Norwood High School’s Last Hurrah-This Day in Norwood History-June 11, 2011

Over 2,000 alumni return for Norwood’s Last Hurrah

More than 2,000 Norwood High School alumni streamed back to the “School on the Hill” on June 11, 2011, transforming the aging 85‑year‑old building into what felt like the largest class reunion in town history. Graduates from every decade — from the 1930s to the 2010s — returned to walk the halls one last time before the historic school closed its doors for good.

The event, fittingly named “The Last Hurrah,” was the brainchild of Paula Pelaggi, a Norwood High alumna whose idea quickly grew into a full‑scale celebration with the help of her husband, Jerry Miller, president of the Norwood High School Alumni Association. “We’ve had so many people say it’s too bad we have to close down the school for us to get together like this,” Miller said, marveling at the turnout.

Pelaggi, beaming as the evening began, said she had believed from the start that the community would rally. “We have 2,000 people here tonight. I knew people could do it; I knew everybody could come together.”

For many, the night was a rare chance to revisit a place that had shaped their youth. John Lebitsky, Class of 1979, hadn’t set foot inside the school since his wife Carol graduated in 1981. “I never thought I’d have the opportunity to walk through it again,” he said, standing once more in the hallway where the two first met.

Throughout the building, alumni wandered freely — no hall passes required — taking in a slideshow of 85 years of yearbooks, dancing in the gym, and exploring a cafeteria transformed into a museum of Norwood High memorabilia. Letter jackets, prom dresses, trophies, and stacks of Tiots filled the room, curated in part by Dolly (DeRose) Parker, Class of 1950.

Parker, a four‑generation Norwood High graduate, proudly displayed a rare publication called the “Arguenot,” a quarterly magazine that predated the modern Tiot. “A woman found it in her mother’s attic,” Parker explained, holding the fragile volume. Her own family’s Norwood lineage stretched from her mother’s Class of 1928 to her granddaughters’ graduations in 2008 and 2010. Her husband Charlie, a beloved guidance counselor known for his colorful socks, was remembered fondly by many who passed through the exhibit.cerebral palsy. “I met an awful lot of friends who traveled a long distance to get here.”

Allen, 88, recalled when he was a Norwood High student during World War II. The boys used to take shifts in the clock tower to watch for German planes. The problem, he said, was that a lot of boys would smoke up there and the smoke was thick. “They wouldn’t have seen a German plane if it was right in front of them.”

The night also brought together alumni whose stories had taken unexpected turns. Rena Chappell and Larry Rubin, both Class of 1959, reunited at their 50th reunion in 2009 and later married. Chappell joked that after losing her husband — and her Collie — she told friends she needed to “find a hairy man by the end of October.” She met Rubin on October 17, 2009. “He’s my hairy dog,” she laughed, holding a keychain her mother, Class of 1936, had received at an earlier reunion.

Among the oldest alumni in attendance was John Allen, vice president of the Class of 1942, who has organized reunions every five years since graduation. Now 88, Allen attended with his daughter Susan (Class of 1974) and his son Dennis, a familiar face in the neighborhood. Allen recalled his wartime student days, when boys took shifts in the school’s clock tower watching for German planes — though he admitted the smoke from teenage cigarettes made visibility questionable. “They wouldn’t have seen a German plane if it was right in front of them,” he joked.

Allen, who lives across the street, had watched the construction of the new Norwood High School day by day. He admired the environmentally friendly design and its respectful nod to the 1926 original. “It’s still going to be Norwood High with the columns and the granite steps,” he said. “It’s still going to look fabulous.”

Funds raised during the Last Hurrah were earmarked for a new concession and storage facility at the high school’s athletic fields — a fitting tribute to a building that had shaped generations of Mustangs.

As the night drew to a close, thousands of alumni lingered in the hallways, classrooms, and stairwells where they had once hurried between bells. The Last Hurrah was more than a farewell; it was a celebration of shared memory, community pride, and the enduring spirit of Norwood High School.

Theresa Knapp/Wicked Local TRANSCRIPT BULLETIN

📚 Though the building is gone, the memories remain. Like, comment, and share this post on Facebook, in Norwood alumni groups, or with someone who still remembers the bell, the bricks, and the spirit.