Bob Cottrill has MHS visitors and MHS memories

Bob Cottrill, Class of 1951, who lives in Melbourne, Florida had March visitors from Swisher Hill -- Tony Orsini, Class of 1946, and his wife, Mary Louise Baker Orsini, in the Class of 1948. 

Bob Cottrill

And he has memories of the Harbert family, including the late Karen Colvin Harbert, Class of 1955, and her children, late husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law.

Bob trotted out his Monongah High Black Diamond yearbooks to share with the Orsinis. Bob played football with Tony's brother, the late Tom "Bum" Orsini, Class of 1950. They talked about Bum and Cocoa Orsini, two that Bob knew at MHS. 

Mary Louise was interested in the Monongah High Alumni blog report on John Olesky's visit to Bettie Hensley Lowther, Class of 1948, because "Tony went with Betty before I met him and that's the reason why I wanted her picture to show him." 

The Orsini brothers of Monongah High were Tony, Tom “Bum”, Larry, Jimmy, Junior "Cocoa" and Bill. Still alive are Tony and Jimmy, who resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

As for the Harberts, Bob saw them when he was in Northfield, Ohio as school principal and later with the State of Ohio Board of Education involved in school financing and in 1982-88 such things as bus routing while assistant superintendent of Brunswick, Ohio schools.

Karen was in the visiting nurse program and gave physicals to bus drivers, which means she crossed paths with Bob. Since Karen and her late husband, John Harbert (who died in 1985), were in Northfield, that means that Bob saw them and John's brother, Duane Harbert, Class of 1951, who lives in Marlton, New Jersey, and John and Duane's father, Frank Harbert, once the Thoburn Grade School principal.

Bob also has memories of Delores Vingle Olender, Class of 1951, who was in the Ray Vingle Band long ago. Deloris "gave me a hard time" at Monongah High, Bob recalled. Later, Bob said, Deloris "apologized and said she did it because she was jealous of me. You sounded like a college student" in class. 

That was because Bob was about two years older than the rest of his classmates because he had dropped out to work in the mines and go off to Detroit for a while. Bob's mother died when he was 2 1/2 years old and the seven children were distributed among relatives, although Bob stayed with his father in Rivesville. Bob was in Monongah schools in 7th grade, Rivesville in 8th grade and then Monongah from the 9th grade on.

Bob also has memories of going to Petersburg on fishing trips with Clyde Wells, a Monongah High grad.

And of the day he plopped Sappo McNece into the mud when both were playing football in their good clothes on the Thoburn School grounds. Bob though he would be in trouble when he encountered Thoburn teacher Willoughby Norman, she of blacksnake hose fame. Her reaction: "Good for him." I guess Sappo had a reputation.

And Bob has great admiration for Geneva Brummage, who was far more than just a typing teacher at Monongah High. When Bob was junior class president, Miss Brummage wrote his speech for the junior-senior prom. And paid for his MHS graduation ring. 

Deloris Vingle
Olender

Bob said that his second wife, Thelma, is "totally cured" after an operation on the nerves in her vertabrae that had been causing her a lot of pain since her auto accident. Thelma, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was friends with Bob and his first wife, Barbara,  for more than 20 years. Barbara Jean Henderson Cottrill, a 1955 Fairmont Nursing School graduate, passed away in 2007.

Bob has remained good friends with Tom Martin, Class of 1951, who winters on Marco Island, Florida with his wife.

Bob will be going to North Carolina's Outer Banks in May for the wedding of a grandson.

If you have memories of Bob Cottrill, the Harbert family or the Martin family, email John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com  and the information will be used in another Monongah High Alumni blog article.

After reading this article, Ted Nagle, Class of 1954, who lives in Vinton, Virginia and Micco, Florida, has this comment:

"Was Wondering if Bob ever contacted Deloris Vingle since he mentioned her giving him a hard time in school. She only lives 20-30 minutes away in Micco and I had a lovely visit with her a couple of years back."

What about it, Bob? 

                                                    Ted