Long Lost Graduation Videos

The history of ownership is murky, but the association now has six graduation videos from 16 mm film and/or VHS video in the late 60s or early 70s. We have identified three of them as the Class of 1966, the Class of 1968 and the Class of 1971. But three remain unidentified — and we need your help. On the right are the ones we have identified, but the ones on the left are unknown. Contact us if you know the year for #1, #2 or #3. And of course,…

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Hall of Fame Nominations, Reunion Planning and Picnic Photos

As the esteemed Tom Trombley noted in his President’s Message, there have been some updates at the Alumni Association website.  Take a moment to check these out! The Annual Hall of Fame dinner is October 19 and reservations are due October 4. See the invitation here and celebrate the induction of outstanding Riverside Alumni: Alumni Ellen Arsulic Forbus – Class of 1980, Deborah Sorber Rosch – Class of 1980 and Col. Brian Peterson, USMC – Class of 1989; and Athlete Alumni Melissa Ezzo Latshaw– Class of 1993, Russell Pernus – Class…

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President’s Message

Hello Fellow Riversiders! Welcome back to the On-Line Log. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new edition of this, so you will find a lot of new and interesting material. Our website and social media pages have been dormant for a while as we lost our technical resource. But boy, did we get lucky in that department. First a ’68 grad of Riverside, Karen Holp, moved back to town from Oklahoma, of all places. Turns out she has wonderful computer skills, and, with a little nudge from Connie…

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Riverside Veterans Memorial Wall of Honor

The Riverside High School Veterans Memorial Wall of Honor was dedicated September 13, 2019, just prior to a home football game. The wall is located just inside the football stadium. There are five 30-foot flag poles for the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard as well as a 35-foot flag pole for the American flag in front of the wall.       The Wall of Honor is just Phase I of the project. Phase II will list all the names of Riverside students and staff who…

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Shakespeare’s Ghost is Alive and Well

The assassination of Julius Caesar, painted by William Holmes Sullivan, 1888. (CC-by-sa/2.0)

Anyone who has lived long enough to accumulate memories going back several decades probably can relate to feeling “haunted” by scenarios they wish would disappear out of their heads. Obvious examples would be horrors endured by military personnel, natural disasters one has survived, or something as simple as the memory of a crabby, long- deceased aunt whose picture still hangs on one’s wall (and has to stay there because she left a nice inheritance). My ghost, seemingly impervious to exorcism, is that of William Shakespeare. After many decades of exposure…

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The Sweet Afterglow

The Riverside High School Class of 1968 celebrated their 50th Reunion August 10-12, 2018. Most especially, the 50th seemed like a significant achievement that had to be celebrated. The motivation is there in the Alma Mater, with its promises about hearts lingering in those halls of ivy. After all, life always has ups and downs, some in high school and a lot thereafter. Many journeyed far away and some not so far after that glorious day of graduation. Can a reunion bridge all those life experiences? It was never spoken,…

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Madison Avenue Elementary School Remembrance

Madison Avenue Elementary School was built in 1928 and classes began in January, 1929, and provided just over 90 years of service. I attended Madison Avenue from 1956 to 1962, and the building was torn down in the summer of 2019. I am sure the new building constructed behind the grade school is wonderful — Riverview Elementary School, as well as the new one built on Concord-Hambden Road –Parkside Elementary School.  But I will always have memories of Madison Avenue School. I took a tour of the building before the…

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The Posey in the Ghetto

Tennyson's Poem, "Posies in a Crannied Wall"

Teachers of junior high and high school students are likely to be familiar with the resistant mindsets their students may bring to the subjects being taught. Such attitudes are less prevalent in elective classes, such as music, art or photography, but teachers of REQUIRED classes tend to find out quickly that some of their kids expect to DESPISE certain subjects. If I may make a personal digression here, I understood the resistant mindset well based on my own reaction to being a ninth grader in algebra class years ago in…

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