Annual Fund Off and Running

’21-’22 Annual Fund

Off & Running

Toward Goals for

790 Donors & $250,000

Give to the Annual Fund at www.hudsoncatholic.org/1964

Honors Piling Up for Board Members, Past & Present

The prestige that accompanies individuals to the Hudson Catholic Board of Consultors understood. And then they tend to add to their laurels during and upon completion of their ‘service to others’ at The Home of the Hawks. This is the case for Patrick Dunne, present Board member, and Russ Triolo, who left the Board at the end of 2020 after three years of service.

In Dunne’s case, Pat has been selected as the Deputy Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rutherford Irish Parade, in recognition of his longstanding and widespread community service. Pat will be honored at a Grand Marshall Gala at The Fiesta on January 15^th by the Rutherford Irish American Association.

Russ Triolo, CEO at Boys & Girls Clubs of Union County NJ, was recently honored by his Board with a bronze plaque in the Club’s lobby, naming the Boys & Girls Club after him, in recognition of his 50 years in the Boys and Girls Clubs National Movement and 41 years as CEO of the Union County organization!

Pat Dunne

Russ Triolo

Road Trip!

Boys Basketball bringing

Hawk brand of Christmas Cheer to Philadelphia

Boys Basketball hits the road to compete for the LaSalle Holiday Tournament Championship beginning on December 28^th. Coach Nick Mariniello and the Hawks would be thrilled to have a solid HC contingent on hand to support them.

The tournament will have a distinct Christian Brothers flavor to it, starting with the host team, LaSalle Prep, along with Central Catholic (Pittsburgh), yes, that Central Catholic, the one with ties to Brothers Martin Zewe and Luke Maher, among others.

Rounding out the field is another great Catholic school, Malvern Prep, with roots back to 1842! Malvern is a Philadelphia-area athletic powerhouse administered by the Augustinian Friars.

This could be a good occasion to catch up with McGinley Square habitants of old, Brothers Richard Kestler, Kevin Stanton, Ray Murphy, Ed Sheehy, Ed Hoffman, John Crawford, Steve Casale, and Jim Butler, who live on the campus of LaSalle University. We can put you in touch. Send a note to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org.

Earlier this year, Chief Advancement Officer Gary Ferrari '73 paid a visit to the campus of LaSalle University to catch up with Hall of Famer Brother Richard Kestler, right, and Brother Joseph Grabenstein, the Christian Brothers Archivist for Lasalle University, who has provided some of the historic materials that find their way into this column!

Merry Christmas,

Eddie Chius ‘69!

We Remember

Eddie Chius died in 1996 without next of kin. He was very active with the Hoboken ELKS Lodge #74 until his passing. They honored him, after his death, with the HOBOKEN ELKS EDWIN CHIUS SCHOLARSHIP FUND, which has awarded over $100,000 in scholarships to high school seniors over 20 years. Edwin Chius Scholarship awards are available to children of members and Hoboken residents who are current high school seniors. Additionally, they dedicated their grill room, the EDWIN J. CHIUS GRILL ROOM, in Eddie's memory.

A Hoboken Elk, in December, 2019, remembered Eddie: "Merry Christmas from Eddie Chius! Almost 25 years since his passing. In the history of Hoboken Elks Lodge 74, you can trace back a few eras where one member was responsible for much of the organization and leadership for the good work accomplished by our lodge membership. In the late 1960's Eddie Chius first assumed responsibility for the Lodge finances, and he was Secretary and Exalted Ruler as Lodge membership prospered and activity at the Lodge increased. The Lodge was Eddie's second home, and he treated all members like family. Christmas was a special time for Eddie at the lodge. He carefully planned the building decorations and monitored the menu for the many Christmas Parties hosted at the lodge. Eddie Chius made the lodge a festive place for the Christmas Season.”

Classmate Steve Honsinger voiced his feelings about how his classmate continues to be remembered and honored at the Hoboken Elks Lodge: “It is a shame he didn't have family to share this with, but it seems the Elks were his family!”

http://www.elks.org/scholars/news.cfm?StoryID=103083

for scholarship information and application.

‘It’s Academic’

Looking back on the

Rutgers Bowl Team of 1983

The headline in an edition of The Commentator circa 1983 read “Tape Quiz Show Today.” Senior Bobby England wrote that “four Hudson Catholic students lay the school’s reputation on the line with every word they say, or don’t say” in the first-round of the Rutgers Bowl.

At the time, Rutgers Bowl was a quiz show sponsored by the NJ State Department of Higher Education, affiliated with the G.E. College Bowl, which first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as College Quiz Bowl. It moved to TV on CBS for 1959-63 and NBC 1963-70, developing into a non-televised national championship competition on American campuses through affiliation with the Association of College Unions International, from 1977 to 2008.

The success of College Bowl generated spin-offs, including High School Bowl, which may or may not have been connected to the Rutgers Bowl version of the competition. Rutgers, it should be noted, was only the second university in College Bowl history to retire undefeated after winning five contests, the max allowed.

The Hawks were selected to compete by the Rutgers Bowl as one of 32 schools from among hundreds in New Jersey. The first round opponent was Pope John of Sparta, and it was taped for ‘cable’, whatever the heck that was in 1983!

The Hawk Brain Squad included Team Captain Bill Hilger, Jim O’Neil, and Phil DePalma, all ’83, and underclassman Matt Scanlon ‘84. They were prepped for the competition by then-Faculty member Jim O’Donnell ’69, who put his own reputation on the line as a teacher of high esteem.

‘O’D’ thoroughly enjoyed prepping the Hawk Bowlers. The team would come after school and he would fire away with questions. Team members “were very smart. It was funny to see how one guy would miss three in a row, then get five in a row, or how somebody would mis-hear a question and give a ridiculous answer. There was a sense of camaraderie in the practices.”

O’D went on: "In the competition there was also camaraderie, but not as overtly, and of course wrong answers were not a laughing matter. What made the whole experience worthwhile was what makes most Hudson Catholic experiences worthwhile: the wit, the energy, the challenging of one another, the natural respect, the opportunity to grow through hard work and finding out that you could be yourself and be accepted."

"Those guys were so good for one another……… As with most Hawk ventures, they rose to the occasion and made a high-energy, mind-growing game of it. It's making me smile just to think back on it.”

We caught up with Jim O’Neil about the experience recently, who admitted to faded recollections, therefore, as with all stories of yore, giving him license to embellish! Jim recalls that there were “quite a few of us” who ‘auditioned’ for selection to the team, with a few teachers holding mock quizzes, including O'Donnell, Bob Calderone, Jack Campion, and Brother Ray Murphy. 'O'N' was not exactly sure how they were chosen for the team but surmised he was selected for science and math, which didn't work out well since “it seemed like every other answer on the show was ‘Kurt Vonnegut’!”

The first show (spoiler alert!) was fairly close throughout, with Team Hawk behind toward the end. As time was running out the question was ‘What is the more common name for acetylsalicylic acid?’ “It wasn't my depth of education from Hudson Catholic that led me to that answer, but a recent episode of Gilligan's Island! Before the question even finished being read I buzzed in and answered ‘Aspirin’."

“The next question was ‘What was the name of the rocket that propelled the first men to the moon?’ It seemed like everyone on both teams tried to buzz in because we all knew time was just about up. I would have been wrong, but Phil DePalma had the right answer to the final question, ‘Saturn’. Immediately after he answered the bell rang signaling the game was over and I remember looking up to see that we were behind by 5 points. My heart sank, but then the score updated and we were ahead by 5 points, giving us the win.”

O’D recalled coming back to school after winning the first round match, and that it just happened there was a Pep Rally going on right as the Rutgers Bowl team arrived. “The guys got to do a lap around the gym amid much applause.....and laughter.”

O’Neil said he did not recall much about the next match, including the opponent school, except that we were never really close. Nevertheless, he relates that “it was a great experience though.”

Some years ago, he reached out to the Communications Department at Rutgers to see if they had copies of the show but ran into a dead end. If any alum may have any connections at Rutgers, please look into finding copies of the show that was broadcast Sunday January 30, 1983 @ 4:30pm and Tuesday, February 1st, 1983 @ 6:00pm. No air date for the second show is available, hence nothing to document that the Hawks were ever defeated in the proverbial battle of the wits.

1991 Reunion Snap

The Class of '91 held their 30 Year Reunion on Friday, December 3rd at Bella Napoli in Bloomfield NJ. Among those attending were Saxon Sorrentino, Maged Hanna, Jesus Yi, Givara Gaballa, Ozzie Perez, Dennis Lang, Sam Faltas, Bennett Christian, Alex Rivera, Richard Go, Joe Mondanaro, Matt Chrobocinski, Tom Donlin, Bono Trueba, Larry Weber, James Mullahey, Jesus Guerrero, Sean McGrath, James Ramirez, Chris Razo, and Douglas Pacheco. Thanks to Jess Villarina for organizing!

Alumni Spotlight

Supply Chain Maestro. Marco Poisler ’88, Chief Operating Officer of Global Energy and Capital Projects at UTC Overseas based in Houston, recently received the Project Cargo Executive of the Year Award at TMSfirst’s Global Supply Chain Leaders Conference for his leadership. innovation, and industry insights.

We are unknowingly indebted to folks like Marco for food that shows up on our tables, products that make their way to the shelves in our neighborhoods, and fuel that finds its way to our homes and cars. Keep those freight, cargo and hauling channels moving, Marco!

Family Man. Scott Rybka ’07. Last year, Mary Ellen Weinel lost her husband Bob, he of the pioneer Class of ’68. Mary Ellen and family attended the Annual Mass of Remembrance and Tree of Life Rededication Ceremony on November 7^th. Scott is her son in law and a Physical Education teacher in Union City. Mary Ellen describes Scott as a wonderful son-in-law and her “go-to guy” since Bob’s passing, and ‘another example of a Hawk who is a kind and loving man of integrity.”

The Original Big Mac. Jim McDonough ’73 was the centerpiece of the Big Mac attack -- the great 1972-73 North Jersey State Championship team that included ‘The Iceman’ senior Mike Finley and a couple of soon to be household names on the Hudson County, national collegiate, and NBA Sports scenes, Sophomore Jim Spanarkel and freshman Mike O’Koren.

Big Mac was our first basketball All County athlete, and the first in school history to enter the 1,000-1,000 Club - points and rebounds. His feats on the court earned the Honors student a full ride to NCAA Division I William & Mary, where he played four years against a national schedule. Mac went on to earn distinctions of Juris Doctor and Certified Public Accountant.

In 1982, Jim co-founded the Hudson Catholic Alumni Association and became its very first President, setting it on a course to become the significant force and organization it remains nearly 40 years later.

Jim is a long-serving member of the law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck, a National 250 law firm (NY, NJ, DC) where he practices in the highly complex field of Tax Law.

Legacy Hawks

A Continuing Series

Top left, John P. Bell ‘01 and Steven Bell ’03 are the sons of proud pop John Bell ’73.

Top right, a couple of winners, Bill Regan ’72 with son Terence Regan ’05.

And we’ll soon enough have another father-son alumni team. Below, Justin Lallo of the upcoming Class of ’22 is the son of Chris Lallo ’84.

West Side Story

(No, not the Marion Section!)

The cast and director of West Side Story; Rachel Zegler, 2nd from right

Congratulations are due Rachel Zegler, niece of Curt Zegler '89 and member of the well-known Heights family. On December 10th, Rachel comes to the silver screen, reprising the Natalie Wood role of Maria in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of West Side Story. Rachel scored the role in an open casting call in 2018 at just 16. And now, she is nominated for a Golden Globe! for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Musical, competing against the likes of Jennifer Laurence & Emma Stone.

Rachel is currently filming DC's Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

No word yet whether Curt will ask the newest Hollywood star to do a walk-on star turn in the Hawk Drama Club's spring production of School of Rock!

’73 Zanies are at it Again

Always looking for an excuse to gather up the guys to make new memories on top of old, Jim Sweeney and Tom Mullarney are starting, of all things, a Hawk73 Poker Club, first game in January. Quarter limit assures no high stakes or big losers, only shitz and giggles and to check in with each other. For the non-players, rules will be kept simple and things will start off with only two different games - seven card stud and seven card no peek. BYOB and chip in for pizza. Games to be rotated among classmate basements, garages, yurts, and bivouacs.

P.S. Culmination of the Belmar Blast for Jim Gannon resulted in a gift of $1,820 to the school from the Class of ’73 Organizing and Roasting Team. The thoughtful gesture is appreciated!

Calling All Alumnae

We are all aware that Hudson Catholic spent the first 44 years of its existence as the 'Regional School for Boys'. It said so on the Bergen Avenue wall. But it is also true that the entrance of girls in 2009 truly saved our school for generations to come. We have now built a rich 12-year history as a co-educational institution, and a vitality to school life that is matchless.

So we are putting the call out to all alumnae to help populate this newsletter with more content for and about our female graduates. We want greater representation of our more recent alumni, what you have experienced, achieved, and recall of your days as Hawks.

We encourage you to submit tidbits and updates for the Alumni Spotlight feature, and articles for consideration of inclusion herein. If it is on your mind, some of your classmates and peers probably can identify with it and want to hear about it. Send your content to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org. Because Hudson Catholic is YOUR school! Be the Hawk!

Readers Respond

Ray Krajewski ’71 read our article about the HCHS-Union City educational railroad and offered that former faculty/coach Ed Agresta also followed on those tracks, as did Joe Rudloff '71 who spent his teaching career at the UC BOE, with his last gig there before retirement being Mathematics Supervisor. Steve Rybka '07, mentioned elsewhere in this issue, is also a UC school system teacher.

David Carbone ’74 wrote to say this, as a result of seeing the passage about Mrs. Nadia Makar:

“I took note of the fine picture and write-up of my Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Makar. Thinking of her brings to mind a dozen other fine teachers we had at Hudson during our time, but I would agree she was my favorite because she was not only the best as a teacher but as a person, as well. During our tenure at Hudson she received a national award for teaching chemistry.

Coincidentally, I had messaged her on social media last month. She seems to be doing well……… I imagine she's one of Hudson's most recognized and awarded teachers, and for good reason. She's helped many a Hudson and Union City student with science opportunities, pursue science careers, and get into medical school.

Sports are most surely fun to get involved with, talk about, and re-live; however, as much attention as sports do get, it would be appropriate if Hudson were to have a night to honor Mrs. Makar for her time at Hudson and beyond. I would certainly donate to that cause, as would some others, I'm sure.”

Our most avid reader, Peter Morales '74 points out that Coach Hurley won 1,000+ more games than Rocky (~1,250 vs. 250), contending that Mike Finley '73 cost HC 1,000+ basketball wins by pitching a JV baseball game in '71 and beating St Anthony's to snap their 42-game winning streak. Finley, for his part, refuses to own any responsibility for how things turned out.

Korrections Korner

From the friend formerly known as ‘Pedro’, or is it the former friend known as ‘Pedro’? Peter Morales ‘74, who should know, informs us that "Jose" Marti is to Cuban Independence to what "Jorge" Washington is to US Independence. Of course, we know better that it was not Joe, but blame this one on anglicized auto-correct!

In the ‘Hurley’ article, Coach Bob was then the freshman, not JV, basketball coach at St. Anthony’s.