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By: Cathrynn Cabigting Burns

“Touchdown!” Can you believe we’ve been hearing this for 100 years between Westerly and Stonington High School?  This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Westerly-Stonington football rivalry. It also happens to be the 20th Anniversary both teams won their respective state championship! In honor of these anniversaries, on Saturday, November 19th, a reunion evening will be held at the Westerly Armory.

The Westerly-Stonington Football Reunion Evening is open to the public, for team members, coaches, and fans! The event has been in the making for months, starting with just two empty picture frames at the Armory.  Roberta Humblr, President of the Westerly Armory, had two antique picture frames she thought would be best for pictures of the famous football rivalry.  In fact, these frames were her father’s – Bob Mudge – a Westerly High School educator, athlete, and coach.  Richard Siciliano, a member of the Executive Board of the Westerly Armory, came across pictures and some help from Ken Collins, a local sports announcer, the idea of a reunion evening began a spark.

The Reunion Evening’s committee, consisting of Richard Siciliano and Ron Brunelle co-chairmen, along with Kathryn Burns, John Leach, Jerry Desmond, and 1991 Championship Coaches, Jim Murano and Bob Mitchell, have been working hard preparing the night’s events.

The evening will begin at 5:30pm with a social hour.  A delicious dinner will be served at 6:30pm, followed by recognitions.  The Reunion Evening’s emcee will be Charlie Holdredge.  In addition, current players will be helping at the event.

Tickets can be purchased in advance for $30.  You can get them at the Westerly Armory, Westerly or Stonington home games, and Westerly and Stonington High Schools.  You can also find them online at www.westerlyarmory.org.

Come celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Westerly-Stonington football rivalry, the 20th anniversary of the 1991 Champions, and even the 110th anniversary of the opening of the historic Westerly Armory!  It will be a night to remember and just a week before you will hear “Touchdown!” at the Thanksgiving Day game! In addition to this reunion evening at the Armory, members of both championship teams will be introduced during halftime activities at the Thanksgiving Day game.

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By: Roger Zotti

Allan G. Johnson’s latest novel, the superb Nothing Left to Lose (Plain View Press), is set in 1968.  Readers are quickly introduced to the Carson Family – William, Anne, Joshua and Andrew.  William served in WWII and was severely traumatized: For twenty years he has kept silent about his recurring nightmares.  One son, Joshua, is a Marine serving in Vietnam.  Another son, Andrew, an ROTC senior in a small New England college, will leave for Vietnam after graduating.  When Joshua is reported missing in action, the family begins to come apart.  Anne, for example, is “afraid of each moment of what might happen next.”  Later, she says to Andrew, “Going off to war because you’re afraid not to.”

Allan’s powerful novel raises questions about war because it is, he said, “about all wars, not just the Vietnam War.”  The Carson Family serves as a microcosm for “the cost of war, not just to soldiers but to their families.”  Allan hopes the novel gets “readers thinking deeply about who we are, what it means to be a human being, and what that calls on us to be and do.”  He hopes the readers consider “what makes war possible – even inevitable – time after time, [along with] the terrible toll it takes on people’s lives, the few we know about, the ones we see, and the many we do not.”

One of the book’s theme is that there is a family history, Allan said, “behind every soldier who shows up on the battlefield, behind the draftee who refuses to go, or behind the deserter who runs away.  And when soldiers come home – with all kinds of wounds – it is the family that receives them and their wounds.  How this all gets lived out is something that plays out across generations.”

When asked what prompted him to write the book, the Collinsville, CT resident said, “The honest answer is who knows? A story comes to you and grabs you by the throat and you write it.” At the same time, he pointed out that “the seeds of the story were planted back in the seventies, when I was in graduate school in Detroit.”  While watching television on evening, he saw an interview with a father and his son, who’s resisting the draft.  ”Suddenly, I became aware of how powerful the relationship between fathers and sons can be when it comes to masculinity and violence and war.  That relationship between generations of men – between fathers and sons – was really the kernel around which this novel was built.”

Like all good literature, Allan’s latest novel (his first work was The First Thing and the Last) is seductive because it deals with issues larger than ourselves.  Beautifully written, Nothing Left to Lose is courageous, compelling and provocative, but it isn’t pessimistic.  Because of the author’s artistic insight and sensitivity, the Carson Family learns, grows, forgives and – above all – reaches a degree of understanding in the face of immense pain and loss. The book will strike a chord that resonates with readers.

For more information about Allan and his other works, visit www.allangjohnson.com.

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Story and photo by: Christine Laudone

The sun was shining at Old Killingly High School as the Rhode Island Riptide and Green Valley Blackhawks entered the field before the Maritime Conference championship game on October 23.

It was not only the Riptide’s first championship, but also the end of its first season. When Dale Colprit, previously a Southern Connecticut Sting player, established the team in Westerly, R.I. he hoped to bring semi-pro football to a town that would enjoy it.

“Westerly has a huge football following so it only made sense to start [a team] here,” he said. Colprit took former Sting coaches Duane Pierson and Mark Baxley with him.

“I knew they were good coaches so if I brought them with me I was certain that would be a great start,” he said.  It indeed was a great start, as was adding Darryl Sebastian and Ryan Milton to the coaching staff.

From day one it was established that this team would be like a family; they focused on working together and not trying to outdo one another.  Players say that being part of the Riptide is about camaraderie; they worked hard to bring a championship not only to the town and state that they represent, but also to each other.

“Coaches Pierson, Baxley and other players deserve a championship for what they put into the team,” player Andrew Gervasini said.  However, they still kept their home field and fans in mind.

“I just hope we pull it out and win it, it will give a lot of love to Westerly,” said lineman Mike Sawyer.  That desire to win has kept some players up at night.

“I’m still dizzy after winning the first playoff game, I can’t remember much about the second playoff win and haven’t slept much thinking about [the championship,]” Colprit said.

The previously undefeated Blackhawks gave the Riptide two of its three losses this season.

“We have played [the Blackhawks] twice and both times we shot ourselves in the foot.  We just need to work on finishing,” Sawyer said.

Players, coaches and fans gathered after the Riptide’s win for some final words from Coach Pierson, the awarding of MVP to Anthony Coppock, and photos with the trophy.

It was the perfect ending to the Riptide’s first season.  After months of hard work, the team can now relax and know that they are champions.

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By: Anna Trusky

Bob Blair was born just one house away from where he lives today in Chester.  He grew up there and was president of his senior class at Chester High.  But there was a time when duty called and Bob left the idyllic New England village to serve his country in World War II.  Soon he would be flying bombing missions over Europe.

“It was an easy choice to join the Air Corps,” Bob says.  ”As A kid, I was always fascinated by flight.  I flew kites, dropped parachutes with rocks tied to the end and jumped off the roof with a piece of cardboard behind me for the wings.  I was always drawing pictures of planes and I watched every small plane that flew overhead from Doane’s Airport in Essex.”

Bob went to Basic Training in Utah and was sent to Indianapolis for training to be an X-ray technician.  He completed that course and signed up to train as a Cadet.  ”I was stationed in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and attended the University there.  It was a great experience to be on a college campus.  I took part in football and cross country and picked up some college credits,” he says.  After that, Bob was sent to San Antonio, Texas, to be a bombardier, but there were no openings, so he signed up to train as a gunner on a B-24 and was trained at a gunnery school in Charleston, South Carolina.

From there Bob went to Bangor, Maine, where his 10-man crew – the 15th Air Force, 376th Bomb Group – was assembled.  ”we flew to Bermuda and waited for favorable conditions to fly to the Azores and from there to North Africa.  Soon after that we flew to San Pancrazzio in Italy, where we were based.  There were hundreds of crews there.  We stayed in tents, rigging up homemade stoves to keep warm.”

As a top turret gunner, Bob went on  bombing missions that typically took six to eight hours.  ”We flew at high altitude with oxygen masks and heated flight suits.  Fighter planes escorted us partway to the target,” he explains.  ”Because we had to fly at a lower altitude to drop the bombs, our risks were high from anti-aircraft fire.  They would shoot flak at us, small bombs that exploded with shrapnel, which sometimes came straight through the windows of the plane.

“On our 25th mission, our plane was shot down and the pilot was severely injured.  We made an emergency landing in Northern Italy.  After being escorted back to base by the Tuskegee Airmen, we were shipped back to the States.  We crossed the Atlantic on a troop ship with Red Skelton [the famous comic actor] hitching a ride with us.  I can still remember hearing the Andrews Sisters singing ‘Rum and Coca Cola’ as we docked in Virginia,” Bob recalls.

Since returning to Connecticut, Bob has been involved mostly in sales – cars and real estate; at 88, he’s still working.  He served for 22 years as First Selectman of Chester. “Joining the military is a great opportunity, but the duties can be harsh and it’s not for everyone.  Still, a Veteran is always much respected,” Bob points out.

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