Paving the Way

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Fifty-three years ago, Conval High opened its doors for the first time, with two Antrim boys (Neal Wiggin and Chick Hamel) leading the way and the lead editorial in the Peterborough Transcript trumpeting the news.

It may seem strange that a high school basketball history blog should start with this: the story of the first day in Conval High's history, August 27, 1970. But in that first year alone, the local newspaper was alarmed that there was a drug problem, a few students in an anti-Vietnam War era refused to stand for the national anthem, and hundreds of orphaned seventh and eighth graders squeezed into the new high school when their school burned down on Christmas morning. Stress and strain were everywhere.

But then, there was basketball!

Amidst the chaos came a rallying cry for a student body and the community. In 1970, there was no hockey or wrestling or gymnastics to compete for attention. Only skiing (more a participant-oriented sport) and popular and excellent cheerleading vied with freshman (Art Giovannengeli), junior varsity (Ray Brown), and varsity boys (Ray Richard), along with JV (Andrea Bemiss) and varsity girls (Judy LaFortune). 

Basketball, as it had and has done for nearly 100 years in our region, brought diverse interests together.

In the cold and dark of December to March, Conval basketball brought firey enthusiasm and excitement. The young freshmen that first year battled to a 15-2 regular season and challenged the JV boys to a duel as "best of the underclassmen." The girls' varsity fought through a brutal schedule to finish 10-6, and the boys' varsity wowed the state for much of the season before settling for a 16-5 overall record.

But it was only the beginning. Since then, Conval basketball teams have made 48 tournament appearances in 53 years, including 16 final fours and three state championships. A remarkable record. And it occurred to those of us who had followed the fortunes of our hoop teams since that 1970-'71 season that every generation of Cougars both now and to come deserved to know what was driving their desire to win, to shoot and keep shooting even during heat of the summer, to play endless hours of pick-up games.

Last year, we found our hero: an unlikely member of the New England Patriots. And as we look to a new season, we end with his, and our own. words ...

“I want to challenge you guys to have an appreciation for history. Where you came from. Who paved the way for you. History is important, fellas. We can’t forget where we came from because in order to understand where we’re going, we’ve gotta be able to look back and learn from what happened in the past. History matters.”—Matthew Slater

During this basketball season, that’s the mission of Conval Hoop Heritage—to help all in Conval Nation but especially the current and next generation of Cougars learn from and be inspired by those who’ve gone before us in our towns and who have set an incredible standard of excellence—both on the court, and in the community.

We look forward to having you join us on this journey through a rich thread of memories, great accomplishments, inspiring teams and stories, and just plain fun. And if you have a high school basketball memory that stands out, in any era, please let us know by sending us a message via our Facebook and Instagram pages.

In the meantime, #gocougs! We love watching future history makers at work.



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