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The Summer of '69
Bryan Adams sang about it. The Summer of '69. It was a good one in the North Country. That was the summer I got married. I had just finished my junior year at Plattsburgh State and couldn't wait to be a husband and maybe a father. Sometimes we rush things a bit.
It was also the summer that the American Legion Post 20 baseball team won the New York State championship. Coached by Harry Demery, along with Bob Garrow and Gary Butler, the Plattsburgh boys won the state title at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. Many of those players are still living in the North Country, happy to say.
As I continue to clear out boxes from my storage room, I continue to find interesting publications from the old days. I recently discovered the College Directory for the 1969-1970 school year at Plattsburgh State. It was published by the Delta Kappa Delta Fraternity.
On the cover is a picture of the sign in front of Longe's Orange Julep. What a popular spot that was -- for great food and pretty girls! The sign advertises "Char-Broil Hamburgers, Binky-Burgers, Pizza, Submarines, Michigans and Longe's Flavor Crisp Fried Chicken." Makes you want to pull into the parking lot right now, doesn't it?
Inside the front cover is the entire Orange Julep menu: large regular pizza for $1.50, Longe's King Steak Sandwich for 95 cents, michigan red hot for 35 cents, and a large orange julep to drink for 35 cents.
Inside the publication are photos of the college fraternities and sororities and names and addresses of all the students listed by classes. There's my name on page 5: "Raymond D. Gagnon, 15 Couch Street."
On the same page are names of North Country people I recall: Sheridan Garner, George Fradenburg, Linda Fleming-Haubner, Fred Froehlich, Valerie Glaude, Ed Hanlon, my Pi Alpha Nu frat brother Bob Harrigan, John Hollinshead, John Keuleman, Bev Kie, Dave Kretser.
Sprinkled throughout are ads for those local businesses, gone now but not forgotten. The Book House at Plattsburgh Plaza -- the Bermans owned that for awhile. Brodi's Restaurant Bar & Grill -- $1.40 Open Steak Dinner. I don't ever remember eating a steak there, but I downed plenty of Black Labels in my early drinking days.
There's a half-page ad for The Inn of the Nations. Some of my friends had apartments there and it was quite a party spot. For awhile the Pub had go-go girls, big news for us young guys in Plattsburgh. The Inn of the Nations is now known as Lakeside Apartments.
There are ads for The Moc Shop at 340 Cornelia Street and Jerry Donnelly Ltd. at 7 Clinton Street. You could buy the latest records, needles, tape recorders, posters and more at The Record Center at 44 Brinkerhoff Street.
Filion's -- who was in Plattsburgh in those days who never went to Filion's? -- advertises "Greek Day" every Friday from 1-7pm -- Pitchers just 99 cents! No wonder we weren't studying!
And then on page 72 you can find the ad for B & J Restaurant -- "Where Big John's Breakfast Special is a legend -- 99 cents" and "Enjoy Hot Peppered Steak -- the word Hot takes on a new dimension -- for 75 cents." I've written about the hot peppered steaks at B & J's and still to this day the only place I've found that can come close to matching it is the hot peppered steaks over at Bobby's Lounge. They cost more than 75 cents, though!
The directory ends with a list of the staff and faculty at Plattsburgh State at the time. Talk about a walk down memory lane: Mr. George Abbe, Dr. Shakeh Agajanian, Dr. Jim Ashe, Dr. Stuart Baum, Mr. Erwin "Bud" Beyer, Dr. Charles Blood, Mr. Richard Brogowski, Mr. John Caramia, Dr. Arthur Cardany, Mr. Ernie Coons, Mr. Bill Crosby, Mr. John Deeb, Mr. Vince Delio, Dr. George Dicks, Dr. Herman Doh, Dr. Carl Engelhart, Dr. Allan Everest, Mr. Prem Gandhi, Mr. Donald Garrant, Mr. Paul Hackett, Dr. Earl Harlan, Dr. William Hartnett, Dr. Hilton Heming, Mr. Joseph Hennessy, Mr. John Hollop, Miss Ada Holmes, Dr. Ralph Hunkins, Miss Linda Kalish, Mr. William Klock, Dr. Angelo Lamariana, Mr. Teddy Leavitt, Mr. Romuald Lesage, Mr. Al Montanaro, Dr. Arthur Newgarden, Dr. Ernie Rangazas, Drs. Edward and Lillian Redcay, Mr. Phil Reines, Mr. John Terry, to name a bunch.
It was forever ago, but many of us can recall particular friends, professors, events as if they had happened yesterday. I, for one, am happy where I am today. Would you want to go back and start over?
Comments
Hey Foxy... i was on your 8th grade football team and you still are mentioned in my life as one of my fav teachers. I reside in Wa. state, i guide rafts for zooraft.com and work as a med tech at the dalles hospital. have a great life and wife. but i googled my dad's name and your blog here came up. it was nice to read all about the summer of 69. i remember the college pond..... well i'll leave it at that. I know and remember all those college profs and the parties they had at Redcay's one of my favorite places of all. i still hang with Rob jastrab and Ric maranda.... we meet at the Green river every spring to fish and get old.
miss that smiling fun face... foxy
(Foxy's note: Great to hear from you, Mark. You are well-remembered. Hope you'll be a regular reader and Blogoteer!)
Posted by: Mark Lesage | October 11, 2008 10:31 PM
UNBELIEVABLE - I also got married in 1969 just after my Junior Year at Plattsburgh. And, do remember many of the same people and same places and have some very fond memories of those days. I can almost still taste those pepper steaks. They were the best!
Now, Foxy, if you're going to mention Filion's you'll have to give The Union equal time. St. Patick's day at the Union was always an experience!
Like the song goes... THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES...
Bob
Posted by: Bob Van Bomel | July 21, 2008 4:43 PM
Thirty years earlier, 1938, I entered the Normal School, Dr. Redcay was my basketball coach, Lillian was my classmate. Nitzi Rabin was a teammate. We had tugs of war across the pond, south end of campus. Tennis and table tennis were my interests. War came, 1941-1946 and I did another semester. Went on to the U. of Miami. Coached tennis there after graduation. I have my yearbooks full of memories. Thanks for yours.
(Foxy's note: Thanks for sharing, John!)
Posted by: John A. Samuelson | July 15, 2008 7:37 PM
Foxy,
Intriqued by the list of Plattsburgh State faculty, so many familiar names to me, being a Campus School kid from kindergarten thru 9th grade. Many of those folks were in and out of our classrooms all the time.
I don't remember Mr. Lesage as a prof, but as a neighbor on Morrison Avenue. I have a copy of a photo from the Press Republican from sometime late 1960 of the neighborhood kids out looking for the Echo I satellite that was visible, and a big deal at the time. Pictured are Booth kids, Lesage kids, Martina kids and Lynne Ryder, daughter of Press publisher, Steve Ryder who lived across the street. You don't suppose it was a set-up, do you?
Also The Book House was owned and run for many years by Larry and Sally House.
Posted by: Caroline Booth Stafford | July 9, 2008 9:17 PM
Foxy, we have a lot out here but I'll be damned if I can find a michigan without my wife Patti making it from her father, Herb Carter's, recipe. They call it "Chili Dog" in the midwest and elsewhere and ALL of us from the North Country know, IT JUST AIN'T THE SAME! If you could ever ship me a michigan franchise, I'd be a millionaire out here! My fellow teachers and coaches enjoy them immensely when my wife makes them. Oh for Gene's in Port Henry, Nitzi's, or Claire and Carl's!
Posted by: Dale Sprague | July 9, 2008 3:17 PM
Bullet, you bring back memories. ..the pulp mill and the ever watchful guy who measured the output of pulp and was always there to burr the stone.
If my memory serves me right, some guy named Armstrong was in the news that summer.
That also was the year of my first of many English classes with Howard Miller. What a talented and inspiring guy he was! He influenced my life and career decisions in a positive way.
Posted by: montcalmer | July 2, 2008 9:31 PM
Foxy,
Tough question about going back to '69. A great summer, just graduated from high school. Ready to embark on college life. Playing baseball all summer long. Working on the grinder line at Diamond National, making pretty good money. Thought I was in love. Nary a care in the world. Life just couldn't get any better. Knowing what I know now, I might go back. Going back to repeat, no thanks. As for going back to be 18 in this era, NO WAY. Kids have it way too tough.
Bullet
Posted by: Bullet | July 2, 2008 1:54 PM
Foxy: While on the subject of Rom Lesage, I thought I'd give you and your readers this little story. A few years back, can't be sure of the year, I was in Reno with friends eating a morning breakfast at a casino. I believe it was Circus-Circus. My friends were Tom Gebo, John Zeleski, Mike Cohen, Ray Willett all Plattsburgh alumni. I looked over in the corner and there was a man engrosed in paperwork, charts and stacks of books. I thought he looked familiar, being a P-burg native, as I had seen him before. I told my friends that Mr. Lasage, the math prof at Plattsburgh State, was over in the corner studying paper work. They didn't believe me one bit until one of them said, "That just might be him, I'll go check". Sure enough it was Lasage, trying out his new system to beat the bank, so to speak. We had a chuckle over that one as I wasn't a Pburg State graduate and they couldn't believe I knew him. By the way, I don't think his system to win ever worked out. Those casinos are stil there making money hand over fist. The only difference today is, there are more suckers.
Posted by: Fred Forkey | June 30, 2008 3:50 PM
Foxy -
It doesn't seem possible that michigan red hots sold for 35 cents in '69! My, what inflation has done to our economy. The names and places that you mention sure do bring back lots of memories.
The name of Rom Lesage fills me with nostalgia. In second half of my freshman year he recognized that I had some mathematical ability and suggested that I enroll in the new Early Secondary Mathematics curriculum. When I told him of my relatively poor mathematics preparation, he said that I could 'catch up' and that he would 'sign the paper' to admit me. Thanks to this man, I enjoyed 40 years of teaching mathematics at both the secondary and college levels. Thank you Rom, for that vote of confidence!
While Rom Lesage has gone on to that greater lecture room, Dr. Angelo LaMariana was still going strong a few years ago when I ran into him at the Alumni Weekend. He was in his nineties then and what a dynamo he was! I I hope we all live as long and have the stamina that he did.
These folks really influenced the students that passed before them - I hope that they realized just how much of a contribution that they had made.
Thanks again, Foxy, for the great memories!
Posted by: Ron Turbide | June 30, 2008 8:34 AM
Mr. Romuald Lesage ... Foxy, yes, this dear man would turn over today. The first math class I attended was classic Lesage. "Young ladies will wear skirts in my class. No pants allowed." I wonder today how the ACLU would address this today.
There was one table in the old Hawkins Hall cafeteria with about 7 or 8 individuals who would evolve into what we came to know as Hippies. Of course, then, they were a tiny minority.
Go back then - heck no - be able to start over at 20 knowing what I know today ... absolutely!
Happy Independence Day Foxy to you and all the north country!
Lynda
Posted by: Lynda Bevins | June 29, 2008 12:46 PM