Reunion Planning Meeting 1 p.m. Today (June 6) at the Shaw Library in Clearfield

If you are anywhere in the neighborhood today, please plan to attend perhaps the final planning meeting for the 50th-Year Clearfield Area High School-St. Francis Class Reunion scheduled for Friday, July 31, through Sunday morning, August 2 .

Today’s planning meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Shaw Library in Clearfield.

A strong gathering of classmates from CAHS and St. Francis will come together to put the final touches on the many activities scheduled for the fun-filled weekend.

Special note: A group of classmates is planning to get together for dinner this evening at the Moena Restaurant in the former McCrory’s building in downtown Clearfield. We’d love to have you join this mini-reunion of friends and classmates.

- The Reunion Planning Group

A Mother's Dream Realized

MANEY GRADUATES - Front row: Claire I. Potter (1957), Marjorie M. McCullough, (1954), G.Lamarr Roussey (1949). Back row: Merlyn L. Maney (1959), Richard L. Maney (1951), C. Dennis Maney (1945), and William Homer Maney, Jr. (1943).

The story behind the photo:

When I graduated from Clearfield Area High School in 1959, my Mother, Edith Imo (Mease) Maney expressed her joy and satisfaction in how extremely proud she, and my Father, William Homer Maney, Sr., were that all seven children had successfully completed their schooling by graduating from Clearfield High.

With seven children, and World War II in the midst of their schooling, this was apparently a rare event of that time. To commerate the occasion, she contacted CHS Principal Howard (Speedy) Mead and arranged for the loan of mortarboards and graduation gowns to permit all we children to be adorned in the ceremonial graduation dress for a group photo taken by Ward Smith at his studio in Clearfield.

Mother and Father were also included in another photo. William Homer, Jr., was fatally injured by a careless driver on Dec. 16, 1965. He was drafted in his senior year, three days after his March 26, 1945 birthday; therefore, he was in the Army at graduation time and received his diploma in absentia, never having the opportunity of the pomp and circumstance of graduation.

I believe this was a contributing factor in why Mother wanted the photo of us all in the graduation attire. C. Dennis passed away suddenly this year, on May 9, 2009.

An additional bit of info: How I got the name "Herb". When Homer, Jr. returned from the service in 1946, he had not seen me since I was two years old. "Little Herbie" was a very popular comic strip at the time and was made available to the soldiers in their newspaper.

Little Herbie had a blond tuft of hair on the top of his head, not unlike the hair I was sporting at the time. When Homer Jr. first saw me, upon his return, he said, "there's Little Herbie"! Hence, I still retain that moniker to this day, and have even passed it on to our eldest son, as "Herbie".

- Merlyn L. ("Little Herbie") Maney

Guy Graham Takes Us Through Time

Guy and Bud with Billy Shaw

Guy and Giles Lanager

Christmas 1958

Ash Woolridge, Guy and Kenny Rishel

Thanks, Guy, for sharing these terrific photos!

Through the Years with Rose McCracken Billotte

Rose McCracken Billotte sent these great through-the-years photos of her and her family. The 40th wedding anniversary cruise photo is one of several taken during fantastic family vacations on the water and on the beach. We look forward to seeing the Billottes at our 50th-Year Reunion July 31 - August 2.

Rose and husband Bill Billotte, military ball, Fort Stewart, GA - 1984

Rose and family, 40th wedding anniversary cruise

Rose in her kitchen - May 2009

Beautiful, Beautiful Biaggina

Biaggina- Age 10

Of all our classmates, I believe the one with the most beautiful name is beautiful Biaggina Accordino - now Biaggina Accordino Haas. Believe there's a song with that title but I can't seem to locate it at the moment.

Biaggina (I shall not stoop to calling her Bea) was canning strawberry preserves and drinking champagne with friends today when I called to persuade her to allow these photos to be posted on our website. It sounded like a swell party and a happy bunch of friends.

Biaggina was a key member of a very classy group of East End girls, whose charter members in our early school years were Sandi Howland, Sandra Unch, Mary Kay Garman, Rose Marie Centra, Nicoletta Mendolia, Judy Stevens, Sara Jane Brown, Jeani Lanich, Betty Jean Royer, and Barbara Marino. It was a great time to be a boy in East End but we didn't know it. We do now.



Biaggina - as a member of the CAHS Marching Band

- Posted by Dennis Mollura