Read about a few of Highland Falls’ finest through the years
(Editor’s Note: Kevin Childs is a former Highland Falls resident who now lives in the Albany area, and makes time to send in a few of his childhood recollections on occasion. We at The News are appreciative of his stories, as are we of all of those who have been contributing to our ‘History’ pages of late. If you have something you’d liketo share, send it in! MJP)
Nickname: Originally, the Middle English word “eke” (also) was joined with the word “name” — to form “ekename”, or literally “alsoname”. Through the years it morphed into the word “nickname”.
In Highland Falls, we have a history of many more than 500 of these unique sobriquets. I’ll start this short narrative off with the name “Fufu”. I would say that we’ve had our Phil of Fufu’s, right Philip Galu? It may be quite impossible to find a Highland Falls native who has not heard of or know of the holder of this name. A name with equal notoriety would be “Dodo”; who was born Salvador, but was a person of photography fame (Palazzo Studios) in the village. Then comes “Skeeter”, who has always been a Starr to us all. Four “Chuck’s” come to mind, my father, Fred Childs; “The Rifleman”, Chuck Conners; Mr. Conklin (former Chief of Police), and to round it out, Mr. Dougherty; and one family would never forgive me if I omitted the name “Jeepy”, right Mr. Donnery?
Highland Falls had their own version of “Jughead”, that being Howard Reyerson, but who would ever think that “Scudder” was actually Nelson Bates, and remember that Richard Salvador “Dickie” Dapra was also called “Duke”. Some of the nicknames were easy to acquire, such as “Grunes”, for Ray Gruno, or “Fitzie” for John Fitzpatrick; but others were quite obscure in their derivation. Was “Slugger” Murphy a slugger or baseball player? Way back in 1938, did David “Slapper” Schlesinger actually slap people? Did Jimmy “Skipper” Storms actually own a boat? And we can’t forget Fred “Scoop” Brennan; he was a friend to all, and an inspiration to many. Just ask Joe Gill.
Since many of the names go wayyyy back in time, most people reading this will have to rely on the memories of their elders. Yes, “Husky” Boland was actually, quite husky, but was Norman Sheldon “PeeWee” in size? Steve “Pudgy” Kurek, was quite pudgy at birth (he told me so), but is David McCormick really a “Turkey”? Many people didn’t know that my cousin “Ronny” Ogden’s name is actually Clair. She got the nickname from her middle name of Veronica. To differentiate from her father …my Uncle Clair. On to another one that perplexes me. Lee Dapra’s nickname is “Beb”. Does anyone out there know why? Earlier generations had Anna “Babs” Finnen, and Anne Marie “Nancy” Finnen. Who knows where these names come from?
I’ll wrap this up a bit early with a bit of history behind my two nicknames which are “Flypaper”, and “It’s only”. During my early years, I was quite small and short in stature, with an ingrained need to be accepted and participate in all “pick-up” sports, no matter how dangerous. During summer vacation, the kids from Highland Falls would often gather at a small patch of green grass that fronted the original Visitors Information Center, just inside Thayer Gate in West Point. Being the smallest kid, I was never selected for a team, and spent most days cheering from the sidelines. One day, one of the teams was short one player, so I was asked to fill-in. The opposition hiked the ball, and I immediately attempted to tackle the runner, but could only hang on as he slowly dragged me up the field. Since I slowed his progress, my teammates tackled him. No, I couldn’t actually tackle the larger players; but I COULD slow their progress. Thus, I was dubbed “Flypaper”, because I never let go.
“It’s Only”, comes from my having the tendency of knocking on my friend Raymond’s door when he and the rest of the Gruno family was having dinner. Charlie Gruno would open the door, and yell, “It’s Only” Kevin … and then slam it shut. I then waited on the stairs while my friend Ray finished his meal.
That’s it for this edition. Spelling, factual, and omission errors are mine alone. In other words, just blame me when you jump up and shout, “that’s not right”! – KC
