Lane Tech TODAY Newsletter of the Lane Tech Alumni Association

June 2016 • Vol. 35 • No. 2

Wherever You Go, Whatever You Do, Remember the Honor of Lane.

Lane Baseball Alumni Honor the Past, Support the Present by Kevin Sheldon ‘75

Lane has a long, storied sports history and anyone who attended the school has heard the words, “School of Champions”, a title based on Lane’s many championships including over 500 city championships and 16 state championships since its founding in 1908. One sport where Lane has dominated in the state playoffs is baseball, with Lane qualifying for the finals fifteen times and winning two state championships (1945 and 1956). On April 1st, the 1956 team was honored for the 60th anniversary of their championship season at the annual Lane Tech Baseball Alumni Reunion Dinner held in Park Ridge and sponsored by the Lane Baseball Alumni Group. Five members of the team attended along with friends, family and spouses and over eighty Lane baseball alumni. Fred Durler, the catcher from the 1956 team, spoke of that magical year as if it were yesterday. Joining him were fellow teammates Bob Kasper, Joe Cane, Bud Felichio, and Bob “Shotgun” Becker, along with Paul Calderone from the 1954 team. Every team member was presented with a plaque featuring a 1956 team photo. Lane Baseball Coach Dave Rivera honored the 1956 team by retiring the number 56, and presented the retired jersey to the team. Third baseman Joe Cane recalled how 500 guys tried out for the team his freshman year so the competition was extremely tough and only the best players made the team. The 1956 team finished with a record of 20-1 and in the state finals beat Belvedere 12-0, DuQuoin 7-0 and finally Freeburg 5-3 in the championship game where ace pitcher Jim Woods fanned 13. When asked about his favorite memory of that year, Bob Kasper replied, “It was when we met the mayor downtown and returned to the school lunchroom and everyone got up on the tables and applauded”. Lane baseball has come a long way since the 1956 team won the championship. The old baseball field was replaced in 2015 by Kerry Wood Cubs Field and now there is support from the Lane Baseball Alumni Group which this year hopes to donate $10,000 to the team in the form of two scholarships as well as cash for much needed equipment. The organization was founded over twenty years ago by a small group of alumni and has grown to over 200 members. The lure of playing the game never goes away and every year for the past 20 years, the baseball alumni hold their annual Alumni vs. Lane Tech Varsity game. It’s a time for players of all eras to get together on the field for a friendly game against the present day varsity team. Class of 1975 grad, George Sanchez, has been managing the team for seven years and noted that “many of the old timers still play baseball regularly so it’s often a very competitive game”. This year’s game was held on May 15th at Kerry Wood Cubs Field with over 45 alumni participating. Lane has a great baseball tradition and that spirit continues on to this day. Players from past and present can be proud to be part of a program that truly lives up to the title, “School of Champions”. For information about Lane Tech Baseball go to: www.lanetechbaseball.org President’s Message

Alumni Association Newsletter Dear Alumni, more than one story of past teenage truancy Vol. 35 • No. 2 spent in the bleachers on sunny spring days! June 2016 Whether your allegiances lead you to the north or It is no coincidence that on September 17, south side of , 1934 the entire student body, faculty and nothing signals the related dignitaries, (allegedly 9,000 people), optimism of spring like marched from to the brand new Editors the opening of baseball Lane Tech on our own historic opening day. Mary Beth Ficht season. This year it is We are inextricably connected through love Michelle Weiner ‘76 particularly significant in that we at Lane are of the sport and simple geography, and it is celebrating two baseball milestones… the connection that we strive to celebrate at the Contributing Editors 60th anniversary of the 1956 Lane Tech State Lane Tech Alumni Association. Please refer Barbara Cook Baseball Championship and the inaugural to our Facebook page and website for news Stuart Eng ‘85 year of the Kerry Wood Cubs Field on the of upcoming events, and get involved with Grant Martin ‘63 Lane campus. We also enjoyed record- your home team… the LTAA. Angela Olah ‘04 Kevin Sheldon ‘75 setting participation for the second annual Play ball! LTAA “Night at Wrigley” when 450 enthusiastic Lane Alumni descended upon the ballpark for Michelle (Millkovic) Weiner, ‘76 Production Managers a night of baseball and socializing, including President, LTAA Jeff Juhasz ‘76 Steve Juhasz ‘75 Lane Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors Copy Editor Board of Directors 2016-17 Meetings Schedule Patrick Kasch President July 28, 2016 Production Team Michelle Weiner ‘76 September 22, 2016 Brian Dolan ‘86 Vice President December, 2016 Fullline Printing Jim Guerin ‘72 January 26, 2017 Treasurer March 23, 2017 Kim Kidd ‘73 May 25, 2017 Telephone: 773-935-9351 Secretary Fax: 773-935-4570 Meeting locations and times vary. Please check with Angela Olah ‘04 Toll-Free: 877-935-ALUM (2586) the alumni office for details. Board Members Visit the LTAA website at Deidre Baumann ‘85 www.lanetechalumni.org Sherlanda Brooks ‘87 Newsletter Deadlines Stuart Eng ‘85 Past President e-mail: Fred Glure ‘63 [email protected] Dennis Hammer ‘71 Past President Summer Issue July 15 Joseph Lawniczak ‘69 Fall Issue October 15 Visit Lane Tech’s website at Avrom Litin ‘83 Winter Issue January 15 www.lanetech.org Sharon Manjack ‘77 Spring Issue April 15 Tod McElhaney ‘83 Mail to: Published quarterly for the Jill Rzadzki ‘91 Mary Beth Ficht, Newsletter Editor alumni of Lane Tech College Maurel Samonte ‘86 Lane Tech Alumni Association, Inc. Prep High School, Chicago Kevin Sheldon, ‘75 3525 West Peterson Avenue, #105 . We reserve the right to Marion Synowiec ‘64 Past President Chicago, Illinois 60659-3314 edit submissions for publication Alumni Staff due to space limitations. Send Mailing Address: P.O. Box 18200 news and photographs (not Barbara Cook - Executive Director Chicago, Illinois 60618-0200 Mary Beth Ficht - Program Director returnable) to: [email protected] Newsletter Editor Lane Tech Alumni Association 3525 West Peterson Avenue, #105 Chicago, Illinois 60659-3314 Table of Contents Mailing Address: P.O. Box 18200 President’s Message...... 2 Champion Makers...... 7 Chicago, Illinois 60618-0200 Alumni News...... 4 The Drum Beat...... 8-9 Email: Reunions...... 4 Spring Events...... 10 [email protected] Inside 2501...... 5 In Memoriam...... 11 Alumni Spotlight...... 6 Backwards Glance...... 12 Principal’s Message

Greetings, Lane Alums! uch like a 7th inning stretch, excitement is in the air as we wrap up the last quarter of the Mschool year. The month of May brings the ACT exam and AP testing with well over 5,000 exams taken at Lane, which will be the largest number taken in the city, state, and nation. Aside from testing, our students are excited for athletic competitions, music and play performances, and the much anticipated prom. Come June, we will send off our seniors, who just celebrated their acceptance to their colleges of choice during our decision day celebration in the Memorial Garden. We are proud to see our students heading off to great schools throughout the nation. On a final note, I would like to personally thank the Alumni Association for hosting the 25th Annual Alumni Association Professional Day and all alumni who spoke to hundreds of eager students. We are extremely thankful that our students are able to hear and learn from your experiences, which will encourage and motivate them to follow in your great footsteps. Sincerely, Kathryn Anderson, Principal

LTAA Professional Day

octors, and lawyers and bankers oh my! A fantastic group of alumni took time from their busy schedules on April D12th to participate in the 25th Annual LTAA Professional Day experience. Three of our dedicated speakers traveled from out of state and one talked to students via Skype from the east coast. Others cleared the calendars of their local offices to spend the day talking to students about everything from dentistry to social work and textile design to rocket science. The LTAA extends a genuine appreciation to each member of our stellar group of speakers:

Deidre Baumann (‘85) Terrell Burgess (‘95) Kelly Burns (‘90) Ben Eisler (‘90) Lou Gatta (‘60) Katarzyna Jedeluk (‘05) Joseph Kosinski (‘74) Michael Lehman (‘86) Peter Matic (‘74) Angela Olah (‘04) Dr. Renee Pappas-Durbin (‘80) Joanna MaciaszkiewIcz- Perez (‘95) Jonathan Projansky (‘95) Dr. Richard Razgaitis (‘61) Allison Scherer (‘82) David Stahl (‘64) Fariha Wajid (‘10)

Principal Anderson stopped in at “Alumni Central” (the teacher’s lounge) to greet our volunteers as did Assistant Principal and alumni liaison, Edwina Thompson, (’99) who connected with a few old friends. We received great feedback from our host classroom teachers. “Thank you! It was a great experience. My 8th graders want to return to Lane to speak after they graduate...in four years”, shared Phillip Elkins. Teacher Michelle Daly sent handwritten thank you notes from each student to the speakers who visited her classes, and Kristina Chambers glowed about the experience, “Thank you for putting this program together - I look forward to using it in the years to come!”. By the end of the afternoon, our alumni volunteers visited sixty-eight classrooms and connected to more than eighteen hundred students. In the future, we hope to make Professional Day the core of a comprehensive mentoring program which will include resume and portfolio reviews, shadowing programs and internships. For the time being, however, we will once again thank everyone involved in making Professional Day 2016 a success! LTAA Program Director, Mary Beth Ficht, said it best, “The whole experience of connecting the past to the present is so meaningful to me. It’s such a full circle moment for the alumni to come back to share their life journey with a new generation. To me, Professional Day is the true meaning of ‘paying it forward’.” June 2016 • 3 Alumni News

note is an attempt to bid farewell to a typical Lane ‘48 Indian who long remembered the honor of Lane! ‘02 Dr. William Lyons Ph.D., O.D. proudly May Jack Thunander rest in peace. Congratulations to Dr. accompanied his granddaughter to her LTHS Michael Burton who is a orientation. It occurred to him during this time Respectfully submitted, postdoctoral researcher that he had not entered Lane’s portal in 68 Jack Leese ’49 at University of Texas, years, which he exclaimed is a “lifetime ago for Dallas and has won the many”. Over all the years, Dr. Will Lyons had a ‘57 prestigious grant from the National Institute of private practice, married and became a father Allen Ciesel and his wife Wendy have done Health (NIH). This 5-year grant will be used of three sons. One of his sons is a physician in some extensive travel in their retirement. It all to help him further his research and transition Chicago. In keeping with family traditions, two started during a business trip to Hong Kong to a university faculty position. This is the first of Dr. Will’s grandchildren attend Lane Tech. and meeting a couple that were celebrating time that a postdoctoral researcher from UT having traveled to 100 countries. Since then, Dallas has won the award. Dr. Burton works in ‘51 Allen and Wendy have been to 101 countries the neuroscience department and his research Jack Thunander, a 1951 Lane Tech graduate, across 6 continents. Over the course of 15 is focused on how the immune system can passed away in early March, 2016. Jack played years some of these countries include Russia, affect pain. To read more information about Dr. center on the football team which participated in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Bermuda, Burton’s achievement visit http://www.utdallas.edu/ Canada and more. They have even passed the news/2016/4/6-31988_Postdoctoral-Researcher- the 1950 City Championship in Soldier Field. He Receives-NIH-Grant-to-Help_story-sidebar. travel bug on to their grandchildren by taking was a charter member of the Lane Tech ‘49ers, html?WT.mc_id=NewsEmail. Lane Tech alumni group serving as treasurer them on annual excursions. Allen recounts for group leaders Harry Schneider and Wally his classes at Lane especially Civics where ‘04 & ‘05 Wenzel. He was a dedicated and active member he learned skills that he applied throughout Congratulations of this organization and rarely missed a meeting. college, 38 years of work and his personal life. This spring Allen and Wendy, who will head to Carrie Costanzo Jack had a great personality as well as being (‘04) and Kyle a fun guy to be around. Many friends of his to the Baltics and Poland comment, “Still, we always appreciate returning home.” Murphy (‘05) on their recent graduation from the did not know he passed away and missed the Chicago Police Academy! opportunity to say one last goodbye. This short Reunions

Lane Tech 1949ers +/- Class of 1962 Class of 1976 County Forest Preserve-Irving Park Date & Time: second Thursday of the Date & Time: 2017 Date & Time: Sept 23-24, 2016 Rd & Cumberland Rd. month in March, June, September & Information: Classmates Tom Muraoka, Location: Lane Tech and Ridgemoor Cost: $129.12 December at 11:30 John Kowalski and Tom Swierzynski Country Club, Harwood Hts., IL. Information: July 8th plans are TBD. Location Elks Club in Des Plaines, IL are spearheading a 55th reunion for Information: Friday, September July 9th: reunion reception from 7:30 Information: The group welcomes 2017. For more information, please 23rd Tailgate party and Lane Tech p.m. to midnight at Little Black Pearl any Lane Tech graduates to attend contact Tom at [email protected]. Homecoming Game. Saturday, Shop. Event includes complimentary their quarterly luncheons at the Elk’s September 24th morning school tour cocktails, beer and wine selections Club in Des Plaines, IL. If you are The Classes of 1966 & January 1967 and evening reunion bash. Details followed by a buffet style dinner that will interested in joining the group, please Date & Time: Saturday, October 15, including costs are being finalized. begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. Celebrate contact the Alumni Association office. 2016 10am tour and 5:30pm dinner For more information and to register our 20th anniversary while enjoying Location: Lane Tech parking lot for the mailing list go to www. an open bar, onsite photography, live Class of 1956 Entrance M and White Eagle, 6839 N. lanetech1976.com. DJ, dancing and more. Complimentary Date & Time: September 21-23, 2016 Milwaukee, Niles, IL. parking will also be available. July Location: Lane Tech, Wrigley Field & Cost: $75.00 per person Class of 1986 10th: family and friends are welcome White Eagle Banquet, Niles, IL Information: Al Halfen is coordinating Date & Time: Saturday, September 17th to attend a reunion picnic at Schiller Cost: TBD an inclusive 50th reunion an inclusive Location: Lane Tech and Wyndham Woods from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Information: The 60th reunion will ‘66/’67-50th reunion. A school tour is Grand Chicago Riverfront There will be outdoor activities for the begin on Wednesday, the 21st with a tentatively planned for Saturday morning, Cost: $110 from June 1- Aug.31 entire family, as well as grilling. We school tour in the morning and night RSVP to Al for the school tour. To Information: Friday will include a encourage alumni and their families to game at Wrigley, where the Cubs purchase tickets for the dinner banquet morning tour of Lane with a Hero’s bring chairs, tables, blankets, and as play the Cincinnati Reds. Ticket price or for more information, please go to lunch afterward, then a Saturday much food and beverages as needed. to be determined, and tickets will be website: www.1966lanetechreunion.com/ evening celebration at the Wyndham For more information, please visit the distributed on a first come first served or contact Al at [email protected]. Grand Chicago Riverfront from 7pm reunion website at lanetech96.com/ basis. On Thursday, Sept. 22nd -midnight. Price includes heavy home.html. Class of 1971 there will be dinner at White Eagle hors d’oeuvres, two hours open Date & Time: October 8, 2016 10AM & Banquets beginning at 5:30 p.m. with bar (beer and wine), dancing, and Class of 2006 5:30PM a cash bar and dinner at 6:30 p.m. more! To register, please visit www. Date & Time: Fall 2016 Location: Lane Tech parking lot Entrance The reunion will culminate with Lane lanetech86reunions.com, or contact Location: TBD M and Elks Club, Des Plaines, IL. Tech’s Homecoming game on Friday, fellow classmate, Maurel Samonte at Information: Senior Class President, Information: Celebration includes a Sept. 23rd at the campus stadium. [email protected]. Leticia Rosa and her fellow class morning reunion school tour at 10am and Game time is 7:00p.m. and tickets officers are planning a 10-year at 5:30pm, join classmates at the Elks are approximately $5.00, (price Class of 1996 reunion. Please join the 2006 Club in Des Plaines, IL. To RSVP to the may change). For more information, Date & Time: July 8-10, 2016 Facebook group at www.facebook. tour and evening gathering, please email please contact lanereunion1956@ Location: (July 9) Little Black com/LaneTechClass2006/. [email protected]. Fellow classmates, Wally sbcglobal.net Pearl-1060 E. 47th St., Chicago Walejeski and Phil Koehl are the reunion & (July 10) Schiller Woods- Cook organizers.

If you are interested in organizing a reunion this year, please contact the Alumni 4 • Lane Tech Today Association at [email protected] or call (773) 935-9351. Inside 2501

A snapshot of what’s happening at Lane today

US News & World Report ranks Lane 6th in Illinois! http://www. The Lane Tech Debate Team yielded 2 individual varsity city usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/illinois/districts/ championships in the recent 2016 competition against 31 chicago-public-schools/lane-technical-high-school-6572 other Chicago Public schools. Of the top 1500 debaters, Lane won 7 of the top 20 speaker awards. Congratulations! Washington Post’s “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” ranked Lane Tech 7th in Illinois up from 11th last Boys and girls water polo took 3rd in the City. year, and 172 out of more than 21,000 schools nationally. Lane’s ranking is especially impressive considering they Boys hockey outcomes include Varsity: 5-3, JV-White: 3-4, have the highest number of students from low-income and JV-Green: 8-0 undefeated! families of the top 10 schools. (58%) https://www.washingtonpost. com/local/education/how-the-americas-most-challenging-high-schools-list- The Boys Frosh/Soph Track & Field Team won the works/2016/04/12/647471de-00d5-11e6-b823-707c79ce3504_story.html City Championship in dominating fashion. Results are at http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults. aspx?Meet=273049#16195 The Varsity Boys Track & Field team finished 3rd at the City Championships. Thanks to several generous donations from the 1974 State Champions we now have beautiful new Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Record Boards displayed on the wall of stairwell D. Stop by and check them out!

The boys volleyball program had a very productive 2016. Freshman finished 2nd in conference, Sophomore’s finished 5th and Varsity finished 4th. The program is on its way to the top as each year we improve our seeding.

The boys baseball team had a 23 and 9 record going into the city semifinals and beat Taft 7-6 to win the City Championship. The team hosts the IHSA regionals at Kerry Wood Field at the end of May.

Buh-bye bridge! The removal of the Western Avenue overpass The girls softball team suffered a 7-2 loss against Northside continues to snarl traffic and try the patience of drivers in Prep on May 20th eliminating them from contention for the and around Lane Tech. The actual bridge portion has been City Championship. demolished and the rubble removed. Now work to re-establish driving lanes and a center median strip is underway. In girls soccer, frosh-soph, junior varsity, and varsity won their conference titles with undefeated seasons. Varsity Congratulations to Lane’s Art and Music teachers for receiving and JV both became city champs when they beat Young on the highest “Excelling” rating for the CPS Creative Schools Thursday, May 12th. certification! This will provide opportunities for additional resources, supports and funding to help schools address Girls Lacrosse won the City Championship beating gaps in arts learning, build more robust arts programs, and Northside Prep 11-8. accomplish the goal of every CPS child in every CPS school having access to a high-quality arts education.

Congratulations to Lane’s Robotics Team, X-Machina, for their stellar performance at the Midwest Regional Competition at the UIC Pavilion. Although eliminated after the quarter finals, they beat out corporate teams from Caterpillar, Motorola and WMS Gaming!

Seven Lane students were announced as 2016 Scholastic Art and Writing Award National Medalists. Their work was selected by professionals as the most accomplished in the nation out of 320,000 submittals.

June 2016 • 5 Alumni Spotlight

Jim Woods, a true Lane champion

eamwork is important in sports but often it’s the extraordinary Teffort of few individuals that pushes a team over the top to a championship. One such individual on the 1956 state championship baseball team was star pitcher and former major leaguer, Jim Woods. Growing up in the Lakeview area, Jim started playing baseball at a young age at Hamlin Park. He tried out for the baseball team alongside 500 other hopeful players, not sure if he’d even make the team and later became a star pitcher, hitter and local phenom. In his senior year in 1957, he signed with the Cubs and the day after graduation was sitting in the dugout with the likes of players such as . He got into a couple of games scoring a as a pinch runner but was then sent to the minors. In 1959 the Cubs traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in a 3 man deal for future hall of famer, . The Cubs had another third base prospect in mind as his replacement, none other than Cub legend Ron Santo. Jim even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1961 and was perhaps the only Laneite ever to do so. Not bad for a local boy from the neighborhood! After baseball, Jim started his 35 year career with the airlines industry and is now retired and living in California.

LTAA: How did Lane impact your life? LTAA: What was your best memory from the 1956 cham- JW: Having gone straight from Lane into professional pionship year? baseball, I didn’t have a college education so Lane got me JW: We excelled that year and it was the love of winning started and put me out into the world. The school planned that helped us succeed. But just the enormous celebration a good education for me in a variety of fields to see what that Chicago and Lane Tech put on for us was amazing. We I excelled in. came home from the tournament and all four newspapers The education from shop classes was good because had stories and photos and big headlines. It was a proud everyone ends up working around the house in the future moment when we received that trophy. and instruction from the faculty was valuable when it came LTAA: What was it like playing in the Major Leagues right to learning how to use various tools. I still get together after graduating from Lane? with friends and we often joke about the lopsided tables JW: I think about those days and the opportunity to play we made in wood shop. against the likes of guys like , and Juan Marichal and since there were only 8 teams in LTAA: What teacher or class influenced you the most? each league, I saw everybody, names I could only read JW: My future was baseball so I have to go back to Lane baseball coach George Wallenta, as the teacher who had about just a few years earlier. I enjoyed the life and when the biggest influence on me. If he hadn’t selected me you think about it, Lane Tech gave me that opportunity. to join the baseball team, I would never have had the LTAA: Have you been back to Lane in recent years? What opportunity to play in the majors and face famous players are your impressions? I used to read about. I recall as a junior when he asked JW: One of my retirement benefits from the airlines is free me if I could pitch and I said to him “Well, I can throw air travel so I still get to Chicago now and then. I came strikes and I won’t walk anyone”. He put me in and saw I back and toured the school when they were building the could throw strikes and I supposed I didn’t aggravate him new baseball stadium and now the guys on the team want during the game with things like walks and wild pitches so me to come back to see it finished. Someone sent me a he kept me on. picture of it and my goodness, I’m proud of whoever made this happen.

6 • Lane Tech Today Champion-Makers

Profiles of the impressive faculty and staff at Lane Tech

enaissance man Brian Telles, (’91) epitomizes the legacy of Rexcellence and commitment that makes Lane Tech unique. Although an engineering major and athlete when he attended Lane, the influence of English teachers like Mr. Vernon Mims and Mrs. Rosamary Dean instilled in him a love of literature that eventually guided him back to Lane to teach English. In addition to those duties, Mr. Telles is responsible for “2501” the school literary magazine, (formerly the Tech Prep), “Revel”, the literary e-zine, and the young artist-members of the Poetry Slam team. He explains his dedication to teaching, “This school is filled with some the greatest young people in this city, if not this country. They have sharp minds, are grounded, and have perspective.” To date, he calculates that he has had more than two thousand students pass through his English classrooms, successfully mentoring young readers, writers, and poets. A former student from the Class of 2007 reflects on his experience with Mr. Telles, “He is an egalitarian to the core. He made time for every student that needed him. He played no favorites because we were ALL his favorites.” As if that weren’t enough, Brian has also been involved with the Lane Tech Baseball team since 1998. Always passionate about the game, he was a player when he attended Lane and has continued participation in a variety of coaching roles. This year he is assistant head coach in charge of hitting, outfield, and third base coach during games. Like so many teachers at Lane who serve as club sponsors and coaches in addition to classroom responsibilities, time is always at a premium. When asked about work-life balance, Mr. Telles admits, “I have four kids - Roman 11, Arianna 13, Alec 16, Elia 18 (my oldest graduated from Lane last year and attends Michigan). The time I devote to Lane is in part due to my extraordinary wife who realizes that what I do at Lane is a part of me and more than just a job. She picks up a lot of the slack, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without her.” Mr. Telles is also a member of the Lane PPLC, (Professional Personnel Leadership Committee) where he represents his colleagues and himself in the strategy and governance that make Lane a rigorous, effective learning environment. As both an alumnus and an experienced educator, he can assess progress at Lane with a well-rounded perspective. “The shift to 21st century tech has been incredible. It has really put the tech back in Lane Tech. I think all of us old school grads really appreciate it”, says Telles. He is also keenly aware of the challenges that come with current testing trends too, and comments, “We have to fight the culture this creates where the value of education is in the grade, the score, the credential… instead of the learning of concepts, the ability to think, the ability to solve problems,” Despite those obstacles and the constant lack of resources and funding, Mr. Telles continues to work every day to provide the best experience possible for his students and his fellow teachers. “I feel an obligation to my school. I feel as a graduate it is up to me to make this school and its students the best in the state.” Brian Telles, teacher and coach, is a true Champion-Maker!

June 2016 • 7 The Drum Beat

In the 20’s it was common for New York and Chicago to play “intercity” baseball. On June 20, 1920 Commerce High School dealt Lane Tech a bruising loss of 12-6 thanks to one hot shot player named Lou Gehrig, (seated, third from right).

Fritz Pollard is best known for being the first African American football player to play at Brown University, and to play in the Rose Bowl, and to play for the NFL and to coach in the NFL. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005, but before all that he was a kid from Rogers Park who played football Jim Woods, our yes, but also ran track and played Spotlight Alum as baseball at Lane. Today the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation is the minority a Cub in 1957 hiring organization responsible for promoting candidates for professional roles in NFL front office, coaching and scouting staffs. L-R Greg Walsh, ‘71, Mike Lufrano, ‘83, Steve Miller, ‘71 Al Pasternak, ‘65

Next time you are at Wrigley Field trying to find your seat, ask the guest services staff if they went to Lane Tech. Whether in the front office or The Lane Tech Baseball Alumni Group held the 18th annual Lane Tech in the stands, the Varsity versus Alumni game on May 15th. This year’s event was especially 1923 Tech Prep staff at Wrigley is significant since it was the 60th anniversary of the State Championship. celebrating America’s full of Lane Tech At the end of the game, it was the Lane Tech Varsity team beating the Pastime Alums! alumni 9-2.

Betty Kollar, (’78) was Percy Moore was known as “Mr. Baseball of Lane Tech” a natural athlete who from 1921-1948. He coached football and soccer too but ran track, played soc- baseball was his claim to fame…that and getting Phil cer, tennis and base- Cavarretta into the Cubs organization. He also guided 85 Lane baseball players into the minor leagues and 10 ball, (nearly all the players in addition to Cavarretta, into the majors. During sports available to girls his tenure the baseball teams won 13 City Champion- at Lane in that pre-Title ships and in 1935 he had 1100 boys try out for the team: IX era)… but her pas- 368 for 4 infield positions, 200 for pitcher spots and the sion was Chicago-style other 532 for whatever he’d have them play. 16” Softball which she played for 38 years on teams throughout the One of the winningest Chicago area. Betty is Varsity Teams in one of the few female recent years is Girls players inducted into Softball who enjoyed the Chicago 16” Hall of an eight-year string Fame. She received of consecutive City that honor in 2012. Championships!

Phil Cavarretta is the player most often associated with Lane Tech’s baseball legacy and had the most notable professional career. While at Lane he pitched a no- hitter and eight 1-hitters. At 17 he left school and with the help of his coach Percy Moore, moved east down Addison street where he had a successful try out with the Cubs. He played for the Cubs organization from 1934-1953 and continued in the majors as a and coach until retirement 1978. Phil played in 3 World Series games, had a career .293 average, 95 home runs, 920 RBIs, and was 1945 The trajectory of the 1956 championship team is MVP. documented in the Sun-Times and the Lane Daily

If You Build it… They Really Will Come

one are the dignitaries and decorations from the official ribbon- Gcutting last fall, but walking into Kerry Wood Cubs Field in its inaugural season remains an awesome experience. The grounds are beautifully manicured with a “Wrigley replica marquee” electronic scoreboard, lighting for night games and an amazing view of the Chicago skyline as a backdrop. The stands provide spacious seating for about 1200 fans with complete wheelchair accessibility, and protection from the elements as well as the occasional foul ball. The players can enjoy real dugouts and the use of an adjacent bullpen. Nick Ingravallo, father of Lane Tech Peter Ingravallo shared, “The facility is a big draw. It’s in constant use with games scheduled at 4:30 and 7:00pm every day. Our boys are used to it now, but when visiting teams enter the field for the first time, they’re just agog.” That may have played to the advantage of the Indians on a sunny Saturday in April when they were leading a slightly disoriented Niles North 9-0 in the first inning, (final was 12-2). The field is the realization of Kerry Wood’s desire to have young baseball players in Chicago enjoy the positive experience he had as a high schooler, to have them feel like big leaguers and in fact, it is the only regulation IHSA field on Chicago’s north side. It took more than a village to get to that realization. The Wood Family Foundation, , Cubs Charities, City of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, former Governor Pat Quinn, and Turner Construction all had a hand in the successful completion of the facility which took three years, five million dollars and a few stops and starts. But oh was it worth it. Seeing the field in use by our young players is a joyful experience and instills even more Lane Tech pride than usual. If you live in Chicago or plan to return for a visit, take time to see the Kerry Wood Cubs Field. It is a true gift to the community. June 2016 • 9 Clocktower Club Hits the Road

locktower Club is a pop-up reunion and pub crawl of sorts that Cgrew out of the desire for Lane alums to connect and share the experiences that only other Laneites could appreciate. In Chicago, the group meets every other month at locations throughout the area for free- Clocktower Club AZ gets underway! wheeling conversation and camaraderie but this spring, we had our most adventuresome Clocktower to date. While the Cubs were making their way back to Chicago from Mesa, Jim Guerin, (’72), LTAA Vice President was making the reverse commute to Scottsdale to meet with an eager group of Lane alums led by Dirk Hacker, (’85), who now resides in the Valley of the Sun! Fifteen loyal alums representing classes from 1942 to 1985 met on April 12th for a myrtle and gold happy hour at Postino Wine Café in Scottsdale. Vic Spatafora from the 1956 State Baseball Championship team was in attendance, as was track star George White, (’54). With their class rings and yearbooks in tow, and stories to share, they also learned about what’s Jim Guerin, (72) and Dirk Hacker, (’85) happening in and around Lane today including student life, academic stats, the huge building renovation and recent activities of the LTAA. Arizona is home to one of the largest alumni populations outside of Illinois and this core group is excited to continue the Clocktower tradition and expand to more alums living in the state. The LTAA would like to send out a really big thank you to Dirk Hacker, whose enthusiasm created the spark that made this happen. He is a stellar example of why the LTAA is the best high school alumni association in the nation! For information about future events in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, contact us atARIZONA [email protected].

ARIZONA

LTAA Night at Wrigley

On May 10th, it was Northwestern Alumni Night at Wrigley Field but you would have never known it because it was also OUR Alumni Night! Despite a steady rain that didn’t clear up until late afternoon, almost five hundred Lane Tech alumni, friends and family made their way to Wrigley Field for our second annual Lane Alumni Night. Five generations of Lane folks were represented in the stands including Donald Stillwaugh, ‘43 who flew into town from Florida just to watch the game, and the babies of Lane Principal, Kathryn Anderson and Assistant Principal, Edwina Thompson, (’99), who mostly just enjoyed the noise and stadium snacks! Lane alums made it on the Fan Cam flaunting their myrtle and gold, and during the 5th inning, when the jumbotron read “Welcome Lane Alumni, Go Lane Go”, the stands went up for grabs. As if that weren’t enough excitement, the Cubs held off an eighth inning rally by the Padres to win 8-7. Northwestern who???

10 • Lane Tech Today In Memoriam Contact Us

1930-1939 Name______Frank Anzalone (’38)...... 11/2015

1940-1949 Name At Graduation______Richard Morawski (’42)...... 9/28/15 Leo Donati (’43)...... 3/31/16 Class______Gerard F. Idstein (’43)...... 3/5/16 Joseph L. Stephan (’45)...... 2/5/16 Carmen L. Guerrieri (’47)...... 3/23/16 Address______Wallace Conrad (’49)...... 4/1/16 1950-1959 Code (#on your address label)______Jack Thunander (’51)...... 3/3/16 George Kampka (’55)...... 1/10/16 City______Karl Melcher (’56)...... 11/25/15

1960-1969 State______Zip Code______Richard Sliwa (’61)...... 2016 Stephen Bushy (’62)...... 4/14/16 Charles Moore (’62)...... 12/24/15 Email______John Rains (’66)...... 9/28/14 1970-1979 Telephone (optional): Home ( )______Joseph Wilk (’70)...... 1/5/16 Juan Arjona (’74)...... 9/25/14 Work ( )______Frank Gerhart (’76)...... 3/30/14 Arthur Kadokura (’76)...... 4/4/16 Employer or School______Karen Kolacki (’76)...... 10/10/15

2010-2016 Send us your news, personal information, thoughts or change of Jessica Suarez (‘13)...... 2/2016 address. Send us photos (not returnable) of yourself or alumni gatherings. We’ll be glad to print them! Please consider the LTAA when estate planning.

June 2016 • 11 Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Lane Tech Alumni Association Carol Stream, Illinois P.O. Box 18200 Permit No. 819 Chicago, IL 60618-0200

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Backwards Glance

The true harbinger of spring is not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano, but the sound of the bat on the ball. Bill Veeck

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