Bridgeville High School 1960, the final graduating class
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This month, the Bridgeville Area Historical Society’s “Second Tuesday” series focused on the BHS Class of 1960. This was the final class of Bridgeville High School; the following year marked the opening of Chartiers Valley High School.
The 1960 Class dedicated its yearbook, the Lincoln Log, to all the classes that had preceded it at Lincoln High School by listing the names of all the graduates of each year accompanied by their class photographs.
In 1960, C.J. McMahon was supervising principal. Many long-tenured faculty members were still active — Gloria Lutz, Jane Patton, Ruth Montague, Frances Krenz, Trula Holman, Dorothy Crichfield and Alma Weise, to name a few.
Anthony Koszarsky was class president; Margaret Alice Koch, vice president; and Barbara Toney, secretary. Barry Delphus was treasurer; Joann Vogliano and William DeBone were co-social chairmen. I counted 109 seniors in the yearbook, making this Bridgeville High School’s largest graduating class.
Barbara Toney was May Queen; Joann Vogliano, Maid of Honor. Activities included their junior play, “Time Out for Ginger,” their senior play, “Mr. Co-ed,” the junior prom and the senior ball. The student council and the Bridger and yearbook staffs served the entire student body.
Many clubs were active, including the Hi-Y and its sister organization, the Y-Teens; the Dramatic Club; the GAA; the Chess Club; and the Lettermen’s Club. Some organizations catered to the students’ aspirations for life after high school — the Science Club, the Nurses’ Club, the Future Teachers of America, the Future Homemakers of America and the Commercial Club.
As usual, Alma Weise sponsored a family of choruses — the Boys’ Chorus, the Girls’ Chorus and the Mixed Chorus, at a minimum — as well as special ad hoc groups of stellar singers when the opportunity arose. Earl Mincemoyer had built up the band program to the point that the band had 56 members. The band included an impressive complement of majorettes, who combined with the cheerleading squad and the school’s two mascots to provide an effective pep rally section.
Ray Buzzatto’s football team had another successful season. They won their first five games comfortably before losing to Class A Carnegie. They responded to this loss by routing Bell-Avon and staying in the playoff race. A final 6-0 loss to Avella eliminated them from that competition.
The basketball team, coached by Pat Malarkey, was equally successful, winning their section by beating Snowden, 61-55, in the final game. They lost their first playoff game to Export 46-36, despite outscoring their opponent from the field.
BHS fielded teams in golf, soccer and baseball in the spring. Unfortunately, we knew very little about these sports because each year the yearbook has gone to press before their seasons began. We also know that two Bridgeville wrestlers competed as part of the Scott Township team this year, anticipating the next year’s merger.
This has been an enjoyable series of workshops. We hope to be able to compile the information we have acquired about the high school’s history and publish it as a modest brochure.
Next month, the “Second Tuesday” workshop will be “The Whiskey Rebellion,” the final one in our series examining George Washington’s seven visits to Western Pennsylvania. It will occur at 7 p.m. May 14 at the History Center.