By Mary Malloy
"We were good friends then, and we're good friends now."
Johnston, who served as a secretary at Rhame Avenue Elementary School for 41 years, was at the high school touring the building with her former fellow classmates and their spouses, courtesy of Principal Bill Fortgang.
"Back then, there was only one building, " said Ed Manuel, another 1948 alumnus. "What they now call the small gym served as our gymnasium, auditorium, and held our school dances and graduation ceremonies."
Manuel and his wife, Gloria - her maiden name was Rudd - met much earlier, in 7th-grade art class, when they were both 11 years old. At the time, she scolded Manuel, who was sitting behind her, for scratching his name into his wooden desk. "Don't you know you're not suppose to do that?" asked Gloria, the daughter of a local policeman. They saw each other again during high school, and even double dated - but then not again until Ed was home on leave as a Navy pilot. "I honked at him, and waved," she said. He invited her over to see his slides from his Mediterranean tour, and their romance began. They were married in 1956. Gloria, who graduated third in her class at ERHS, went on to become a teacher. Ed, the class "prankster" as he calls himself, is a retired engineer and college professor. They have two sons, and seven grandchildren.
"I can see that they put the school tax money to good use," said Gloria. "Being a teacher, I noticed that the upgrades and improvements were well thought out."
The Manuels, along with about 65 others, held a reunion dinner at the Knights of Columbus in Oceanside that evening. The president of their association, Dick Schey, who lives in Houston, TX, could not make the reunion this year because of the hurricane in his area.
Comments about this story? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
