 | BCS/BRCS Alumni Association |
BCS/BRCS Alumni Association
Annual Update
Spring 2023
The second year of the new BCS/BRCS Alumni Association is upon us, and boy, what a year it was last year, our first year in operation. Of course, the goal of the new association was to bring all previous BCS, RCS, and BRCS alumni to join together in an organization designed to strengthen the alumni connection and lead it into the future. With that in mind, we gathered together a group of a dozen or so graduates who all still live locally. We elected officers and dove headfirst into the task at hand. Our hope was to encourage ALL former BCS, RCS, and BRCS graduates to join the new association and support what we are trying to do.
To communicate with all graduates of the three former districts, we developed both a Facebook page (Bolivar-Richburg Alumni Association) and a website (BRCSAlumni.org). Both of these sites are up-and-running, so we hope that they will be places where you can reacquaint with former classmates. You may rekindle old memories or get a laugh out of what people post. An Instagram account may be set up at a later date.
Since the Richburg Alumni Association had dissolved, we mailed out letters to just BCS graduates (over 1800 in all) to let them know of who we are and what we’re doing, as well as to determine their interest in joining the new association. The project included having some of our members spend lots of time folding the letters, and then devoting an entire Saturday afternoon at the Bolivar Legion stuffing envelopes (with very few beverages consumed).
By June, we were ready for Pioneer Oil Days and the alumni reception held on Saturday afternoon of that week. A small number of our group set up a booth on the day of the parade and sold some memorabilia with the logos of the three districts on them. We have even more plans for items to sell this year. Finally, the day of the reception arrived, and we had a wonderful turnout of nearly 150 graduates. Our organization received many compliments, which made us feel good for all of the hard work we had put forth.
Purchase Tickets for the 2023 Alumni Reception at the Bolivar Country Club!
Now, on to the local news of the past year:
- Richburg Central School grad (Class of ’93) and current West Clarksville resident, Eric Jones, continues to make a splash for himself, this time in the national news. In October, he won the season three championship of “Outrageous Pumpkins” on the Food Network. It consisted of a four-episode competition highlighting national pumpkin carvers. Eric continues to be in huge demand – he made snow sculptures showing injured Buffalo Bills player, Damar Hamlin, as well as numerous other works. In February, he traveled to Punxsutawney, PA for their Groundhog’s Day Festival. While he was there, he carved Punxsutawney Phil out of ice, wood, and snow. What an amazing local talent he is!
- In a ceremony postponed from last year, Jeff Mountain (BRCS class of ’96), was inducted into the Allegany County Sports Hall of Fame in March. Currently in his 21st season as head baseball coach at Washington & Jefferson College, he has led the program to 533 victories and has been selected Conference Coach of the Year nine times.
- Last June, Stan Harris, the former RCS and BRCS softball coach, was inducted into the NYS High School Softball Hall of Fame. This was a well-deserved award; over the course of his career, he led his teams to nine Section Five titles and three trips to the state final four with the 2006 squad bringing home a state championship. Congratulations to Coach Harris!
- The village of Bolivar saw a new mayor take over in March. The previous mayor was Bob Mitchell, a 1996 graduate of Bolivar-Richburg. Elected to take over for him is Levi Feely, a 2001 BR graduate. Thanks to both of these men for taking on the responsibilities of such an important, yet often unappreciated, job.
- The local sports teams fared very well over the last year. In spring 2022, the baseball team won its fourth consecutive Section V title. The softball team also won a sectional championship in a thrilling game. They came back in a tight contest and scored twice in the last inning to win it all. The 2022 wrestling team won another Section V title (its fourth consecutive). Trent Sibble made it all the way to the state championship round before losing, while his sister, Teegan, became the first girl ever to win a Section V title. This past season (2023) the team performed even better. While the team didn’t win a sectional title, they sent an amazing five wrestlers to the state championships where Trent Sibble became the first-ever BRCS individual state champion (in any spot) by winning his weight class. Other BR wrestlers finished second, fifth, and seventh. In March both Sibbles won national titles at the National High School Coaches Association tournament.
- On a sad note, BCS Class of ’67 alum and long-time physician, Dr. Rick Cudahy, passed away last fall. He practiced medicine in his hometown for over thirty years, retiring in 2012. An outdoorsman, he still lived in Little Genesee and leaves a huge void in this area.
- After a two-year hiatus, Pioneer Oil Days resumed last year, and it was a great success. This year’s week-long celebration takes place from June 18-25, with the BCS/BRCS Alumni Association reception on Saturday, June 24. As part of Pioneer Oil Days, the Pioneer Oil Museum’s wine-and-cheese tasting and NYS Oil Producers’ Association Wall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, June 23. The inductees include Bob Benson, Bill Cline, Al Fenner, Bob Keller, Dave Hollister, and David Haskins. With an eye to the future, the Museum has big plans in mind. Their second venue (the old Hahn & Schaffner site) has over six acres of space for development. One new building was built and four others were renovated at that location making it the perfect spot for a new complex. The Main Street location will close and be merged into their second site, creating a much larger destination. A sizable addition will be constructed on the main building, and exhibits will be moved from Main Street and redesigned for a new visitor experience.
- Charlotte Mead sends the following BRAG news:
- Just a few updates on what is going on with the Historical Society. Soon we hope to have a website for the Ceres Schoolhouse showing some of the things we have there. We usually open at the end of May on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or by appointment. Last year the Garden Club had one of their meetings there; a good time was had by all who attended. During the summer months we would be willing to have other organizations that might like to meet there.
- The spring of 2025 will be the beginning of Bolivar’s 200th year of its founding. We will be trying to raise funds to have a mural painted on the wall of the Community Bank. Permission has been given to us by the Mason’s to place the mural on the building. On that side is where a few years ago a small park was placed on the corner of Main and Friendship Streets. If anyone is interested in donating, you could send donations to BRAG, 390 Main St, Bolivar, NY 14715. We also plan to have an account at Community Bank, 380 Main St., Bolivar, NY for the mural. Your help would be appreciated.
- BRAG also has available some older yearbooks if any person is interested. I will list a few and if interested, you may call Charlotte Mead at 585-928-2669. The cost is ten dollars plus shipping if it needs to be mailed. We have one of the following years: 1950, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, and 1960 along with two copies of 1981. I hope to see a good crowd at the Country Club. It’s good to catch up with people who graduated from BCS. I’m looking forward to the gathering.
Sincerely,
BCS/BRCS Alumni Association Organizing Committee
Facebook: Bolivar-Richburg Alumni Association
Website: BRCSAlumni.org
Postal Mailing address: PO Box 324, Bolivar, NY 14715
E-mail: bolivarrichburgalumni@gmail.com
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIPS
Each of the students listed below was awarded these scholarships at high school graduation in June 2022. They are required to be full-time students and maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
The following students receive $6000.00 per year for four (4) years (possible total $24,000).
Jessica Majot $6,000.00
Raina Bowen $6,000.00
Kayli Giardini $6,000.00
Matthew Mitchell $6,000.00
Jianna Scott $6,000.00
Landon Danaher $6,000.00
The following students receive $5000.00 per year for four (4) years (possible total $20,000).
Paityn Johnston $5,000.00
Ithilien Weekley $5,000.00
Braelin Bentley $5,000.00
Liz Shingler $5,000.00
Lloyd Kinnicutt $5,000.00
Kaitlyn Graves $5,000.00
Ryan Greeson $5,000.00
Camdyn MacDonell $5,000.00
Darien Champlin $5,000.00
Phillip MacDonell $5,000.00
Jarrod Polk $5,000.00
It is with sadness that we report many of our Alumni friends have passed away. Please remember them in your prayers
1940 Sister John Francis (Phyliss) Coyle 11/7/2022
1940 James Williams 6/11/2013
1942 Dorothy Jean Burdick Goss 8/27/2016
1944 Arnold Leamond Loucks 8/17/2022
1946 Angela Italiano Ninos 10/31/2022
1946 Robert D. Benson 4/28/2022
1947 Malcolm L. Claflin 5/9/2021
1947 Geraldine L. Cross Monroe 1/31/2023
1947 Thomas J. Dunn 7/3/2022
1948 Theo A. Dickerson Richardson 8/21/2022
1949 Bill Earl 9/8/2022
1951 Victor Leroy Whitney 3/10/2020
1951 Betty Kerr Kuhn 3/20/2020
1952 Marilynn Reynolds Pucillo 6/6/2022
1952 Lela Fanton Slocum 11/24/2022
1952 Joyce L. Eddy Stuckey 1/5/2023
1952 Evelyn Monroe Montalbo 2/4/2023
1952 Richard Murphy 4/21/2022
1952 Beth Glintz Gutz 5/12/2022
1954 Carol Cotter Greene 5/1/2022
1956 Betty Foster Hooker 3/20/2023
1957 Emily Ingalls Cramer 4/9/2022
1959 Sharon L. Manning Barkley 10/10/2022
1962 Roy Boser 8/24/2022
1963 Joyce Myers Robinson 8/8/2022
1964 John Clark 11/12/2022
1965 Brian Jordan 1/14/2023
1966 James Smith 3/26/2023
1967 Dr. Richard P. Cudahy 10/14/2022
1968 Clayton Andrus 5/6/2022
1969 George "Sac" Green 1/15/2023
1971 Victor Marvin 6/14/2020
1972 Sherry "Sissy" McDonald Childs 8/24/2022
1973 Phillip Traver 1/7/2023
1978 Scott Sloat 6/16/2022
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