The following story and historic photo appeared in the February/March 2008 issue of Reminisce magazine:
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[02/17/08]

Ethel Teed Perry ('60) recalls that growing up during the 50's was a peaceful time.  Things were slower and not as hurried as they seem today.  The main thought was to be able to graduate, and when the day arrived, we were so excited to be a part of it.  It was always a pleasure to see our teachers like Mr. Ballard, Mr. Jerome and Mrs. Webster, among others.  Many still know me years later.  Those were good years spent in Dundee, and I am still living in and enjoying this area, and I still see old friends and teachers.

You can learn more about Ethel in our Where Are They Now? section, and her address information can be found in the Membership Roster, if you would like to contact her.    [06/15/04]

Pat Knapp Kenyon ('58) of Melbourne, Florida remembers life at a slower pace, knowing most everyone when you went to town, and the fresh fruits and vegetables at very low prices.  Teachers knew not only your parents but the whole darn family.  Life was good!  We remember our youth and people we met during the all-important passage to adulthood.  We remember the teachers and the all-important influence they had on our lives.  Where would we be without what they taught us?  We remember a joyful time.  Thank you.

You can read more about Pat and husband Clyde on our Where Are They Now? page, and you can find their address information in the Membership Roster.         [05/11/04]

Donald Backer ('59) fondly recalls picnics on the school grounds during the summer, swimming at Red Jacket Park, Frosty's ice cream, being in the school band and having his paper route in Dundee.  He says the teachers at DCS will always be remembered.

Read more about Don and his family in the Where Are They Now? section, and you can find his address information in the Membership Roster, should you like to get in touch.  [08/30/03]

Charles (Chip) Harbour lived in Dundee and attended DCS from 1974 through 1979, but he left the area before graduating from school in 1981.  He was an early member of Symphonic Steel, and he shares with us some memories of those days in the paragraph below, which we pasted directly from his recent e-mail:

Some of my favorite memories of growing up happened in Dundee and with
Symphonic Steel.  Traveling to Boston, NYC, Washington D.C., Orlando with
the band, hanging out with my best friends.  Stealing oranges from the grove
next to our hotel; sitting at the feet of Arthur Fiedler as he conducted the
Boston Pops; getting lost in Macy's; hearing stories of Vietnam from
soldiers around a fire in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial at midnight.
Getting stuck in the elevator going to the top of the Washington monument;
diving into the 38 degree ocean next to Plymouth Rock (and nearly
drowning-hey, the air temperature was in the 70's); going behind the scenes
and performing at Disney World.  Memories from Dundee-watching the student
body president cry as they announced that the school budget he had fought so
hard to get passed was voted down (later to be reinstated in almost it's
entirety by individual line item); breaking the ice on the tennis courts for
practice before school; getting kudos from 'Doc' Miller in Geometry-"Two
10's and a note home!";  staying late after school and riding the second bus
run home, so I could stay in the 'computer center' (really, the little
classroom over the lobby of the auditorium, with a single teletype machine
back in the far corner, and, yes, that does date me) and play with the
computer.

Read more about Chip and how that early fascination with computers inspired his very successful career in the field in our Where Are They Now? section.  [12/11/02]

Genevieve Kapuschat Fox ('41) attended school in the little country school house which was moved to the DCS campus duing the 1980's.  "When the district was centralized, I entered ninth grade.  I remember most the odd collection of school buses they got together to transport the children to school.  Ours we called the 'Chicken Crate.'  Classes were scattered all over town."

Check our Where Are They Now? page for more comments from Genevieve and the Membership Roster, if you would like to get in touch.  [12/01/02] 

Rhonda Howland Allen ('68), who resides with husband Tom on Harpending Avenue in Dundee, recalls the stone steps leading to the football field, as well as the north and south towers, all now gone.  She remembers Mr. Depew's jingling his keys to warn you he was coming.  She remembers the band concerts in the park on Friday evenings, band concerts for the Dundee Fair and watching Margaret Preston sulky racing.  Rhonda recalls good times with good friends - many of whom are still good friends:  Ginny Depew Shepard, Linda Oughterson Conrad, Janet Shaw Cooke, Lynette Wright Myhren, Gary Ballard, Bruce Kendall, Dan Woodard and Randy Shepard.

See our Where Are They Now? section to read more about Ronda and what she has been doing since graduationg from DCS.  If you you would like to contact her, her address information can be found in the Membership Roster.    [07/31/02]

Our DCS Alumni Association secretary Lucy Woodard Clingerman ('85) has many fond memories of her days at school:
                                                                                                                                                 "From the early years there was riding the school bus and singing songs like John Denver's Country Roads.  In junior high there were the dances and playing backgammon in study hall.  In high school there were participation in various sports and other activities and cheerleading for football, basketball and softball. The last couple of years had growing pains, just as all the previous ones too, but going to BOCES was a turning point for me, and I'd say a highlight in my school years.  I made a lot of nice friends, learned from my experiences and met the love of my life."

"Songs that bring a sweet melody to the words I can relate to my life situation are:  No One Else on Earth by the Judds, I'm the Happiest Girl in the World by Donna Fargo, My Next Thirty Years by Tim McGraw, Grandpa by the Judds, Forever and Ever, Amen by Randy Travis, Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton and That's Who I Am by Jessica Andrews."

Lucy's address information can be found in our Membership Roster.  You can read Lucy's original poem Friend to Friend in our Bulletin Board section and see a photo of her family on the Where Are They Now? page.   [07/23/02]

From Isadora Ide Ullrich ('40) of Orchard Park, New York we have the following:

"Every time I visit the [Dundee Area] Historical Society I think of how many times I climbed those stairs while attending grade school there.  First grade was at the left on the first floor.  Mrs. Lyons was the teacher, and her husband was principal.  First floor right was second grade with Mrs. Tibbitts.  On the second floor right was third grade and Mrs. Jessop.   Mrs. Ruddick taught fourth grade on the second floor left.  At recess in the fall and spring we played 'prisoner's base' in the right front yard."

Isadora's mailing address can be found on our Membership Roster page, if you would like to contact her.  [05/30/02]

Nancy Long Carruthers ('83) tells us that she enjoyed growing up in Dundee and attending DCS.  She feels Dundee is a great place to raise a family.  Nancy asks if anyone remembers the "Winner's Circle."  "Tommy's Holiday Camp?"

Check our Where Are They Now page to learn what Nancy has been doing since graduation and the Membership Roster, if you'd like to contact her.  [04/14/02]

Gene Morgan ('61) has provided the following period pictures of Dundee and the former schools on  Harpending Avenue and Seneca Street.  Although now a resident of Arizona, Gene continues to engage in extensive geneological research on his family, most of whom have their roots in Yates County.  Your editor has seen the very impressive archives Gene has assembled on the various branches of his family, and it is not surprising that the Yates County Historical Society have requested copies of his work.  [11/17/01] 
 

Dora Randall Howell ('41) recalls " . . . Dundee was a nice little town to grow up in - safe night and day.  I attended all the old school buildings and graduated from [the new] Dundee Central School.  I worked for lawyer Bill Maloney and for Coley Anderson in his drug store.  While still going to school I baby sat and waitressed at Scott Radilly's restaurant.  It seemed I always found something to do.  I enjoyed the new DCS building and was able to be switchboard operator in the principal's office."

Read about Dora's life since graduation in our Where Are They Now? section.  [11/06/01]

Daisy Randall Hall ('44), who currently resides in Penn Yan with sister Dora Howell ('41), recalls attending fifth and sixth grades under law offices in a building just off main street.  [Editor's note:  We believe the building was located on the site of the parking lot behind the present-day Pour House on the south side of Seneca Street.]  As a freshman Daisy remembers attending a competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey with the DCS chorus . . . "a real treat for us small-town youngsters who rarely went anywhere in those days."  Daisy says Dundee had nothing to entertain young people when she was a teenager and it is not much better now.  Still, it was a lovely little town, a place to raise a family more safely. "We used to find things to do (not harmful things) and we enjoyed other people's company and homes."

Read more from Daisy Hall in our Where Are They Now? section.  [10/14/01]

Donna Bodine Treat ('61) of Goose Creek, South Carolina sends along some further thoughts about her days at DCS.  (See Donna's previous contributions below and in our Where Are They Now? section.)

"Even though I left Dundee at the end of the eighth grade, I can remember fondly many friends and events that took place - some things were funny and fun.  Others were not funny at the time, but they make me laugh now. . . I remember Mr. Jerome's music class and Miss Hitchcock's gym class.  I recall destroying Allan Depew's tooth project by accident, of course, and feeling so bad, because I thought he was pretty nice in the 6th grade.  It seems Judy Kellogg and I were always at odds for his attention back then.  I remember tap dancing on stage and being pretty good and getting perfect attendance awards each year.  I had fun chasing butterflies with Elaine Horst and dancing with Jim Robbins at the street dances.  The list goes on and on!"  [10/14/01]

Dorothy Walton Bodine ('41) now resides in the Walnut Hill apartment complex in Penn Yan.  As a child she lived with parents, sister and brothers at Shannons Corners.  Her grandparents lived nearby at Starkey Corners, and the family all attended the Starkey Methodist Church.  One of Dorothy's best friends was Ruth Gilbert Forman ('41), and they both attended the grade school which was then located between Shannons Corners and Starkey Corners.  Dorothy recalls taking a special exam in the seventh grade, so she could accompany Ruth to the new Dundee Central School to complete her education.  She did not want to continue in the small rural school with just two boys; she wanted to go with Ruth.  Dorothy graduated from DCS at seventeen.  While in school she sang in the glee club and was a member of the band.  On weekends Dorothy stayed with her cousin Jean Walton in Dundee while she worked as a waitress at Kleckler's Restaurant on Main Street..

Read more about Dorothy in our Where Are They Now? section.  [10/14/01 and 06/12/02]

Dave Tetor ('61) of Clinton Corners, New York fondly recalls growing up on the family farm.

"Chores before and after school kept me out of sports, but I did sing in the chorus and played violin in the junior orchestra for a short time. I was also involved in the National Honor Society, FFA and other clubs and organizations.  I was active in 4-H and played baseball for ten years on Reading Center teams.  I was  active in the Baptist Church in Altay, and I even got to sing in minstrels at the Altay grange hall.  I remember many cousins at family reunions."

Dave, now in retirement, is writing a book about the values of growing up on a family farm.  You can read more about his career with Cornell Cooperative Extension and in public service in our Where Are They Now? section.  Dave's address information is listed in the Membership Roster, if you would like to get in touch.  [08/19/01]

Tarja Pisila Maenpaa ('86), an A.F.S. exchange student from Finland, has many fond memories from her year at DCS:

"I would love to get in touch with all the friends in Dundee (or wherever they might now be).  I think touch-keeping is more likely to succeed through e-mail, but I'll be happily surprised by any kind of messages I get from people who might remember me from my visit in Dundee.

I would like to send my love to the Skorusa family whom I stayed with for the end of the year.  It would be great to get back in touch with them.  My first American home was with the Oliveri family, and I'd love to get in touch with Sheryl after all these years, too.  I heard about her father, and I'm sorry about their loss.

I also often think of all the fine memories from schooldays and after-school activities (tennis with Mr. Mochamer, volleyball, basketball and softball with Ms. Gobeyn.  I understand Dr. Scher is stil at DCS.  What about Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Averill, Mr. Fredericks, Mr. American History (sorry) and everyone else . . . Sandy White, Kandee Wright,  Polly and Mark Strait, Lora and Robbie Prior, Danny Knapp, Derek Maxfield, Lisa, Kyle and Shawn, and tens and tens of people whose names I can't remember without the yearbook, but I'd like to hear from.  It would be really great to know what has happened to all these people during the past 15 years.

If anyone knows about these people, I would be grateful to hear, too.  Joyce Easter (Higgins) is the only one I have been able to keep in touch with.  I can tell you - it makes you feel young again to get back in touch with your friends from school - I think Joyce would agree with me totally :)

You can get in touch with me through e-mail:  tarja.maenpaa@smek.fi
or the great old-fashioned way:  Tarja Maenpaa
                                               Jyratie 3
                                               69550 Nurmo
                                               Finland

P.S.  Check the guest book if you want to see what I look like these days."
 

You can learn what Tarja has been doing since graduation by checking our   Where Are They Now page.  We urge anyone who can help Tarja find any of the classmates she mentioned to get in touch with her.  [07/27/01]

Dorothy Axtell Parmelee ('45) recalls attending a one-room school in Barrington - the very school house that has since been restored and moved to the DCS campus.  She grew up on a farm, which she regards as a good life.  However, Dorothy had a tendency to be a bit shy and withdrawn, so it took some adjustment to go from the old school in the seventh grade to the then new Dundee Central School.  Although originally apprehensive about the change, Dorothy now looks back at attending DCS as a great experience, both in learning and making new friends.  In fact, she feels even closer to some of those friends and classmates today!
 

Learn more about Dorothy and what she has been doing since graduation by checking our Where Are They Now? page.  [07/10/01]

Gladys Emery Aston of Lake Dallas, Texas fondly remembers Saturday nights downtown in Dundee.  She considered growing up in a small town knowing almost everyone was a distinct benefit.  She recalls picking fruit on area farms during the summer.  "I dearly loved school and had wonderful teachers."  Gladys hardly ever missed a basketball game, and in 1941, she won the regional speaking contest for girls.

Read more about Gladys on our Where Are They Now? page and check the Membership Roster should you want to contact her.  [07/07/01]

Pauline Bassett Jamison ('57) says it was great growing up attending a small, uncrowded school, where you knew all your classmates.  "We didn't have much, but we had a lot of fun, which are memories now.  I will never forget our senior trip or my English teacher Mrs. Utter.  It's a beautiful area to be from, and we had a good school to attend.  I enjoy coming back in the summer."

Learn more about Pauline in our Where Are They Now? section, and check the Membership Roster, if you would like to contact her.  [07/07/01]

Bob Brimmer ('51) recalls when the streets in Dundee were cleaned with a horse-drawn broom and the days when both ice and milk were actually delivered to homes in the village.  He remembers the demise of three grocery stores in Dundee and the subsequent rise of [what is now] the Giles Sure Fine supermarket.  Bob fondly recalls band concerts and the days when both teachers and the principal knew everyone in school.

If you wold like to get in touch with Bob, see our Membership Roster page and check the Where Are They Now? section to learn what Bob has been doing since graduation.  [05/22/01]

Gert Hinson Benson attended high school in Dundee from 1936 through 1940, which included the transition from the old Dundee High School to the new centralized facility.  Her memories of that era include:

"Travelling on our school buses to basketball games at other schools, our 'marching band' and school plays.  The day we moved from the old high school to the new one, which is now old enough not to be new anymore, but the tree I planted on Arbor Day in 1940 is still there.  I go to say hello to it whenever I visit!"

Gert grew up in Lakemont and participated in both the Girl Scouts and 4-H.  She recalls going to square dances, ice skating and bob sledding, but  ". . . we all had jobs to to before we could play."  Gert also has fond memories of attending the movie theater near the library in Dundee.

Read more about Gert in our Where Are They Now? section, and check the Membership Roster, if you'd like to contact her.  [05/17/01; additions 05/14/02]

Mary Carr Baughman ('71), who now resides with her family in Casper, Wyoming, offers a diverse assortment of memories of DCS and the Dundee area:
 
"Band trips!  Green grass and trees, hiking in the woods.  Swimming and hiking at Watkins Glen.  Mrs. Utter!  Singing with the chorus, dance band and church choir.  Picking grapes in the fall.  Fall Leaves.  Snow days.  My friends!"

See Mary's story and picture on our Where Are They Now? page and check the Membership Roster, if you want to get in touch with her.  [05/17/01]

Lucyna Bartusiak Perkins ('46) remembers the day as a fifth-grader when she first entered the shiny new gymnasium of the newly-centralized DCS.  It was the largest room that she and her classmates had ever seen!  Lucyna played trombone and string bass in the jazz band under Mr. Greyback.  She also fondly recalls the class senior trip along with their advisor Mr. Webster.  The class traveled by bus to Buffalo, where they embarked on an overnight voyage to Detroit via Lake Erie.  On the return trip the class visited Niagara Falls.  Lucyna remembers that it was all very exciting.

You can find more from Lucyna and husband Luther Perkins, also Class of '46, on our Where Are They Now? page.  If you would like to get in touch, just check the Membership Roster.   [05/08/01]

From Lucy Woodard Clingerman ('85):

"Friend to Friend:  We're from the same school, the same town, Dundee.  Into this world we sprouted; call it destiny.  It's friend to friend, a special thing, a closeness to which we're tied.  And you've always been there, to laugh with me, or even when I cried.  Anyway, I think it's fantastic that you were meant to be a part of my life, my friend.  You'll always be special to me!"  [05/07/01]

Judy Merritt Woodruff ('83) passes along the photo below of the DCS girls' soccer team on which she played.  Judy is number 45, seated in front row third from the left.
 

Steve Knapp of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania sends us a photo of his aunt Peggy Wells Knapp (seated), when she appeared in the senior play "The Night of January 16" in 1948.  He believes that the others in the picture are (from left to right) Richard Bailey, Audie Chadwick, Mrs. Utter and Dick Peterson.
 

DCS Alumni Association Dora Howell has contributed a photo of the Dundee High School class of 1927 which we reproduce below.  Class president Anna Minici is seated in the center of the front row.  Others in the class are Alma Horton, Dorothy Smith, Anna Larson, Horton Levins, Ed Dailey and Florence Morris, but we can't match names and faces.  Can anyone help?
 

While visiting Dundee during the summer of 2000, Eugene Morgan ('61) brought us a collection of memorabilia from his days at DCS.  (Eugene currently resides in suburban Phoenix.)  He also contributed several photographs which he took in 1967 of ice boating on Lamoka Lake.  As we can see from the photos, this was apparently a very popular activity during that era.  [09/17/00]
   

Donna Bodine Treat ('61) says she has many fond memories of friends and the happiness she found at DCS, even though she left us at the end of eighth grade and subsequently graduated from Penn Yan Academy.  One of her closest friends, Roland Lyle, graduated a year ahead of Donna, and they still frequently talk about "old times."  She recalls that music teacher Mr. Jerome was always such a tease, and she was saddened at the news of his passing.  Fond memories include awards assemblies, the marching band, street dances, walks to the corner candy store at lunch time, as well as various teachers and classes.  Donna recalls that she and her good friend Joyce Dibble had great times together but often got in trouble for giggling in class.  "I used to faint a lot in homemaking class when we were studying the circulatory system.  I got to be a creature of habit on that one.  I remember tearing Allan Depew's dental poster while kidding around.  I felt terrible about it.  I broke a tooth playing a game in gym class.  We won though!  Yes, many memories are still there."  (You can learn more about Donna by checking both our Membership Roster and Where Are They Now? sections.)   

Rose Marie Waite Easling ('79) recalls having lots of fun with the neighbor kids while growing up in Dundee - playing in each other's yard, not walking the streets or hanging out at the four corners.  She had a few friends who always wanted to stay overnight at her house, but Rosie would spend  almost every weekend at the house of her grandparents, where she played with another dear friend who lived nearby.
(You can find Rosie's mailing address in our Membership Roster and learn what she's been doing since graduation on the Where Are They Now? page.)

We were pleased to receive an e-mail from Harold Wilkin ('32), who now lives in Sun City, Arizona.  During his youth he lived on Seneca Street, across from the school yard, and he even sends us a picture of Dundee High School, which he attended.  The building, of course, pre-dates district centralization and construction of the present Dundee Central School.  At the time his father operated a dry goods store in the village at the corner where the Classic Cafe is now located, and Harold has included a photo of that as well.  Harold has some other vintage photographs which he may share with us in the future.  Many thanks to Harold Wilkin, our very first contributor to the Recollections page. 

 
 
     Dundee High School  (Click on images to enlarge.)
 
 
 

   Wilkin and Harvey store at the four corners in Dundee
 

As promised, Harold Wilkin has provided us with additional views of Dundee from an era when trains still ran through the village and cars looked very different from those we see on Main Street today.
 

    Main Street looking south from the four corners
 
 

     Main Street looking north
 
 

    Railroad station on the east side of the village
 

Mr. Wilkin continues with his historical perspective on the village.  His collection includes both original photographs and picture post cards which were published and sold at the Harvey and Wilkin store on the four corners.
 

      Another view of the former Dundee High School
 

      The Harpending Hotel (site of the present Giles Surefine)
 
 
       Presbyterian Church at south end of Main Street
 

        Big Stream looking west from Main Street
 

        Big Stream looking west toward the Main Street bridge
 
 
        Seneca Street looking west toward the four corners
 

        Clearing the sidewalk to the Wilkin and Harvey store