Sock Hop kicks off NW anniversary

Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, March 13, 2008 Presale tickets are available for the Niagara-Wheatfield High School 50th anniversary Soda Shop Sock Hop, set for Thursday, April 24, in the High School cafeteria and gym complex. The event will feature “Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps.” Tickets are $5 per person or $15 per family and can be pre-ordered by calling Ruth Guerin at 215-3159 or e-mailing rguerin@nwcsd.org. “We wanted to kick off our yearlong celebration of the high school’s 50th anniversary by doing something that the whole family and people all across the district and community could join in, and this seemed perfect,” said Luanne Zuccari, a member of the school’s Golden Anniversary Committee and coordinator of the Soda Shop Sock Hop. “We purposely kept ticket prices down, only $5 per person and $15 per family, and that includes an old fashioned root beer float for everyone and a sock hop with a live performance by “Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps” 50s band.”

“Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps” will perform April 24 at Niagara-Wheatfield High School’s 50th anniversary Soda Shop Sock Hop.

The party is only the first of four major events set by the committee for 2008, during which the high school’s opening in September 1958 will be commemorated. On June 7, a remembrance dinner honoring the school’s History Makers, Difference Makers and Distinguished Alumni is set at Sanborn Fire Hall, and in November, a concert by the alumni chorus and band is planned, and a celebration dinner/dance will be held in November. “The Soda Shop Sock Hop has already taken off, with everyone getting involved. We are getting donations of goods from the community, and the members of the high school’s student council are serving as soda jerks, making and serving the root beer floats. BOCES Food Service Program even donated a number of those little white paper hats for the kids to wear,” Zuccari said.

The festivities start at 6:30 p.m. with “Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps” going on at 7 p.m.

“We have some special activities planned, like the ‘Did You Meet Your Sweetheart at Niagara-Wheatfield?’ event to honor married couples who met when they were students at Niagara-Wheatfield,” said Zuccari. “There will be a ballot box for those attending to vote on who their favorite teacher at Niagara-Wheatfield was or is, and that person will be honored. It promises to just be a lot of fun and we expect a very big turnout.” Anyone interested in helping out at the Soda Shop Sock Hop or donating goods or services is asked to contact Zuccari at 1-800-836-7510, Ext. 3767, or e-mail her at lzuccari@onboces.org.