Meeting excitement after the Reunion Party

Dawna Luckett's Booty Shot

New Committee's formed for Downsview Secondary School

As we start to shut the Reunion part down we have started up some new committees to continue to do DSS business...

As was discussed many times the Website will continue on with many improvements...so..we have formed the following!

1) Yearbook Committee: Chair - Badur Bardia

Joe Nasurzio - Jamie Savage - Mike McAuley, Don McPhee, Al Ross, Kathleen Murray, Chris Hayder,Jerry Corcoran

2) Time Capsule Committee: Chair - Scott Crowe, Jerry Corcoran, Rosemary Lucas, Sharon Alford, Pam Budge, Mike "D"

3) Golf Committee: Chair - Harry McMullen

John Morache - Jim Morache, Chris Hayder, Tony Greco, Paul Linetski, Rosemary Lucas, Sharon Alford, Dawna Luckett

4) Library Historical Display: Chair - Pheobe Wellman

Scott Crowe - Dave Morrison - Maria Palermo

5) Merchandise: Chair - Diane Nicholls, Tony Greco

6) Art Committee: Chair - Sergio Simone, Tony Greco

7) Website Committee: Chair - Al Walsh, Sergio Simone, Kevin Mooney, Tony Greco, Jim Morache, Badur Bardia, Mike McAuley, Dave Morrison(This committee will be dealing with the many Fundraising opportunities that the Video - CD - Pics will offer with regard to the Legacy Fund )

If you want to get involved please contact a memeber of the executive committee or me at sirjamescanada@yahoo.com..Thanks!

Edwin A. Rivera - Co-chairman Reunion Committee

I would like to personally thank all of those whom I didn't have the opportunity to say thank you to on friday and saturday. As I mentioned at the meeting last night, there were at least 100 people in volunteer roles at any one time during the day event. It really helped me to have so many volunteers all over the place so I could concentrate on making sure things were going as they should in different parts of the school.

The experience of being in the executive was a first for me. I can count a few dissappointments (mostly personal) and numerous times of satisfaction of a job well done by the executive and so many others who helped.
Again, thank you and I hope I cross paths with many of you in the future.

Lastly, I want to make it clear that a crutial reason for this event being so successful was the decision by the excutive to have co-chairs. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THIS BROUGHT ON THE LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE OF MR. JIM MORACHE. BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT THIS REUNION WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH A SUCCESS IF IT WASN'T FOR THE STRUCTURE THAT WE HAD IN THE EXECUTIVE FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
I REALLY MEAN WHAT I SAID AT THE EVENING EVENT ABOUT JIM, HE WAS THE ENGINE OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE. MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU ARE IN CONTACT WITH HIM, YOU LET HIM KNOW HOW GREATFUL YOU ARE FOR HIM STEPPING UP AS HE DID.

God Bless!

Edwin A. Rivera '91

Do You Believe in Magic Lyrics

Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart
How the music can free her, whenever it starts
And it's magic, if the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie
I'll tell you about the magic, and it'll free your soul
But it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll

If you believe in magic don't bother to choose
If it's jug band music or rhythm and blues
Just go and listen it'll start with a smile
It won't wipe off your face no matter how hard you try
Your feet start tapping and you can't seem to find
How you got there, so just blow your mind

If you believe in magic, come along with me
We'll dance until morning 'til there's just you and me
And maybe, if the music is right
I'll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night
And we'll go dancing, baby, then you'll see
How the magic's in the music and the music's in me

Yeah, do you believe in magic
Yeah, believe in the magic of a young girl's soul
Believe in the magic of rock and roll
Believe in the magic that can set you free
Ohh, talking 'bout magic

Do you believe like I believe Do you believe in magic
Do you believe like I believe Do you believe, believer
Do you believe like I believe Do you believe in magic
[Fade]

EMAIL MESSAGES FROM THE FAMOUS - LOVIN' SPOONFUL!!!

LOVIN' SPOONFUL!!!


LOVIN' SPOONFUL!!!

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At the reunion dinner you will remember Kenny Namak and I performed a tribute to ex-DSSer, Zal Yanofsky, guitarist for the Lovin's Spoonful who passed away at the age of 58. We performed one of their most famous pieces, also featured in the movie, Shrek 2, "Do You Believe in Magic". Before the reunion I thought it would be a good idea to let the "Spoonful" know of our reunion. And I received two replies from two of the original band (one of which I received in time and read out just before we performed the song) and I would like to post these here below.
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"Hi Carole, I hope this message gets to you in time. We all miss Zalman and would love to be with you all in person at your reunion. His contribution to our music and the world around him will never be forgotten. I am attending a high school reunion this week and will make a point of reminiscing about Zally to my classmates. We (Lovin' Spoonful) are playing at BB Kings in NYC in two weeks and he will be remembered then as well.
Thanks for keeping his memory alive.
Kindest regards,
Steve Boone"
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Zally was one of the most gifted, intuitive musicians it has ever been my privilege to make music with.

Along with everyone who got to know him, I loved him and always will.

I think back to the early Spoonful, knocking around the village (Greenwich Village, NYC), selling empty soda and beer bottles back to stores to get deposit money to live on and how his courage, daring and humor helped us move through the tough times.

He was smart, fast and accurate and could dispense mercy or wrath at will. He was a tender, caring, beautiful man.

Even though I prefer to grieve in private I will tell you – I think about him so very often and more joy and laughter comes from those thoughts than sorrow – I wouldn’t be half the human earthling I am (not white male American) if it were not for Zally. He opened my eyes to so many things I wouldn’t have had the imagination to explore on my own.

As a guitar player he was unsurpassed, brilliant, stunning, one of a kind. Playing strong, gentle, warm, laughing, angry, crying, and passionate. To this day I have never, ever heard any other guitarist touch all the emotional bases like Zal. Not before him, and not since.

The world is diminished by his passing.

I shall miss him always.

Joe Butler
Lovin’ Spoonful
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Isn't that great of these guys?

I thought you may wish to send each of them an email back of appreciation and especially to Steve Boone who as he says in his message will be attending his own high school reunion (probably this week!) . I KNOW THAT YOU ALL WILL BE RESPECTFUL AND NOT FLOOD THEIR EMAIL WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN GOOD WISHES. Also, I have given these guys the link to read what is written here ....SO BE POLITE in your replies!!!

Email for Steve Boone: forq@bellsouth.net
Email for Joe Butler: kablondi@sva.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also,to whoever is putting together a package of memories, it would be nice to include these.

All my love to you all.

Carol


_________________
Carol Smith 1973
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Spoonful's Zal Yanovsky Dies Guitarist dead from a heart atttack at fifty-eight
Rollingstone ^ | 12/16/02


Zal Yanovsky, guitarist and co-founder of the Lovin' Spoonful, died of a heart attack at his home near Kingston, Ontario, on Friday. He was fifty-eight years old. Yanovsky was a largely self-taught musician whose artful guitar work and effervescent presence helped make the Lovin' Spoonful one of the most musically distinctive and commercially successful American bands of the 1960s. Yanovsky's mischievous, grinning visage was as memorable as the quartet's impressive run of sunny, infectious folk-rock hits, including "Do You Believe in Magic?," "Summer in the City," "Daydream," "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," "Rain on the Roof" and "Nashville Cats."

Born in Toronto on December 19th, 1944, Zalman Yanovsky dropped out of college at the age of sixteen, to begin playing folk music in Canadian coffeehouses. For a time after that, he lived in Israel, where he briefly worked on a kibbutz (which he was reportedly asked to leave after driving a tractor through a building) and busked on the streets of Tel Aviv. After retuning to Toronto, he met Denny Doherty, later of the Mamas and the Papas. Doherty invited Yanovsky to join his folk-blues combo the Halifax Three; later, Yanovsky played with Doherty and the future Mama Cass Elliot in the Mugwumps.

Settling into New York's thriving Greenwich Village folk scene in the mid-Sixties, Yanovsky fell in with another talented young player, John Sebastian, with whom he shared an avid interest in folk and blues forms. Inspired by the Beatles' example, the two plotted to create an electric band that would combine their trad roots with the energy of rock & roll.

"I heard all these strengths in Zally," Sebastian later recalled. "He could play like Elmore James, he could play like Floyd Cramer, he could play like Chuck Berry. He could play like all these people, yet he still had his own overpowering personality. Out of this we could, I thought, craft something with real flexibility."

Teaming with a pair of young rock & rollers from Long Island, bassist Steve Boone and drummer Joe Butler, Sebastian and Yanovsky launched the Lovin' Spoonful, signed with the Kama Sutra label and became an immediate smash with their first single, "Do You Believe in Magic?" a Top Ten hit in late 1965. That tune led off a remarkable string of hits that established the Spoonful as one of the few American bands that could challenge the chart dominance of the Beatles and their British Invasion contemporaries. At a time when rock records were usually laden with filler, the Spoonful made solid, well-crafted albums that showcased the band's musical depth and songwriting ability.

But the Spoonful's abundant good vibes turned bad after Yanovsky and Boone were busted on pot charges in San Francisco, only escaping prosecution -- and in Yanovsky's case, deportation -- by turning in their dealer. The news severely damaged the band's credibility in the counterculture, leading to Yanovsky's departure from the band in mid-1967.

Yanovsky released a solo album, Alive and Well in Argentina in 1971, did a stint playing guitar with Kris Kristofferson and co-produced Tim Buckley's 1969 album Happy Sad in collaboration with Jerry Yester, who replaced him in the Lovin' Spoonful. But Yanovsky, weary of music-biz politics, retreated from the rock world in the early Seventies. He returned to Canada, briefly dabbling in television production before finding success as a restaurateur.

With his second wife, Rose Richardson, he turned a dilapidated 1880s livery stable into their successful eatery Chez Piggy, which became a beloved centerpiece of downtown Kingston's nightlife. The couple also published The Chez Piggy Cookbook.

Yanovsky briefly reunited with his Spoonful mates on a couple of occasions, filming an appearance in Paul Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony and performing some of their hits on stage on the occasion of the band's 2000 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. More recently, Yanovsky participated in BMG Heritage's CD reissues of the Spoonful's catalogue, which yielded expanded editions of the 1965 albums Do You Believe In Magic? and Daydream, both of which were released in July 2002. The band's third and fourth albums, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (Yanovsky's last album with the band) and Everything Playin', are scheduled for February.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zal Yanovsky (musician)
December 19, 1944 - December 13, 2002




Former Lovin' Spoonful guitarist, Zal Yanovsky, died suddenly at his farm home just outside Kingston on Friday, December 13th, of a heart attack. He was 58. Born in Toronto, Yanovsky dropped out of school at age 16 to begin the peripatetic lifestyle that marked his early days. Having learned to play the guitar a year before, Yanovsky turned to the stage, working coffee houses before going to Israel, to work on a kibbutz. After driving a tractor through a building, it was suggested that he head to Tel Aviv. He tried busking in Tel Aviv, but it didn't go, so he returned to Toronto. After performing as a member of the Halifax Three and the Mugwumps, Yanovsky founded the Lovin' Spoonful with songwriter John Sebastian. Yanovsky's extrovert behaviour provided the group's visual identity while his exceptional and under-rated guitar playing was a vital fixture of their overall sound. The Spoonful became one of the most popular and influential American bands of the '60's, creating such hits as Do You Believe In Magic, Daydream, You Didn't Have To Be So Nice, Nashville Cats and the anthem for a hot July evening, Summer In The City, as well as soundtrack music for the debut films of Woody Allen ("What's Up, Tiger Lily?," and Francis Ford Coppola ("You're a Big Boy Now," in 1967, He left the band to pursue other interests. Although he made several unannounced guest appearances during John Sebastian concerts, Yanovsky gradually withdrew from music altogether. With his music career over, Yanovsky made his way to Kingston, where he started a restaurant, Chez Piggy. He took a very old building and brought it back to its former glory, restoring an 1880s livery stable to a meeting place, well-known for its fare and welcoming atmosphere. Others looked at what he had done and followed suit, with the result being that quite a lot of renovation has taken place in downtown Kingston. In recognition, Zal and his wife Rose were presented with a heritage restoration award last year. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He is survived by his wife Rose Richardson, his daughter Zoe, 2-year-old grandson Max, a sister Buba and his first wife, the actor Jackie Burroughs. A private family service will be held Monday in Kingston.

EMAIL FROM "CLASSICAL GAS" COMPOSER, MASON WILLIAMS

From Carol Denyer(Smith-73) DSS Reunion Singer and grad.)


Again, for those of you who were there, I surprised Kenny (who I think went into shock) with a good wishes email from Mason Williams who composed Classical Gas. Kenny did him proud and played the piece with panache and it transported us back to those days. Thanks to Mason and to Kenny.


Message from Mason Williams:
-------------------------------------------------------
Carol,
I hope you are able to get this message in time to give to Kenny.

Kenny here's to wishing you and all your classmates a wonderful 50th. 2006 is my 50th as well (graduated from High School in 1956) Carol Denyer says your a musician, A classical guitarist who leads a jazz band...she didn't say which was your day job?
Anyway if you're like me you're working night and day whatever gig is up! Thanks for you're interest in my tune and I hope your friends truly realize how tough the damn thing is to play!

Please send me your mailing address ASAP
MW
----------------------------------------------

And again, like the "Spoonful" if you wish to thank him for that, here is Mason Williams, email and again, I ask that you only email him with thanks and not blast his address with anything else.

Mason Williams: masonwilliams@classicalgas.com


Carol
PS: Could this email also be included in our "memory pack"?


_________________
Carol Smith 1973







Kenny Namak aka Kenny Simon

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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 7:38 pm Post subject: Thanks Everybody! from Kenny Namak
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Hi Everybody,

I’d just like to say here that the Reunion was one of the best days I’ve ever had. It was such a pleasure meeting so many people from the the golden days of DSS. I also enjoyed attending the meetings and being involved somewhat with this thing. I still plan to be in the picture in the future. The reunion committee did an outstanding job at putting this event together.

Even before the official reunion, the web site gave cause for some of us to get together; for me, it was with The Blaydon Gang.

It was also a great experience to perform at the evening reunion event. There is no greater pleasure than to have your own DSS family to cheer you on!

The reading of the letter from ‘Classical Gas’ composer (and Smothers Brothers Show head producer) Mason Williams, let alone letters from ‘The Lovin’ Spoonful’, was rather mind blowing! It’s quite flattering that Mr. Williams now knows about me and about DSS. We can thank Carol Smith Denyer for that amazing surprise.

I would also like to thank all the people who have written in this forum who have expressed their appreciation for the concert, including Sergio Simone - who remembered me playing Classical Gas from years ago - and had the fortitude to suggest that I play it at the reunion for old time sake, Jim Morache - who’s like a one man orchestra in the way he gets so many things accomplished, John Morache, Carol Denyer - who came in from Scotland and put on such an amazing performance, Mike D, Jim Savage, Brenda Cooper, Steve T, Jimmy The Organizer, the Blaydon Gang, (hey Wendy...), the JJ Gas Band, and everybody I got to meet (and people I didn’t have a chance to meet) during the reunion. There were so many, I wish I could name them all.

I hope we can keep things going, if you know what I mean. Sometimes things are better the second time around.

Well thanks again... and see you soon!

Kenny Simon Namak













Kenny Namak aka Kenny Simon

A Foursome with Mr. December 2007

Two Dawna's On the left side...
You girl's should be models!

Caretaker Uniforms

NOW !


BACK THEN !

Congratulations From Murray Hancock, Digby Nova Scotia

Hi Mike...


Now that the dust has settled from May 13th, I wanted to write to you and
thank you for sending all the websites, eMails,....especially the album
below..

http://www.inalbum.com/show/roadking/

I will look forward to see more pictures as the site develops..

I also wanted to congratulate you and your committees for all the hard work
put into the reunion. I am sorry I could not be there.. I was a large part
of the 25th and 40th reunions at DSS and I KNOW how much work goes into
these events...

I did know about the live feed but having an iMac (old updated
machine/relic) did not allow me to see the feed as there is an age old
Mac/IBM thing :-). The new iMac can read all files so when this crock goes
to MacHeaven maybe I'll be able to receive modern IBM AND MAC files but
until then.......

Roy Stephens eMailed me with glowing reports ( 5 pages!) of the day so
again congrats!!!

One interesting sidelight......

When our son (older) was married, the wedding flowers were magnificent!
They were done by our friends in Don Mills ( at the bottom of our old street
where we used to live) whom we have known for 25 years. The husband owns a
flower shop (Dundas and Dupont... third generation flower shop). He and his
wife went to DSS in its FIRST year so she had a blast ( he couldn't go as
the busy day for him is Saturday) at the reunion. Think the husband started
at Bathroom Heights SS( as DSS was there while the new school building was
completed) and then transferred over to the new building half way through
the year.. She wrote immediately Monday morning to tell me how much fun
it was..... Again congrats!

You must be tired from all the work but rest assured you made a difference
in many lives that day and had many people's memory cells working overtime!

Take care Mike....


Sincerely: Murray Hancock DSS 76-88

Inside Toronto

Downsview High 50th reunion gearing up


Apr. 7, 2006


Downsview Secondary School, located in the Keele and Wilson area of North York, will celebrate its 50th anniversary and reunion event next month.
Tom Lee, spokesperson for the Reunion Committee and 1982 alumnus says "To many Downsview Secondary is modern Canada. It's diverse, lively, innovative, and real. 'Downsview-ites' draw strength from the talent and passion of many cultures and walks of life and we're all very proud of what this school has achieved."

The school was founded during the Cold War era when Downsview was a new suburb. It was built next to a military base and The DeHavilland Aircraft Company was a huge employer in the area, with many of the children from those families attending Downsview.

Famous alumni include: Ron Ellis of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Rose Reisman, a cookbook author, Zal Yanowski of the band Lov'in Spoonful, entrepreneur Gabriel Magnotta, Harry Abofs of the Toronto Argonauts, and Ryerson University president Sheldon Levy.

Thousands of current and past students and teachers are expected to attend the event, set for May 13. There will be a get-together at Downsview, 7 Hawkesdale Road, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with decade theme rooms, a retrospective musical performed by current students, and speeches by dignitaries. At night there will be a gala dinner, dance and charity auction at the Sheraton Parkway North Toronto Hotel, 600 Highway 7 East, starting at 7 p.m. For more information and to register visit www.dssreunion.com.
http://www.insidetoronto.ca/to/northyork/briefs/story/3432185p-3967838c.html?loc=northyork

Herb Goettmann - Canadarm II

Canada plays critical role in shuttle mission
CTV.ca News Staff

They're both made in Canada -- one that works like a giant dental mirror and the other a sophisticated laser camera-- and Discovery wouldn't be blasting off without them.

The inspection boom and the specialized camera will be deployed in flight to help the crew examine every centimetre of the shuttle during the first NASA shuttle mission since Columbia blew up in 2003, killing all seven aboard.

MDA Ltd. in Brampton, Ont., the company that developed the shuttle's robotic Canadarm, also built the latest safety system known as an orbiter boom sensor, which at 15 metres, is almost as long as the Canadarm itself.

"There's a lot of midnight hours burnt to get this ready and make it safe," MDA project engineer Herb Goettmann told CTV News. "We're really looking forward to NASA having a safe mission on this trip."

MDA devised the robotic arm extension concept following the 2003 Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommendation for on-orbit inspection repair capabilities.

The boom extension builds on the technology and experience acquired by MDA in building several generations of space-borne manipulators -- the original Shuttle Canadarm, Canadarm2 for the International Space Station, and "Dextre" a two-armed robot destined for the International Space Station.

The end of the 15-metre inspection boom has two high-tech laser cameras. One was designed by Ottawa-based Neptec to do detailed three-dimensional mapping of suspect areas on the shuttle, while a U.S.-made camera will take larger snapshots.

The advantage of Neptec's camera over traditional video cameras is its immunity to the effects of changing lighting conditions. This is all the more critical in orbit, where the sun typically rises and sets 18 times a day.

And during this critical trip to the international space station, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette will be on the ground at mission control, one of three people rotating around the clock as the sole voice link with the crew in space.

"The laser-tipped Canadian boom has given the Discovery crew more confidence," said Payette, who flew on Discovery in 1999 and is chief astronaut of the Canadian Space Agency.

"There's many more ways now to get out of difficult situations. In our world, where we know the risks, we all feel fairly secure. Now we feel even better."

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, NASA's head of space robotics, said the Discovery crew will wield the boom and cameras to send images to the ground team for analysis.

"The reason Columbia had such a horrible re-entry is that it had damage we didn't know about," said Hadfield, referring to a large hole caused by a suitcase-sized piece of insulating foam that fell off the fuel tank during liftoff.

"It's so violent (during re-entry) that you have to be able to look for even hair-line cracks caused by meteorites or pieces of ice."

Most of the inspections will take place on Day 2 of the 15-day mission, Hadfield said, and the arm extension will observe formerly hard-to-see places like the leading edge of the wings, the top part of the tail and the nose cap.

"Probably we're going to find some areas that we're going to want to go back and have a look at," he said.

If any damage is found, it could be repaired by the shuttle's Canadarm and a second Canadian-made arm on the space station that Hadfield helped install during his 2001 trip aboard Endeavour.

In the worst-case scenario, if there is major damage, the seven crew members will stay on the orbiting station until a new shuttle arrives to pick them up.

The crew is scheduled to deliver some 15 tonnes of new cargo to the unfinished NASA space station, taking away equipment that's old or doesn't work.

With U.S. plans to retire the shuttle program by 2010, there's pressure to finish the $100-billion US station while the large cargo carriers are still operational. President George W. Bush has directed NASA to plan for returning people to the moon by 2020 and eventually send them to Mars

Jerry Shack Comedian New York City

Originally from Canada now living in the NYC area. I can usually be found at one of the local comedy clubs performing or watching. Performing and writing comedy are my true passions and I love to talk to others who share this passion. As well I have my pilots license so that is another area of joy that I could talk about for hours. I tend to be understanding of those who have different opinions than I do even if they are wrong. I feel we have to be open to listening and understanding others not really but it sounds nice to say. As for my comedy I talk about the trials of getting older and what lies ahead as well as my career now and in the past. It can best be described as DARK. Nothing is sacred whether it is a church service, drugs, or being what can only be described as a different kind of father it is my right to talk about these things from my point of view. Family of course gets discussed as well as my very humble observations about my faith or lack of and what ever seems to fit for that moment.
I can say it is a great relief not to have to worry that I will die young

http://www.myspace.com/jerryshack

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=42515492

Downsview Collegiate Institute / Secondary School

The original front of the school when built (on left side and part of south side).
The right side of the photo has a different type of brick on the current front of the school.

Not as we see it today. The snow is actually not the parking lot.

Don McPhee 70's Room Leader

Reunion Committee

Dawna Horton - All smiles !