Season's Greetings
As the final post-season football games finish, the winter sports have already begun. FCIAC defending champion DHS girls hockey team is currently 3-0, including shutting-out the New Canaan Rams on Saturday, 2-0. Team Darien has two all-Fairfield returning stars back on the team, Lila Fiorita and Izzy Haire, both juniors, who combined for over 20 goals last season.
In boys hockey, Darien is ranked No. 4 in the state. The team lost in last year's CIAC semifinals, and finished overall 15-8-1. Darien is returning 18 players, giving the team a good start to go far in this season's playoffs.
The Rams have a No. 2 ranking. New Canaan lost in last year's CIAC Division I finals to Notre Dame-West Haven.
Wave Can't Break Jinx - Fall to Rams (Again) 35-21 in CIAC Final
Since 1979, Darien has played in 18 CIAC Championship games, winning eight. The Rams have appeared in 19 final games, winning 15. Of the five times Darien faced New Canaan in a CIAC final, New Canaan has won all 5 games. The Rams 15 CIAC wins is the third best in state history.
In Saturday's chilly afternoon game at CCSU, Darien fell behind early. The Rams had scored 14 before Darien QB Ben Rolapp scored on a four-yard run. The Wave were able to tie the game in the third with a 65 yard TD pass. Both teams scored again to be tied heading into the fourth quarter. New Canaan then scored two unanswered touchdowns, one a 69 yard TD pass, to win 35-21.
Darien finishes the season 10-3 while the No.1-ranked Rams were 12-1. Fortunately for Darien, their starting QB Ben Rolapp returns next year as a senior.
In Other CIAC Action
Greenwich wins the Class LL, shutting out both Staples in the semi-final game 14-0 and West Haven in the finals, 14-0. The No. 3-ranked Cardinals defense recorded four shut-outs in the teams final six games. Greenwich finished the season 11-2.
The loss for West Haven (10-3) ended its bid for its first state championship since 2002. It has now lost in its last three finals appearances in 2003, 2023 and 2024.
In the Class M CIAC Final, St. Joseph beat Brookfield 21-20. St. Joe's had a comfortable 21-0 lead in the second half before the Brookfield Bobcats scored three times to pull within one point with only 1:02 left on the game clock. Brookfield chose to go for the two-point conversion in hopes of winning the game in regulation time but were stopped one-yard short.
Thanksgiving Day Indigestion
Wave Lose Turkey Bowl 34-0
High-flying Darien, who entered this year's Turkey Bowl ranked No. 3 in the GametimeCT State Poll, one ahead of No. 4 New Canaan, suffered a shut-out defeat at the hands of the Rams 34-0. Both teams came into the Thanksgiving match 8-1, the Wave coming off a blow-out win against Fairfield Warde 49-7.
The 10 a.m. classic kicked off in a drizzling rain before a sell-out crowd at the DHS field. Unfortunately for the team and its' fans, the game quickly spiraled out of control, as New Canaan scored in the first five minutes and never looked back. New Canaan scored 17 points just in the first half while holding Darien to 23 yards of offense and two first downs. One player, Andrew Esposito, scored all four touchdowns for the Rams, one in each of the four quarters. At the end of the day, Darien had 144 yards to New Canaan's 275 yards of offense.
The Rams have now won seven straight Turkey Bowls and have beaten Darien in 8 of their last 9 meetings, including last year's Class L CIAC Championship.
The loss drops Darien to 8 – 2. The team enters the State CIAC tournament ranked No. 4 and will play on December 3 against Fairfield Ludlow at Darien.
CIAC State XC Open
This year's CIAC State Open Boys Championship was held on October 31 at Wickham Park, the venue since 2006. Darien's Alex Ostberg, DHS Class of 2015, holds three of the four fastest times for the course. His best and the course record is 14:58, run in the 2014 CIAC State Open.
This year Open winner is Soheib Dissa from Newton HS with a 15:24. Dissa also won the CIAC Class L race on Oct 26 at 15:43.
Darien's best was Andy Sharron (16:42).
Good Grades for Darien Schools
Darien Public Schools has recently received top grades from a school-ranking outfit named Niche. Niche assembles data compiled from reviews, other public information and data from the Dept of Education. The company ranked the Darien district as the fourth-best in the state (and behind New Canaan, at No. 1).
Darien's 4,700 kids in all grades have a student-teacher ratio of only 11 to 1. Rankings in specific categories give Darien an A+ in most, including Food served. Two areas which need improvement are Administration at B+ and the area of Diversity with a C-.
School to Kids: No Cellphones!
Darien Public Schools is telling middle and elementary students that all personal electronic devices- including cell phones, smartwatches, private laptops, headsets and the like can not be used during school. The new "bell to bell" policy requires that students stow their devices in their locker until the school day ends.
The district is also looking into a policy for high school students, with further discussion expected in the fall. Under the district’s current policy, high school students are required to bring their own charged personal device for use in class.
Stamford also bans devices for the younger students while Greenwich now bans cellphones in their high school.
Some folks remembering Jordy Perry Kay (right) at her Memorial at the Weed Beach Hut.
Left - Josie and Lauren with Jordy's son Andrew
Eddy, Eric Joosten, Lauren Fair and Tom Tyler
Kathy Micha Frate, Paul Hendrickson, Jeff Frate
55th Anniversary
Friday, August 15
Richie Havens
Sweetwater
Tim Hardin
Ravi Shankar
Melanie
Arlo Guthrie
Joan Baez
Saturday, August 16
Quill
Country Joe McDonald
Keef Hartley Band
Santana
Incredible Strig Band
Canned Heat
Grateful Dead
Leslie West and Mountain
Creedence Clearwater
Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band
Sly & the Family Stone
The Who
Jefferson Airplane
Sunday-Monday August 17,18
Joe Cocker and the Grease Band
Country Joe & the Fish
Ten Years After
Johnny Winter
Blood Sweat and Tears
Crosby, Stills and Nash
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Sha Na Na
Jimi Hendrix
Paul Hepp 1950-2024
Classmate Paul Frederick Hepp passed away on Saturday, June 22, 2024.
See full obiturary in the Memorials Sections.
Last Year's Champs
In last year's athletic competition, 62 different CT high schools won a total of 122 State Championships awarded by the CIAC. At the top of the list is Greenwich with a total of 8 championships. New Canaan HS had a great year, winning 7 titles (Football, Girls Cross Country, Girls Lacrosse, Boys Swimming, Girls Golf, Boys and Girls Tennis).
Darien, along with 15 other Connecticut high schools, won two State titles. For Darien, The Wave won in Girls Swimming (L) and Girls Volleyball (LL).
Classmate Susan Danvers and Hubby Bob in Olympia, Washington.
Love to Hear From You!
Please, leave your remarks in the 'Comment' Section
Classmate Gary Swartz (far right) and wife Sally send greetings from Oman. The couple have their daughter's family staying there for the US State Department. The UN considers Oman the most improved country in terms of development in the last 40 years and is the oldest independent Arab state.
Do A 55th Reunion?
Lots of classmates are talking about holding a 55th reunion of the DHS Class of 1969. Probably something on the lighter-side, a casual Friday get-together and then a restaurant dinner Saturday night.
If this sounds good, you can contact classmate Jeff Myers, someone brave enough to put his name out-there.
Jeff can be reached at myerspercussion@gmail.com . Could be fun!
A new restaurant has opened in downtown Darien. Called Green & Tonic, it is located in the town's Corbin District, a development still in the works, including stores, restaurants and luxury apartments. The restaurant is a juice bar, coffee shop and plant-based restaurant that also serves smoothie bowls, salads and kelp noodle dishes.
On 7 acres within the heart of Darien, Baywater Properties is re-imagining downtown Darien — at The Corbin District — resetting the landscape of shopping, dining, lifestyle and entertainment. Baywater began this exciting transformation in 2019 with extreme attention to detail and a sharp focus on creating one of the most enjoyable and walkable downtown environments in the region
We know things are rough right now. So who better than some cheerleaders to keep up our spirits to finish the fight!
Front row left to right:
Anahid Kavookjian, Josie Mullen, Joni Dobson
Back row left to right:
Sue Geiger, Sharon Denunzio, Cinny Cobb, Sue Perschino, Peggy McNeil, Sue Venarde
Sandy Young, Carol Ann Augustus
| Pete White | Dave Terry |
| Claudia Smith Davenport | Kathy DelleFontane Goossen |
| Dennis Gavin | Pete Johnson |
| Rick Poccia | Janet Martin Fisher |
| Mark Beckwith | Anita Conway |
| Bruce Frail | Paul Dominis |
| Patty Mazza Sturges | Sue Dickman Klein |
| Sally Armus | Christy Rodgers |
| Mardi Porter | Ed Tyler |
| Bill Guptill | Mark Blackman |
| Georgiana Smith Bloom | Kate Mason Gredinger |
| Pete Franklin | Gary Gibbs |
| Tom Lane | Billy Harper |
| Anahid Kavoojian Vrana | Dave Lynch |
| Lauren Fair | Jimmy Valente |
| Tim Potts | Casey Nickerson |
| Suzanne Nikola Baldino | John van den Heuvel |
| Jim Morrison | Chris Bischof |
| Josie Mullen | Paul Buckley |
| Johnny Maul | Skip Kennedy |
| Bev Bonfoey | Barb Thorne |
| Marni Kent Hansell | Bob Mercer |
| Bob Ierardi | Eric Joosten |
| Dennis Sullivan | Tom Milek |
| Gary Swartz | Dave Miller |
| Steve Verses | Jay Baker |
| Cliff Powell | Ann Back Price |
| Steve and Patti Craig | Anne Marie McGarry |
| Vandy Van Wagener | Bill Schade |
| George Farrington | Todd and Martha Robbins |
| Rick Weber | Jane Seyferth |
| Sue Venarde Mahoney | Mark Tinker |
| Joan Dobson Glazebrook | Paul Hendrickson |
| Sandy McGill | Ted Vanech |
| Jim Tully | Stu Traver |
| Dick Costello | Mike Lopriore |
| Charlie Smith | Chris Eng Leventhal |
| Jane Genster | John Wuerthner |
| Carol Ann Augustus Summers | Anne Irvine |
| Ken Broska | Paul Hepp |
| Dave Jefferson | Sue Geiger |
| Allison Poccia | Joanne Schoepf Reisser |
| Benny Bruno | Kyle Hepp |
| Kathy Strachan | Pam Burkhardt Mele |
| Peter Scholtz |
Great shot of classmates Kenny Peliksza, Mike 'Lope' Lopriore, Dick Costello, and Ben Bruno in Jacksonville. Nobody mentioned any golf scores but all were sad to see former Jax resident Paul Hepp leave for Texas.
Choir
Steve and Patti Craig squishing apples from their apple trees. One year they report harvesting over 20 bushels of apples. (Note: 1 bushel = 48 pounds). The Craigbo Cider Co. made 16 gallons of unadulterated apple cider, while also donating apples to a local farmer and food pantry.
Terry Cummings, Tim Maul, Cliff Powell
Shot of trip out west during summer of '69 when we hitchhiked to California. Mark Tinker's dad bought us the car to roam around California and back to CT. Thought I lost this. Great memories from that trip. Those were the days! -George Wehmann
