THE WAY IT WAS: 50 Years Ago in Euclid

FIFTH IN A SERIES. Note: The following news, sports, and other items were based on editions of the 1966 Euclid News-Journal, the city’s former weekly newspaper.

by John Sheridan

MARCH 3, 1966 – The Euclid Board of Education is engaged in discussions on the 1966 appropriations measure which is on the agenda for its March 14 meeting. The board is expected to approve a record General Fund outlay  of $7, 935,000 – and a total budget exceeding $13 million.

          Also being discussed are plans to expand Euclid’s Panther Stadium (now known as the “Sparky DiBiasio Stadium” --  in  tribute to the popular former Euclid Schools  Superintendent.)

           “Additional seating was promised some time ago,” notes Board president William Tomko.  However, Rev. William Fortner, a Unitarian minister and the board’s public relations chairman, said he didn’t know how much of the budget’s rehabilitation fund would be spent on the stadium. “We haven’t come up with a concrete proposal yet,” he explained, although he did  estimate  that $175,000  might be spent on new stadium seating and repairs.  Also proposed are more stadium locker-room space and an adjacent storage room.

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          Jay W. Collins, executive director of Euclid-Glenville Hospital (now the Cleveland Clinic’s Euclid Hospital), is elected chairman of the Euclid YMCA Board of Managers. Collins previously served the Y Board as a member of the executive committee and chairman of the finance committee. In 1963, he served as general chairman of the YMCA’s building fund campaign.

School Superintendent Dr. Spartoco (“Sparky”) DiBiasio was elected to the post of first vice chairman of the Y board.

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          A cast of 200, including members of the recently organized Blade and Edge Club, is preparing to stage the sixth annual “Ice Frolics” show at the Memorial Ice Arena on March 6.  Theme of the event is “A Salute to American Composers” – featuring music by George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and others.

          The Blade and Edge Club segment is expected to feature skaters gliding to selections from “The Sound of Music.”

          Among the performers lined up by director John Terango, Euclid’s assistant recreation director, are soloists Julia Sutphin, Jane Dunbar, and George Prokop. Choreographers are Betty Heiss Barnes, a former “Ice Capades” star, and Barbara Squire Vero, a former “Ice Follies” performer.  (Due to deadline pressures, the Observer was not able to confirm whether or not Betty Heiss Barnes was related to Carol Heiss Jenkins, an Olympic gold-medal winner for the USA.)

          The scenery for the ice show was painted by Euclid High and Shore Junior High artists, under the direction of Ted Theodore and Art Cippolo. (Theodore, a former art teacher and track coach at Euclid High, and his wife Irene now live in Cuyahoga Falls.)

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           Eight Euclid Panther matmen placed in the sectional tournament – but only seven of them will advance to the rugged District tournament at Mayfield High. Dan Ballantine, who finished 4th in the sectional, incurred a rib injury and will be unable to continue. (At the District  meet, his first opponent  would have been Mike Milkovich Jr., son of the legendary Maple Heights Coach.)

           Euclid’s district qualifiers included two sectional champions – Rich Piscopo (133 pounds)  and Randy Jordan (138).  Other Panthers advancing are:  John Meros (103), Pete Goulis (120), Steve Piscopo (127), Bill Cathcart  (145), and heavyweight Al Tolchinsky. As a team, Euclid edged Mayfield, 74-72, to earn  the sectional crown.

          St. Joseph High coach John Storey saw three of his matmen advance to the Mayfield  District – Jim Roberts (103), Don Heibel (165), and Ron Tumbry – the sectional heavyweight champion. In the title round, Tumbry edged the Panthers’ Tolchinsky by a narrow 3-2 margin.

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          Meanwhile,  St. Joe track coach Jim McDonough has high hopes for his runners, jumpers, and throwers as the spring sports season approaches. In fact, McDonough is predicting that the Vikings could capture a state championship in 1966.  (In the previous fall, his cross-country squad  did win a state title.)

          McDonough expects strong seasons from two of his distance runners – Jim Slusser and Len Gornik, who set a school record in the mile run with a time of 4 minutes, 28.5 seconds.

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          On the retail scene, the Value City store at 22400 Shore Center Dr. is advertising 20-gallon plastic trashcans for just $1.74 and Nestle candy bars  for a mere 4 cents.  It also offers women’s fashion shoes  for $4.40.

          Also, Smith’s Restaurant  & Cocktail Lounge at East 222nd & Lake Shore Blvd. is promoting its St.  Patty’s Day  party featuring Irish dinners for $3  per person.

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          In one of its most ambitious ventures ever, the St. Joseph High Student Council  has booked “The Brothers Four” – one of the nation’s top folk-singing groups – to give a three-hour concert in the school auditorium on March 18.  It will be the folk group’s first Cleveland-area appearance. To persuade “The Brothers Four” to perform at St. Joe’s, the Student Council had to agree to a $3,500 contract -- quite a sum for a school event.

          “They wanted to sponsor something big,” explains Bro. Philip Aaron, the school principal. “They were so enthusiastic about this project that I had to go along with them.”

          Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Bergamo Center for Christian Renewal, a Marianist retreat house in Dayton, Ohio.

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