The Sunday Paper Edition

New Orleans Travelogue and How Greenwich Went Green

By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press

Welcome to our Sunday Paper Edition of The Journal & Press daily newspaper, where we try to jam-pack as much as Substack allows in one message.

A Travelogue

I’m writing this from New Orleans airport, where there is a sea of people going places. Even at 5 a.m. Central Time.

As Election Day approaches, I think it’s important to realize it’s a big country and there are lots of different people in our country with different perspectives.

If your presidential candidate loses, realize it’s the will of all of these people. You’d figure air travelers have their acts together enough to vote.

Something to Read

We’re doing Spirit Airlines, which has no frills, so I went looking for something to read on the flight. The kiosk only had yesterday’s paper, so the clerk gave it to me for free.

I’ve noticed traveling over the years that the number of newspapers available in airports is less and less. There used to be stacks of several papers. Now there are just a handful of papers available in a tiny corner of the kiosk.

But there is a lot of great reading in these printed things. This story about the kid who fell in love with an AI chatbot and committed suicide seems like a must-read. But how many people will find it nowadays?

The New Orleans Scene

There was a guy with a megaphone and a Trump standee outside the French Market yelling at all the “libtards,” many of whom gave him the finger. If Trump loses, he’s exactly the type who might go ballistic over it.

I was at a student media conference, speaking about the program I use to lay out newspapers and best practices.

On Halloween, my wife and I went to Bourbon Street and saw some live bands. They were very good; not sure the locals appreciate how much talent is in their city.

Few people were tipping. We bought their CD.

We didn’t go here. Looked empty. We did peek in to see if Bill Clinton was there.

We had to atone for our sins the next day on All Saints Day at the St. Louis Cathedral for a mass.

Then off to tacky stores to see if they have any novelties in my name. My daughter once asked me why they have a Jesus knife. I deadpanned, “Maybe if Jesus has a knife, things might have gone differently.”

The prices overall in New Orleans weren’t bad. We ate at this hole in the wall with only 10 tables and entrees were about $16. It was some of the best Italian food we’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of Italian food.

Of course we did places like Cafe Dumond for fantastic beignets.

Lots of homeless — and lots of homeless have dogs — but that’s America, too. Just wear your sneakers and walk assuredly and you’ll be fine.

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Guest Words: How Greenwich Went GREEN

By Jack Jackson
Special to Journal & Press

Most folks probably think that green and white have always been the GCS school colors, but that is not true. When the Journal recently changed their bannerhead to green, it reminded me of my high school years when our school colors were changed from blue and white to green and white. The change came during the 1960 - 61 school year.

I was the sports editor of the student newspaper, The Hi-Times. It was late November, so football season was over and basketball was just getting under way, so there wasn’t much news for the sports page. My staff (Alice Spiezio, Culver Tefft, Peter Bellinger) and I were tossing around ideas when the subject of school colors came up. Blue and white had been the colors forever, and no one knew why, since green would make more sense in a place called Green-wich. We decided to research the topic.

We took the idea to our Editor-in-Chief Noreen Harren and her assistants (Lorraine Ashcroft, Joan Burdick, Cathy Donohue, John Flatley, Barbara Thygesen) and Features Editor Joann Liddell and assistants (Sylvia Coffin, Brenda Gifford, Mary Mosher). It was there that we decided that what really mattered was not to find out why the color was blue, but to make news ourselves by getting it changed to green.

We then discussed the idea with Student Council President Donald Scott and his officers James Skiff, Carol Ackner, and Steve Morse. They agreed to present the idea of a school-wide vote to Principal Edgar Snyder, and with his support the Board of Education also agreed to a vote to be held on December 2, shortly after the Thanksgiving break.

Finally, we had something exciting for our next issue of the Hi-Times, which was scheduled for early December. With the help of our printer, the Greenwich Journal, we were able to get that issue out early, on November 29, which gave our readers time to think about their votes. Since new school colors would be most visible on team uniforms, we ran a story on the sports page promoting a vote in favor of green and white. The Director of Athletics and varsity football coach, Mr. Jordy Jackson, supported the change, as did his coaching staff, including Mr. Pemrick, Mr. Cromie, and Mr. Kuba. They also liked the idea of getting new uniforms since many of the blue and white ones were looking quite worn out.

The editorial page featured a guest editorial by a member of the ‘61-’62 Varsity basketball team, Bill Ryan. He pointed out that we are the Witches in a place called Greenwich, not Bluewich. He also reminded readers that at least three other schools in our league had colors of blue and white (Fort Edward, Hoosick Falls, and Hoosic Valley).

There was excitement throughout the school on Friday, December 2, 1960, as students, teachers, and staff filled in their “ballots.” It was unanimous. It took time for the change to take place, of course. Football season was over, basketball season had just begun, and the Athletic Dept. budget would require a gradual change. That also included the cheerleaders uniforms and pom poms. The same was true for the Music Dept. New band and choir and orchestra uniforms took time. But, when the next school year rolled around, green and white began appear. By the Fall of1961, football players were looking proud in new green and white uniforms and helmets. The Varsity basketball team had the new colors by December of ‘61, but the JV team had to wait a little longer. But, by the end of that school year, the Varsity baseball team and most of the other spring sports teams, as well as most of the music groups, were going green.

The switch to green and white brought a new sense of pride to not only the school community, but to the whole town of Greenwich. Merchants up and down Main Street proudly displayed green and white. Pratt’s Clothing Store was the provider of school jackets and t-shirts and they were able to make the switch quickly. Other stores had green and white wall hangings, buttons, etc. featuring the Green Witch. Some businesses adopted the Green Witch for window displays and even as part of their store names, just as they do today.

So, December 2, 1960 is part of our local history. From that day forward, GCS has been known as the Green Witches and the school colors (and unofficially the town colors) are green and white. Perhaps it should be celebrated every year.

Jack Jackson is a member of the Greenwich Central School Class of 1962. Special thanks to his brother, George Jackson, and to Gail Dewey, Administrator of the Greenwich Alumni facebook page, for providing some of the details for this article.

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Football Update

Speaking of Greenwich football, we’re hearing Greenwich may be the No. 1 seed now in the upcoming playoffs, as former No. 1 Warrensburg/Bolton/Lake George had to suddenly cancel their season. We’ll report more on this soon.

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And Now for the Comics

Broom Hilda by Russell Myers

And that’s it for today! The flight is about to take off!