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A few columns ago, you may recall my mentioning that before opening Chick-fil-A, my son George was actually a school teacher and cross country/track coach. This past weekend, Francis and I had the opportunity to join him and many of his former athletes as they celebrated not only the 25th Anniversary of winning their first AAA WV State Cross Country Championship, but also commemorating the fact that their era was recently recognized during PHS' Bicentennial Celebration as the era of excellence for the sport of cross country at the school. Team members from the classes of 1992-1998 were invited to enjoy an entire weekend of festivities commemorating their accomplishments. Their classes' successes were many and included winning state championship in 1994 and 1995; runner-up in 1996; their 1998 class went onto win the 2000 state championship; ranked Top 30 in the US for the first time in program history; Ranked #1 by the WV Coaches all/part of 4 of the 7 years; 118-0 unbeaten streak vs WV Schools between '94-'96; 5 Regional Championships; 4 MSAC Conference Championships; 13 All-State Performers; and two individual state champions. Quite a seven year stretch!
The weekend began with an on-the-field recognition at Friday night's PHS football game and was followed by a halftime reception catered by Chick-fil-A for the alumni's friends and family. On Saturday, they first attended the Belpre Cross Country Invitational, a race that 25 years ago their girls' team placed first in and their boys' team second. After the meet, they met at PHS to have a practice for old times sake, as well as entering the school to see the numerous pictures of their teams/individuals on the walls. The capstone event was Saturday night, with a formal event featuring a 45 minute musical video tribute highlighting each of the years' accomplishments that didn't leave a dry eye in the house. There were also some laughs recollecting the fact that during George's first year as the coach, there was only one returning runner and he had to recruit students from band, swimming and throughout the school just to field a complete team. One the individuals he recruited lived in his own house, that being his sister Sophia (Angelos) Colombo, who was and preferred being a Red Wing. She did her brother a favor that year and ran, then stuck with dancing after the team grew the following year.
Those who RSVP'ed for the event included: Dayla Dowler-Danner (Lancaster, Ohio), Sophia Angelos-Colombo, Matt Tice (Seattle, Wash.), Travis Roton, Joey Shriver, Phillip Tice (Columbus), Cassey Offenberger-Uhl, Kachina Munoz, Lia Fleak, 1997 All Stater performer Eric Barnes, Coach Gary Prater (Huntington), 3-Time All-State performer Melba Munoz-Alkire, Kiersten Bliss-Tice (Sacramento, Calif.), Jacob Tau Smith Tice (Springville, Utah), 1994 Individual State Champion Megan Rawlings-Sharry (Naples, Fla.), 1995 Individual State Champion Karen Keller-Cuda (Greensboro, N.C.), Carolyn Fleak-Peck (Charlotte, N.C.), Amanda Harrison-Hall (Morgantown), Nicole Bowen-Rodgers, Leslie Molinaro-Craven, Christina Lerch-Buttrey and Megan Jones (Cleveland). An especially nice touch was video messages sent in from individuals who wished to attend but could not, including Kimberly Dorman (Saint Petersburg, Fla.), Jennifer Cone (Raleigh, N.C.), Erin Brown-Stillman (Los Angeles, Calif.) and John Mallory (Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan).
Time goes by quickly and those were special times that we shared with George, not only back in the 1990s, but once again during this very special tribute weekend. He cared deeply about those young athletes then, was proud of their accomplishments and you could tell by the care and attention put into every detail for the weekend that he went the extra mile to honor them once again 25 years later.
More vacation stories to continue next week
Below more recipes from our vacation for you to try.
Till next week.
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Broiled Flounder
Clean and scale fish, leaving head intact. Cut 3-4 gashes through skin. Prepare lemon marinade and pour over fish in shallow dish. Refrigerate 1 hour. Place on a greased broiler pan; broil 5 inches from heat for 15 minutes or until easily flaked with fork. Turn and broil until skin is brown and crisp. Brush once or twice with marinade. (If fish is large, do not turn.) Remove to large platter. Pour remaining marinade over fish.
Lemon Marinade
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teapsoon prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
Combine all and beat lightly.
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Fillet of Flounder in WIne
1 pound fillet of flounder
1 4-pounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
Season fillet of flounder; place over mushrooms and chopped green onions in a saucepan. Cover with wine and cook slowly until fish is soft, about 10 minutes. Remove fillet of flounder to heated platter. Fish may be browned slightly under broiler before serving. Add butter to wine and mushrooms, and boil down to half of original quantity, stirring constantly to keep sauce very smooth. Pour over fish in platter.
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String Beans in Tomato Sauce
2 pounds string beans
2 onions, chopped
3/4 cup olive oil
1 can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons salt
dash pepper
chopped parsley and mint
2 potatoes, cut in quarters
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped celery, optional
Saute onions lightly in olive oil. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add string beans and remaining ingredients. Cover ; cook slowly for 1 hour or until tender.
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Green Beans with Mushrooms
1 pound green beans
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1/2 pound mushrooms
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon mint leaves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Remove ends and strings of beans; cut in 2-inch pieces or leave whole and cut lengthwise through beans.
Saute chopped onion in olive oil until soft, add sliced mushrooms and stir over moderate heat 5 minutes. Add prepared beans, parsley, seasonings and water. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, or until tender. Add 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice before removeing from heat.
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Artichokes and Fava Beans
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onions
chopped dill and parsley
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
1/2 cup water
1 can large lima beans
1 can cooked artichokes
juice of 1 lemon
Cook sliced onions and seasoning in olive oil until soft. Add water and bring to a boil. Drain beans, add to onions and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Add artichokes and lemon juice and cook 5 minutes longer to blend flavors.
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Anchovy-Potato Salad
4 potatoes, boiled
2 green onions
1 small can anchovies
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
calamata black olives
3 tablespoons white vinegar
salt and pepper
oregano
Cut up potatoes and anchovies in small pieces; chop green onions fine. Mix with olive oil, vinegar, seasonings and sprinkle with oregano. Serve warm, garnished with lettuce, sliced tomatoes and black olives.
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Scallop-Potato Salad
1 pound scallops, sliced
4 potatoes, diced and cooked
4 tablespoons onion, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons vinegar
4 tablespoons salad oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
chopped dill
Simmer scallops in salted water to cover for 5 minutes; drain and cool. Combine with potatoes, onion and parsley. Mix together vinegar, oil, salt and pepper; pour over scallop mixture. Toss lightly. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Sprinkle with chopped dill.
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Feta-Potato Salad
3 cups cooked, diced potatoes
1 tablespoon green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons onion, minced
2 tablespoons pickles, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Combine potatoes, celery, green pepper, onion and pickle. Chill. Blend mayonnaise, seasonings and lemon juice. Mix with potato mixture; add feta cheese. Toss lightly.
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Kiki Angelos is a longtime columnist for the Parkersburg News and Sentinel.