I’m a bit of a nutcase when it comes to my alma mater, West Virginia University; or my family, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren; or fellow Monongah High graduates; or travel.

My den is my WVU shrine, and then some.

Photos of Mountaineer Field games. Books about Jerry West and by Mickey Furfari and Coach Don Nehlen. WVU football autographed by Daryll Talley. Grandchildren’s photos on the wall. Children’s wedding photos on the shelf. Monongah High classmates on the walls. Travel photos on the walls and photo montages from all of our trips to 52 countries and 43 states and 11 cruises hanging on the front and back of the door to the den, 2 and 3 layers deep to get them all on there. WV curtains. WV clock on the wall. Two WV lamps in the den.

WV rugs on the floor.

WVU shower curtains in the downstairs bathroom. Two WV rugs on that floor. Shelf of WV mementoes. WV sink towel.

Sugar bowl from WVU’s Sugar Bowl appearance on the dining table.

And, when I go to bed at night, I sleep on a WVU pillow that is the width of the bed.

And when I drive to Mountaineer Field for a game (I’ve had season tickets for decades), a JO 4 WVU license tag is on my 2014 Honda Accord.

And I didn’t even photograph my clothing with WV on it. It clogs my closet. I wear it everywhere I go. WVU fans stop and chat with me, in Ohio, in Florida, in countries around the world.

Loyalty is big with me. That’s why I’m big on WVU, family, high school friends. Travel is a bonus.

If you really want to wade through all the WV stuff in our home (Paula’s a Kent State graduate; same colors as WVU), click on

https://plus.google.com/photos/115483244393507838338/albums/6156294623209764433?banner=pwa

 

Michael Holman, son of Jay Holman, Class of 1971, a sales and leasing consultant for an auto business in Durham, North Carolina and a professional photographer, was named North Carolina's Family and Consumer Science Teacher of the Year. 

Michael came to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in 2011 as a teacher at East Chapel High School after four years in Granville County Schools.

CHCCS, founded in 1909, has 11 elementary, 4 middle schools and 3 high schools with 12,000 students in Chapel Hill and Carrboro in Orange County, North Carolina.

CHCCS ranks 1^st in the Southeast in SAT scores and is 37^th nationally. Its high schools are ranked among the 100 best high schools in America.

Michael is a Fairmont State graduate who lives in Durham. His classes at East Chapel are listed as “foods” and “food planning.”

"His dedication to students and to the Family and Consumer Science profession truly makes him a role model for others to follow," said Kathi Breweur, Career and Technical Education Director. "This is a well deserved recognition for Michael, and we're all proud of him."

You can bet that Papa Lion, Jay, is, too.

Kristen Saban & Adam Setas

Kristen Saban & Adam Setas

Brother making a toast at the reception

Brother and daughter Kristen



You may now kiss the bride

Brother and wife Terry dance at reception

Rolls Royce rolls onto Alabama field

flanked by crimson and white fireworks

Brother hoisting national title trophy astride elephant on wedding cake

Brother, what a wedding!

It was a wedding that only a father making $7 million a year could afford.

Alabama football coach Nick “Brother” Saban rolled out the red carpet and Rolls Royce onto Alabama’s football field – Bryant-Denny Stadium -- amid crimson and white fireworks for daughter Kristen’s reception after her wedding to fellow Alabama graduate Adam Setas.

The photos include Brother and his wife, Terry, dancing during the reception and Brother’s toast during the reception.

To watch the video, click on http://sportsnewsnow.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/02/nick-saban-like-youve-never-seen-him-at-daughters-wedding/  

Nick and Terry Constable Saban have two children, Nicholas and Kristen. 

Brother, playing quarterback and safety, won a Class A state championship as a high school senior in 1968. Monongah went undefeated, outscoring opponents 46.4 to 5.3 in the regular season, and didn't score fewer than 39 points until the state championship game, which the Lions won 21-12. He made All-State in baseball as an infielder and in basketball as a guard.

He grew up in an area that produced future coaching greats and athletes: Sam Huff, the Hall of Fame linebacker for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins in the 1950s and '60s, was from Edna Gas, now part of Farmington; Fielding Yost, who coached Nebraska, Stanford, Kansas and Michigan in the late 1800s and early 1900s, was from Fairview; Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez, also known for his stints at West Virginia and Michigan, is from Grant Town; and the late Southern Cal coach John McKay was from Everettesville.

It was Nick’s sister, Dianna “Dene” Thompson, Class of 1968, who lives in Worthington and teaches at Monongah Elementary, who gave him the “Brother” tag that sticks to this day from those who knew him in his early days. Dene attended the 2015 Monongah High Alumni Reunion in Fairmont May 23.

Their parents were the legendary Nick Saban, Sr., whose Idamay Black Diamonds Pop Warner youth football team was the nucleus of Monongah High state football titles, and Mary Conaway Saban Pasko.

Brother coached at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU, where he won one of his four national titles before winning three more at Alabama. Before that, he was a graduate assistant at Kent State, then an assistant coach at Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State and with the Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns in the National Football League.

This is an In Memoriam photo board of Class of 1965 members. 1965, 1955 and 1975 were the honor classes although no one showed up from the 1975 glass.

The photos are:

Top row, right:  Minnie Hines

Second row, right to left:  Bernard Shelosky, Delmus Brown, John Wayne Brown, Michael Porter and Allen Henderson

Third row:  David Stanley, Robert Carter, David Henderson and Howard Anderson

Fourth row:  Stephen Prahl and Mary Nottingham

 

My thanks for Patty Sawyer Skeen, Class of 1965, for providing the identifications.

Not painting a pretty picture

The city of Fairmont is getting an artistic touch in the interest of promoting healthier lifestyles.

Project Canvas is an initiative to promote walking downtown. It is part of a grant meant to make healthy lifestyles a priority in West Virginia.

Several crosswalks are being painted to achieve this goal. Schools and other organizations are taking part.

2 are completed and at least 6 more will be painted in the coming weeks.

There’s good reason to promote better health in the state. West Virginia is No. 1 in the nation in adult obesity, at 35.1%; diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks and coronary heart disease and No. 2 in arthritis.

 

 

While there are 91 names on this list, another 30 among the 120 or so in attendance are not. They mainly are guests or, in some cases, only one name was put down for 2 or 3 people. In a few instances, those who paid and are on the list did not show up due to unforeseen events, like health or conflicting commitments.

Monongah High Alumni Association treasurer Donna Davis had the arduous task of keeping track of the $30 checks.

Mark your calendar for May 28, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. when the 93^rd Monongah High Alumni Reunion will take place at the Knights of Columbus building in Fairmont.

Fairmont East grad Brenda Manzo and Danny Manzo, Class of 1957, celebrated their  52^nd wedding anniversary Monday, June 1.

Brenda, who organizes reunions for the Honeybees and their honeys, and Danny have lived in Monongah since 1967.

 

Danny was on the 1955 Monongah High state champ football team and was co-captain with Joe Meffe of the 1956 Monongah High state football title game runnerup.

Ron Manzo, Class of 1969, has been married to Fairview High grad Janice for four decades. They live in Morgantown. Ron works for Consol Energy, the Bailey mine. Janice is into physical therapy, once with Lakeview Fitness Center.

Ron and Janice have five children – Evan, Andrew, Aaron, Ashley and Jared. They have two grandchildren in Illinois.

Andrew lives in Lady Lake, Florida and works for The Villages’ Village Sun newspaper.

 

Ron’s parents are Helen Cecelia Manzo and Phil Manzo; his sister is Monongah’s First Lady, Debbie Manzo Vandetta; his nephews are Ernie “Frog”, Joe, Duke and Raymond “Pigeon” Manzo.

Ron and Debbie’s parents are Helen Cecelia Manzo and Phil Manzo.

There has been a Manzo at Monongah High in at least four decades -- from 1935 through 1949 and 1969 through 1978 (the year before the final 1979 MHS graduation class that preceded the consolidation into North Marion High), so I hope I get all of them straight in this article.

Other Monongah High Manzos:

 Phyllis Manzo Berardo, Class of 1935.

Genevieve Manzo Lopez, Class of 1937.
Mike Manzo, Class of 1941, on the 1948 world champ coal-loading crew at Monongah Mine No. 63 which loaded 1,536 tons on one shift.
Patsy Manzo, Class of 1942.
Helen Manzo Raspa, Class of 1945.
Mary Manzo Tiburzi, Class of 1949.
Nancy Manzo Bolyard, Class of 1970.
Pat Manzo, Class of 1973.
Karen Manzo Tennant, Class of 1974.
Lisa Myers Manzo, Class of 1977.
Tina Manzo Prodanovich, Class of 1977.
Jim Manzo, Class of 1978.

And, at North Marion, Kim Sapp Manzo, 1980 grad (she was at Monongah High for its final 3 years).

Whew!

If I got all the Manzos right it will be a miracle.