Many years ago when Jolly Cholly’s was a going concern, there were easily 1,000 kids roaming the lots on any given Friday and Saturday night. Any lad looking for a dust-up didn’t have any trouble at all.
Without any muss or fuss, today I can sit here and call up 30 or 40 stand-up guys from Attleboro, North, Pawtucket, Plainville and Wrentham. One of them was Ron Ouimet, nicknamed “Poet,” a sturdy North Attleboro lineman. This is his story in his words:
Dear David and Tom (Moose), I must say it was a pleasant surprise to hear from a couple of old buddies and to receive your request for insight.
The both of you have always been at the top of my memory list for I have always believed we were cut from the same blue-collar cloth. I respect that I will do my best to answer the questions pressed between 50 years of memories. Graduated from NAHS 1967, earned 25 varsity letters. My head football coach was Art Post. Assistant coaches were Bill Kummer, Erik Sargent, Bob Guthrie, and Ray Charron. My track and field coach was Tim Rioux and assistant coach Mr. Morse. I was most inspired by my football coaches: Art Post, Bill Kummer and Erik Sargent. There was not a single episode that inspired me, it was mainly having my coaches believe that in me that was important. Especially Bill Kummer. He would always motivate me by saying I could rise up to meet the challenge or that I could be one of the best to play the game of football at North.
Our head coach, Arthur Post would get us jacked up for a game by bringing in people to speak to us and having that team gather for church services and breakfast to form a tight bond.
During the day of the game, he’d bang a few of us against the lockers while raising his voice to a yell. Once he got served up and kicked the water bucket halfway across the field during a game. Yup, I never did forget Coach Post and his big heart. He started a fundraiser with money to purchase a doctor’s appointment along with orthotic arches for my shoes. My feet were extremely flat and I could not play football because of the pain in them. There were 11 children in my family, so Mom and Dad could not afford to pay for orthotics and medical care. Coach raised enough money to purchase these arches for me and then I began to play at a much higher level. This act of generosity has always been important, for it truly showed me the power of kindness from my coaches and teammates.
I can recall memorable victories. First of all, whenever we could beat you rascals on Thanksgiving Day it was truly huge and I know the feeling was mutual. I can remember my senior year in 1966 I went from 205 pounds down to 165 pounds due to injuries. We lost every game but one and that was the Thanksgiving game against “you know who” — the Blue Bombardiers. I do not remember the score (the Attleboro contingent recalls it as 16-0). Yet I do remember the jubilation of winning! We were so excited, we walked all the way back to NAHS from Hayward Field. We were accompanied by the entire student body with a police escort and the band playing all the way home. My biggest disappointment was not being able to play in all the games at a high level during my senior year because of injuries.
I had many friends too numerous to mention: Elton Barrett, Chris Blake, Wes Whidden, Steve Reinhardt, Bob Plant and more.
The cheerleaders I can remember were Nancy Caldwell, Karen Fisher, Nancy, Karen, Libby St. Mars, Cheryl Dawson, Maureen Moriarty and more.
Memories I still appreciate: I was elected first team all Bristol County League tackle/defensive end; awarded first team all state tackle/defensive end; inducted into the Attleboro Hall of Fame. I held the North Attleboro record for throwing the shot put for 27 years; at the time it was the longest held record in school history. The record was broken by a great athlete named Chris Sullivan. Chris went on to play pro ball for the Pats, etc.
Embedded in the memories of throwing the shot was the pleasure of competing with one of the state’s best athletes in you, Mr. David Hardt. I can remember throwing the 12-pound ball approximately 46 to 48 feet during our meets with Attleboro, but then this big tall handsome lug named Dave Hardt would toss the shot 54 to 56 feet. I always marveled at your restraints and talent, David. Furthermore, I have never seen anyone punt a football as far as you!
Unfortunately, space limitations force me to continue the rest of Ron Ouimet’s engaging reminiscences next week. Until then, Peace….