Reunion #14

AUGUST 3, 2014 – GODDARD STATE PARK

Late Friday afternoon, the Bower Bus completed its 500+ mile trip from Grimsby, Ontario to Warwick, RI. A new passenger was Ron Shuker, associate editor of the Hockey News. During the ride to the Hampton Inn, Ron interviewed several of the players for a future publication. As usual the stories got better and better at the annual Meet and Greet with many words of thanks and praise to the Society were offered.

There was a special treat on Saturday afternoon as Roger Gladu and his lovely wife, Lorraine, opened their home in Oakland Beach, Warwick, with a great view of Narragansett Bay. Roger and Lorraine provided a delicious lunch, which was supplemented by Chinese delicacies provided by Reds sponsor Charlie Chin, owner of Asia Grille.

The Saturday night dinner-dance at Chelo’s was highlighted by Bruce Hood, for 21 seasons one of the game’s most popular referees. Bruce shared his successes designing referee hockey equipment and writing two books about the game and his life in hockey (Bruce included the Auditorium in his books).

Bruce delighted the crowd of 120 guests with his stories and had high praise for the Society. As an added feature, Bruce sang “The Impossible Dream”, as well as the Latvian version of the Russian National Anthem (the Calamari Brothers band would have to follow Bruce). The dinners were great and the dancing was spectacular. Tom ran a raffle with the top prize being a beautiful original painting by Linda Cline, Bruce’s daughter.

Sunday’s Reunion at Goddard Park had another great crowd. Tom McDonough was the MC as usual. He sang the American and Canadian National Anthems with help from his granddaughter, Emma. Tom introduced the 34 Reds heroes on the stage. First-timers included Fleming Mackell, Brian Perry and Alton White, who made the trip from British Columbia. It was also a first for former Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette, Wayne Muloin’s brother-in-law. Some great raffle prizes and auction items added to  the event, as did the very popular Reds merchandise. As usual, the Springfield Heritage Society had a great showing.

The 14^th Reunion included the retiring of Reds jersey #14 in honor of Chuck Scherza, who passed away earlier in the year. This year’s Tops Award recipients were Jim Bartlett, Paul Larivee (presented to his widow, Denise), and Terry Reardon, (accepted by Tom McDonough). The Native Rhode Islander Award was presented to Dick Ernst. The McCaffery Fan of the Year Award went to Joe Gagliardi, a Reds fan since the 40’s. The Sage Family Foundation Service Award was presented to Monty Seli, Bower Bus planner and locater of players. Roger and Lorraine Gladu, long time Society supporters, also received  Sage Family Foundation Service Awards.