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Boys Club
400 Block of 28th Street, Newport News, VA
23607
Jefferson Avenue and Hilton Boulevard
Newport News, VA
429 Thornhill Drive, Newport News, VA
http://www.bgca.org/
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EARLIER: |
THEN: |
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| 400-Block of
28th Street |
1963 Daily Press |
400-Block of
28th Street |
Jefferson Avenue and Hilton
Boulevard |
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Here is the current image
of the old Peninsula Boys Club. |
Behind the Boys Club was a small
structure which once was a community center in the 60s.
I have a vague
recollection
of being
in there for some reason ... probably a Boys Club thing. |
Courtesy of Mickey Marcella ('54)
of VA via Joe Madagan ('57)
of FL - 04/01/05
Thank you, Gentlemen! |
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs
('64) of VA
- 06/27/03
Thanks, Dave! |
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Images by Dave Spriggs ('64) of
VA - 04/16/05
Thanks, Dave! |
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NOW: |
The janitor, "Max", was gracious
and allowed me to take a few photos inside the building and the trophy case.
He began working for the Boys Club when it was located on 28th Street
next to the bridge, then
to Jefferson Avenue and
to the present location, which is 429 Thornhill Drive, Newport News. It is
in the Stoneybrook area
of Denbigh. |
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429 Thornhill Drive
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The exterior of the Boys Club of
the Virginia Peninsula. |
Close up of the sign on the
exterior of the building. |
Here is the wing, Gym dedicated
to Herbie Morewitz. |
Images by Joe Madagan ('57) of FL
- 04/23/05
Thanks, Joe! |
Hi, Carol and
Dave:
An old photo of the Boys Club that was situated in the 400-Block of 28th Street
is being mailed to me
by Mickey Marcella ('54) of VA. I will scan it and email it to you when it
arrives.
When this structure was torn down to make room for the Sears parking lot and
renovations on the 28th Street bridge,
it moved to Jefferson Avenue and that location is now a church.
The combined Boys and Girls Club as it is now known is on U.S. Route 60 north of
Stoneybrook Shopping Center.
Looks like we might have a vintage Old Stomping Grounds in the making. So many
of the outstanding basketball
players for the TYPHOON got an early start at the game by participating in the
programs at the Boys Club.
I suppose that is why I am such a pest about this old stomping ground.
TYPHOON Regards,
- Joe Madagan
('57) of FL - 03/30/05
Thanks, Joe! You're not a pest at all! You're simply dealing with a webmistress
who's in a fog right now!
When I moved to
Newmarket (72nd St) in 1961 at the tender age of 15, I became friends with Al
Hines ('65),
who lived nearby and was our paper carrier. That friendship led to my
association with Donnie Reed ('65),
Rex and Malcolm Davis ('66 and '65), Ronnie Wood ('65), Tom Oxner ('65), The
Dempsey Sisters (Katie - Warwick HS - '64
and Patty - '66), et. al. It also led me to begin visiting the Boys Club at the
corner of Jefferson Avenue and Hilton Boulevard.
Even when I reached 16, the age at which I was ineligible to attend, the
Director, A. T. (Tom) Olaisen, bent the rules and
allowed me in. My vivid memories are of shooting pool, watching old B&W cowboy
movies ... (yes, they killed Indians and
"bad guys", but we didn't return to the Club with an assault weapon and kill
everybody there) ... and eating countless
numbers of 10-cent boiled hot dogs.
With the Club's sponsorship, several of us older boys established a service
organization, which we called the Peninsula
Keystone Club. Pretty much everybody mentioned above (except the Dempseys) were
charter members. We did
volunteer work for charitable organizations. I still have a newspaper clipping
showing a photo of several of us licking and
stuffing envelopes somewhere. We quickly realized that our organization was
abbreviated PKC, which sounded like a
fraternity. We also realized that this was about as close as many of us would
ever get to a real fraternity, so we all bought
cheap black crew neck sweaters and emblazoned "PKC" on them in white Greek
letters.
Pretty lame, huh? Revenge of the Nerds in 1963.
Beyond all of that, The Boys Club was always a fun and safe place to go and just
hang out with no bullies, no cliques ....
and no girls. My, how times DO change.
-
Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 03/30/05
Vice-President
Peninsula Keystone Club
That's very
impressive! Thanks, Dave!
Great memories
of the Boys Club, Cap'n Dave! Your flashback helped me, for I could not recall
the name
of Tom Olaisen who became Director when Mr. Shouf retired. Mickey Marcella ('54
- of VA) is on the Board of Directors
of the present day Boys and Girls Club on Warwick Boulevard. Mickey is one
TYPHOON that has continued
to do so much for sports on the Peninsula and he has not slowed down a bit.
Photo to follow!
TYPHOON Regards,
- Joe Madagan
('57) of FL - 03/30/05
Thanks, Joe!
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THEN: |
Carol,
I have been reading, with great interest, the articles on "The Boys Club." I
have a few memories myself and
I thought I would share them. You could join the club when you were six
years old, which I did in 1956. At that time they were building the new club
on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Hilton Boulevard and were using the
white building next door on Hilton Boulevard until it was complete. I was a
member every year until I became too old
in 1968. I remember Harry Shoff was the director, but he left and Thomas
Olaisen, MR. TOM as we called him, took over. There was also a Mr. Beales who was program director in the early
1960s. What stood out
about him was he drove a 1955 Chevy. It had straight shift on the column and
he only had one arm. But boy, could he speed shift that thing. He could also
play me a mean game of table tennis. I carried The Times Herald newspaper in
Briarfield Manor from 1962 until 1965 and then the Boys Club hired me to
work the Craft Room for a whopping 50 cents an hour. It was my first job
that required a Social Security Card. I remember going
to the Social Security office on Marshall Avenue. It was on the side of the
bank building, maybe First and Merchants? Another thing that I remember, was
that in 1964 they organized several bus trips to the World's Fair
in New York. My first trip to the Big City, and first away from home without
Mom And Pop. It was
G-R-E-A-T. I have a picture of that around here somewhere and will forward a
copy when I locate it. In the meantime, here's a copy of one of my old club
cards. Keep up the Great Work......Until next time. |
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Mike Leonard
('68) of VA - 04/10/05
WOWZERONI!!!
Thanks, Mike! |
On the Boys
Club page, there have now been several fond remembrances of the Director, Tom
Olaisen.
Perhaps it is
now time for some of us to tell him in person how we feel about those Halcyon
Days of youth and "innocence".
With such a unique name, it was easy to find him online:
104
Pamunkey Turn
Tabb, VA 23693-2740
(757) 766-1441
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Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA
DOUBLE
WOWZERONI!!! Thanks so much, David! What a wonderful
opportunity!
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THEN: |
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Well, I finally located the Boys Club
picture at the New York World's Fair in all of its wrinkled glory. I don't
have a scanner so I took a picture of it with my digital. Not the best, but it
works. I recognize a lot of the faces, but after forty some odd years the
names of most escape me. A few I remember. First row kneeling left to right:
6th - Wayne Faircloth ('70); 8th - Me ('68); 12th - Mike
Mitchum; 14th - Ernie Jones ('68). Back row standing: 9th - Mr.
Shoff; 12th - Chuck Ragland ('67); 13th - Gene Dismuke
('65) and "Mr. Tom" (Olaisen) is far right. I hope this
brings back a few memories for some.
- Mike Leonard ('68) of VA - 04/12/05 |
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FRONT ROW:
1, 2, Mitch Avent, 4, 5, Wayne Faircloth ('70); 7, Mike Leonard ('68);
Harold "Butch" Capps, Bobby Dabbs, 11, Mike Mitchum; 13, Ernie Jones ('68);
Dennie Perkinson,16;
BACK ROW:
1, 2,3, 4, 5, Ollie Carrithers, 7, 8, Mr. Harry Shoff; 10; David Hatchett ('65); Chuck Ragland ('67); Gene
Dismuke ('65); Keith Sword,15,16,17; Max Bartholomew ('65); and "Mr. Tom" (Olaisen)
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1957 Anchor,
p. 113 |
- Mike Leonard
('68) of VA - 04/12/05
Thanks, Mike! |
04/13/05 |
Carol,
I certainly do remember this picture as I (David Hatchett - '65) am #11 on the
back row
and #18 on the back row is Max Bartholomew - '65.
The Boys Club was my home away from home. Wish I could identify more.
- David Hatchett
('65) of VA - 04/14/05
AHA! I was right with my wild guesses! Thanks, David!
Mickey (Marcella - '54) says that the man on the right beside Herbie Morewitz
is W. F. "Bill" Files.
He was an executive of the Shipyard and on
the board of directors of the Boys Club back in the
60s and
70s. He was a very nice man who did a lot for the Boys Club. We now have 11
Boys and Girls Clubs:
1 in Mathews, 1 in Gloucester, 1 in Hampton, and 8 in Newport News. This coming
month will be
one year since we took over the Boys & Girls Club on Hampton Avenue in NN, which
was the black
Boys Club in NN when we were coming along. This is the one where Mike Vick and
Allen Iverson
and Aaron Brooks came from. One of our Boys and Girls Club members was recently
inducted
(into the) Football Hall of Fame. He went to TN All American and then went to
Miami and wrestled
and played football at Warwick, who was Frank Immanuel. Add Henry Jordan and
Norman Snead
to that list also.
- Carol Moell
Marcella ('56) of VA - 08/25/05
Thanks, Carol! I adjusted that caption to the image Joe Madagan sent us
above.
Hi, Carol:
Today I received a "Snail Mail" reply to my letter to Mr. Tom Olaisen requesting
that he try to identify those in the photograph.
In his note, he apologized for the delay in responding to our request, and
explained that he had passed it around to several
folks to get their input also. Here is the best identification from those
sources:
Left = Sonny Williams
Front Row= (3 Mitch Avent, (6 Wayne Faircloth, (8 Mike Leonard, (9 Harold
"Butch" Capps, (10 Bobby Dabbs,
(12 Mike Mitchum, (14 Ernie Jones, (15 Dennie Perkinson.
Back Row= (6 Ollie Carrithers, (9 Mr. Harry Shoff, (11 David Hatchett, (12 Chuck
Ragland, (13 Gene Dismuke,
(14 Keith Sword, (18 Max Bartholomew, (19 Mr. Tom Olaisen
- Joe Madagan
('57) of FL - 03/06/06
OH! Thanks for your persistence!, Joe!
I can remember
going there almost every Saturday, playing basketball and making crafts. It was
a fun place to hang out.
-
Glenn Dye
('60) of TX - 11/10/07
Thanks, Glenn!
After seeing
Glenn Dye's
('60) of TX, note about the Boys Club,
I clicked on the link and enjoyed the photos and memories. I was there one
Saturday when the late action film star Aldo Ray dropped in. He talked
with everyone and gave out autographed pictures. I don’t remember the year
(1955?), just the excitement of meeting a film star. He may have been promoting
a film at the Palace and came by because
Harry Shoff convinced Herbie Morewitz to bring him by.
- Norm Covert
('61) of MD - 11/15/07
Thanks, Norm!
Where the Boys Are
Words and Music
by Howie
Greenfield and Neil Sedaka
(Connie Frances)
Where the boys are, someone waits for me
A smilin' face, a warm embrace, two arms to hold me tenderly
Where the boys are, my true love will be
He's walkin' down some street in town and I know he's lookin' there for me
In the crowd of a million people I'll find my valentine
And then I'll climb to the highest steeple and tell the world he's mine
Till he holds me I wait impatiently
Where the boys are, where the boys are
Where the boys are, someone waits for me
Till he holds me I wait impatiently
Where the boys are, where the boys are
Where the boys are, someone waits for me
(This page was
created on 03/30/05.)
"Where the Boys
Are" midi courtesy of
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/midi.htm
at the
suggestion of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 03/31/05
Thanks, Dave!
"Where the Boys
Are" lyrics courtesy of
http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/connie_francis/where_the_boys_are.html
also at the
suggestion of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 03/31/05
Thanks again, Dave!
Back to Our Old Stomping Grounds
Return to NNHS Class of 1965
