of '71 and would like to be a member of the blog team (allowing you to create your own posts, upload photos, videos and so on), just email one of our moderators and we'll add you to the list. If you'd simply like to comment on anything, you can do that right now by just clicking on the "Comments" link at the end of each post.

1st Row (L to R): Theresa Millard, Carol Conroy, Nicki Kirkeby, Sharon Mattson
2nd Row: Cathy Sawdey, Laura Lagattuta, Theresa Kiley, Maureen Brady, Monica Juhl, John Fohl, Sue Hahn
3rd Row: Barry Carola, Geof Fadok, Katie Appelbe, Sue Nisky, Judy Locher, David Knobbe, Jim Lagattuta, Bill Fay
4th Row: Jim Magahern, Kelly Shannon, Kim Naccarato, Patrick Whelan, Jim Willinger, Bill Lazarus, Jim Clingan

See more photos by clicking on the "Photos" link near the top of this page.