NEWS

Friendly lightening asThunderbolts gather for 50th reunion

Posted 7/12/22

By EMMA BARTLETT

Cranston High School East’s class of ‘71 – the largest class to graduate within the state – celebrated its 50th reunion at Bonnet Shores Beach Club on June …

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NEWS

Friendly lightening asThunderbolts gather for 50th reunion

Posted

By EMMA BARTLETT

Cranston High School East’s class of ‘71 – the largest class to graduate within the state – celebrated its 50th reunion at Bonnet Shores Beach Club on June 25. The class had 114 of its 721 graduates in attendance, and the night was filled with catching up with friends and sharing high school memories.

The stories ranged from reminiscing about meeting best friends and life partners to recalling the one classmate who rode a motorcycle through one corridor to another within the school.

“We raised a lot of hell,” said Steve Izzi, class of ‘71 alum. “It was a lot of fun.”

The reunion dinner may have been the main event for graduates, but the reunion planning committee hosted several events that weekend including a golf tournament at North Kingstown Golf Course, a tour of Cranston East and a picnic at Goddard Park.  

Cranston East’s current student ambassadors led the school tour on June 24 and, for many of the 35 alum, this was the first time since graduation that they returned to the school.

East Principal Tom Barbieri welcomed the class back to “West,” which led to friendly booing and laughs from the alum. He added that classrooms were being cleaned and the graduates may find some of the desks they sat in out in the hallways.

During the tour, classmates reflected on their old homerooms and the teachers who taught in various classrooms. The tour showcased the building’s new additions (the gym and science wing) and some room changes (such as the original library being turned into the guidance office). Still, some things – like the auditorium, cafeteria, academic classrooms and Briggs Building – remained the same. One classmate even noted that it was nice to see the auditorium’s clock was still broken.

Following the tour, individuals gathered for the 50th reunion the next day. Classmates attended from 20 states and one individual, Bill Dube, visited from New Zealand. Ernie Rheaume, a member of the reunion planning committee, said 70 of those who went currently live in Rhode Island, followed by 19 from Massachusetts.

Janice DesRoches  St.Pierre and Bertha (Buffy) Benway Petticord spoke about meeting in fifth grade at Park View and being friends ever since. After graduation, Petticord found her way to Georgia and St. Pierre now lives on a boat in Mexico. In school Petticord’s nickname was Buffy because she wore pigtails every day and looked like actress Anissa Jones from the show “Family Affair.”

Petticord was not the only one with a nickname.

Dennis Caldarone – nicknamed Dennis the Menace – was on the gymnastics team at East and stayed in Cranston after graduating. He opened his own barbershop, Hair Craft, on Park Avenue and sent both of his sons, Ryan and Joseph, to Cranston Public Schools.

Meanwhile, Doreen Dias Holmes and Cosima Fallon called each other spud throughout high school. Holmes said the two of them got in trouble for talking in class. One day, their teacher took them into the hall and asked if they were taking spud – meaning the drug speed. Since then, the two used spud as a nickname.

Some members of the class even met their spouses at East.

Stephen Cavanaugh said he met his wife, Carmen, at East when they were juniors in high school; the couple currently lives in Naples, Florida.

Cavanaugh added that it was good people had nametags on with their yearbook photos because it could be a bit difficult to tell who was who after so many years since graduation.

After a fun-filled weekend, the class is looking forward to its 55th reunion.

class of '71, reunion

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