Red and White @ Silver

On June 15, 2001, about 500 Norwich Free Academy Wildcats strolled across the graduation stage. And now, on the silver anniversary of that day, a podcast about their experiences ends.   In this episode, recorded earlier this month after a year away from their mics, Ian, Jim, and Zack reminisce one last time. They reflect on their experiences doing the podcast. They describe the special qualities o...

In the penultimate episode of “Red & White @ Silver,” for the third and final time the cohosts interview one of their own. This week, it’s finally Ian’s turn in the hot seat. You’ll hear about his dubious diet and exercise philosophy, his aimlessness as a high school and freshman college student, and how he turned it all around to eventually become a teacher at Waterford High School. (NFA Huma...

In early June 2001, Tony Blair and his Labor Party held on to power after Parliamentary elections; President George W. Bush and his Republican Party signed a trillion dollar tax cut into law; and Justin Mazzella found himself just 13 days from his high school graduation. Twenty-five years later, he finds himself Zooming in to “Red & White @ Silver” as Ian, Jim, and Zack’s last interviewee. And...

Even after 38 episodes we still had another NFA sending town to represent. Joining Norwich, Sprague, Franklin, Lisbon, Preston, Voluntown, and Sterling is now the beautiful Canterbury. Representing it is our wonderful classmate Shailyn Guy. In this episode, Shailyn walks us through the last quarter-century of her life. Included are adventures in masseusery, Covid disruptions to her business, and n...

In mid-May 2001, “Shrek” topped the box office, Dido’s “Thank You” topped the music charts, and Barry Keenan topped our Class Musician rankings. He was a month from graduation, but what happened after Barry walked across the stage? Listen to this episode to find out. You’ll learn that he graduated from UConn, during which he led a Phish cover band, and worked at Mystic Seaport, during which he san...

(A quick side note for RWS fans: we’re almost done! After our awesome guest this week, we’re down to the final FIVE episodes: three more interviews with classmates, followed by our final interview of one of the RWS hosts, and then the series finale on June 15, the 25-year anniversary of our graduation. Please join us for the home stretch! ) This week we have our old classmate Lauren Carlson. In th...

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, “Red & White @ Silver” is thrilled to welcome a classmate who spent post-graduate years in Mexico: Nathan Paluck! He Zooms with the RWS trio to fill us in on everything he’s been up to for the last 25 years. How does a physics major at Fordham turn into a teacher in Honduras and bartender/salsa dancer in Oaxaca and a journalist in Hartford and the president of a che...

This week, “Red & White @ Silver” listeners are in for a treat. First, RWS gives you a peak behind the curtain. Unbeknownst to Ian, Zack, and our guest, our A/V guru Jim was recording audio before the official start of the interview. Therefore, in lieu of our typical short cold open, you’ll hear several minutes of arguing and guest-prep. The bigger treat comes afterward: our articulate and cha...

Have you ever wondered who has the biggest heart on Earth? Well, you can stop wondering. We found her. It’s our fellow Class of 2001er, Becky Majewski. Just how big is her heart? Listen to some of the jobs she’s held since high school. After becoming a UConn nursing major, she has since worked at a nursing home, in hospice care, and at the Oncology Department at Backus Hospital. One listen to this...

In another Day One recording of “Red & White @ Silver,” we have one of our earliest guinea pigs, the brave Kevin Brunetti. How brave was he? Try joining the military one month after 9/11 brave. In this episode, we hear about his time in the Air Force working as a mechanic, including being stationed in Germany for some time. Joining the military at a young age also meant he just retired from th...

In the beginning of April, 2001, Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese position player in Major League Baseball; a young Tiger Woods won his second Masters Tournament; and one of the Norwich Free Academy’s best students, the great Amy Rygielski, barreled toward her high school graduation. In this episode, after Zack insists on talking about Samuel Huntington School for nine consecutive minutes,...

Toward the end of March in the year 2001, WCW lost to WWF in the wrestling companies’ famous Monday Night Wars. Watching it all happen was one of America’s biggest wrestling fans, the senior Wildcat Chris Larsen. You may have known him more for another sport, however: bowling! Listen to hear about some of his bowling achievements, not least of which was his family acquiring our hallowed Norwich Te...

In the first few days of spring 2001, the space station Mir fell into Earth’s atmosphere, Apple released its Mac OS X operating system, and Krista Barcomb marched closer to her Norwich Free Academy graduation. What happened to her after she left the football field and began her new chapter? After bouncing between a couple academic institutions, it turns out she would one day enter into a field tha...

On St. Patrick’s Day 2001, Dublin had to delay its parade on account of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Luckily the Senior Wildcats of the Norwich Free Academy were safely an ocean away wearing not only green, but plenty of red and white. Among them was the great Dave (Wei Li) Fan. He now Zooms with us from San Francisco, California. How did a Norwich kid turned Boston University student en...

In mid-March 25 years ago, the Norwich Free Academy’s class was just three months from its graduation. Among its five hundred students was the talented flutist Janelle Handy. In this episode, we learn how a flute-playing math major ended up in the most selfless of careers working for United Community & Family Services. Listen to learn how Janelle’s refreshingly blunt approach (or, in her words...

The month of March 2001 began with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” leading the box office and it ended with Chris Batten having just a single marking period left in his high school career. Now we hear what happened to Chris when there were no more periods left to mark. For example, we learned that Chris’s post-NFA journey was a unique one. After earning a degree, he began his career with the stat...

Finishing off Lovebird February is Elizabeth Brown, but do you know which 2001er she’s lovebirds with? Listen to find out. You should also listen because Elizabeth proved to be one of RWS’s most articulate and insightful guests. In this episode, you’ll learn about her outdoorsy first summer after high school before joining Ian and Zack pursuing and then excelling in the field of public education....

In our 25th episode of looking back on 25 years, we have the gregarious Joe Ruffo. Listen to hear how his NFA work ethic carried him into his first post-diploma summer, where he balanced two jobs, a golf habit, and American Legion baseball. His go get ‘em attitude eventually led him to a successful career for a local business, rising to manager of a 13-million dollar store. We never get tired of h...

It’s Valentine’s Day Week! And what better way to mark it than having as guests the NFA Class of 2001’s Class Couple! That’s right. They stayed together all these years later. What a story! In this episode, we learn how it all went down. Hear how they met, where they went after NFA, how Mike proposed, and where their family has ended up. Ian also uses this unique pair of guests to do a unique roun...

As we kick off the romantic month of February, “Red & White @ Silver” has lined up four episodes where our guest NFA Wildcat married another NFA Wildcat! That starts with the great Eric Beit. Do you know what alum he married? Because as you’ll hear, Ian clearly didn’t. What else has Eric been up to? In this episode, we learn he went into the family business, but even our brilliant and well-pre...

That’s 21 episodes down, 21 to go for “Red & White @ Silver.” To kick off the back half of RWS, we have a first: TWO guests! Join us to catch up with Amber Desrosier and Class Secretary Debby Allard, two BFFs who have been inseparable since meeting while freshmen at the Norwich Free Academy nearly 29 years ago. One listen to this episode and you’ll realize how two friends can walk separate pat...

On January 20, 2001, George W. Bush was sworn in as America’s 43rd President. SPEAKING OF PRESIDENTS… this week’s guest needs no introduction. She was the President of the Norwich Free Academy’s Class of 2001: Morgan Miller! In this episode, we learn what her post-presidency was like. Did she write a memoir? No. But does she have a library dedicated to her? Also no. Still, that’s not to say she ha...

“What’s it like going to a school where your parents DIDN’T teach?” So begins Zack Lamothe’s recontextualization of the question he’d been asked a thousand times at the Norwich Free Academy. As listeners of this podcast know, our cohost’s parents were the universally beloved Mr. and Mrs. Lamothe, who taught math and English, respectively. (We hope Mrs. Lamothe approves of that sentence structure.)...

On January 6, 2001, Congress dutifully certified George W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 presidential election, ending another of our country’s long, national nightmares. Sleeping peacefully, in contrast, was the future Reverend Adam Coletti, a senior at what he 25 years later would call “one of the best high schools in the country.” In this episode, Adam sits with Ian, Jim, and Zack to catch lis...

In the last couple days of the year 2000, as nerds debated whether we were about to finish the first year of the 21st century or the last year of the 20th, NFA Wildcat Aleeya Stewart prepared to turn the calendar into the back half of her senior year. That senior year ultimately launched Aleeya on a post-graduate academic career that earned her not one but TWO Masters degrees, effectively matching...