On Sept. 30, 2022, I was invited by the North Tonawanda Wall of Fame Project Committee to serve as the guest speaker for the 2nd Annual NTHS Alumni Pre-game Tailgate Party. The event was held at the iconic Third Warder’s Social Club located on 12th Avenue in North Tonawanda, a venue that is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
For those interested, here are my remarks from this night. I thought it would be most appropriate to publish this on Logs From The Lumberyard, considering this website is where I used to share all my NT notes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for having me. I would first like to thank John (Baran) for not only inviting me to speak with you tonight but for all the work he and the entire Wall of Fame Project Committee have accomplished over the last two years.
If you haven’t witnessed the transformation our Alumni Center has undergone because of this group’s vision, you really should take a look.
I commend the committee’s dedication in preserving the past glory of NT Athletics and the Fine Arts for present and future generations to enjoy and even inspire these young men and women to create their own paths here at NT. If someone like Professor Frank Beardsley, NT’s first football coach back in 1896, was here with us this evening, I think he would be amazed at how far we have come.
Thank you for reigniting that hometown pride and for bringing generations of Lumberjacks together for events like this.
I’d also like to welcome Mayor Tylec this evening. Mayor Tylec comes from a multi-generational family that knows what being a Lumberjack and what serving your community is all about.
His great-grandfather, “Pop” Ramsay, oversaw the Parks and Recreation Department for more than 50 years – many programs of which are still operating today.
And, his uncle, Charles “Chuck” Ramsay, who we all miss greatly here tonight, made an impact coaching on the football field at all three Twin Cities high schools – North Tonawanda, Tonawanda and the former Bishop Gibbons.
Thank you, Mayor, for being here.
Congratulations to our six new inductees into the North Tonawanda Athletics Wall of Fame. I am honored to be part of this special evening as I have had small connections to each of them since I became interested in NT Athletics in the Fall of 2009.
During my senior year, I had conversations with Coach Heyer about Shawn’s diving career and how exciting his run towards winning a state championship in 2008 was for the NT Swimming program.
While I never had the opportunity to meet Coach Baronich, his son, Dale, was my shop teacher in middle school. I reconnected with Dale a few years later when I researching about his dad’s coaching career for my NT Athletes and Coaches Countdown projects.
I’ve read nearly every story published by the Tonawanda News and talked with those who were in the building when Britni, Brandi, Breean and their Lady Jack volleyball teammates won three consecutive state titles in the late 1990s.
And, to this day, I remember watching NT Football’s run to the Carrier Dome with my family and going bananas when Darrik caught the half-back pass from Dan Montesanti for the go-ahead touchdown in the state title game against New Rochelle.
As these personal anecdotes showed, role models come from many aspects of our lives, especially in your hometown.
The combination of NT Football’s title run in 2009 and reading the sports section of the Tonawanda News every day were some of the inspirations for pursuing a career in sports journalism and sportscasting.
At just the age of 11, my career began as a volunteer public-address announcer with the North Tonawanda Youth Center basketball program, which, at the time, held games inside the old Lowry Middle School. Not only was this program the starting point for my career but this was where many of NT’s top basketball players in recent years learned how to play the game.
Shortly after this began, I was chosen as a co-host for the morning announcements at Spruce Elementary. Our principal wanted us to expand the morning announcements and he approved my idea of adding a sports segment.
Monday, November 30, 2009 – the day after NT Football won the state title – was when my passion for NT sports and the “Sports Corner” morning show itself truly began.
Over the next seven years – straight through the end of senior year in 2016 – the “Sports Corner” grew in ways I never imagined.
But the main goal of the “Sports Corner” never changed.
The “Sports Corner” was created so that the student-athletes would be recognized for their accomplishments on the gridiron, on the volleyball court and on the diving board – among other examples– just as much as they were celebrated for their accolades in the classroom.
We did talk about the Bills during their painful playoff drought and other sports headlines too – but the show was definitely NT themed.
I’m also proud to say that we were one of the first media outlets to formally recognize high school cheerleading as a varsity sport months before it was approved by Section VI.
If it was NT related, whether it was promoting the Cabaret or inviting the three candidates for Senior Class President for a school-friendly debate, we made sure it was promoted.
I didn’t realize how big the show’s impact was until underclassmen would tell me the “Sports Corner” was the only reason they came to school. Teachers, especially those who graduated from NTHS, loved the show and said numerous times how much they wished a program like mine had existed during their high school years.
As the years have passed, I’m still amazed and grateful for what we accomplished together, especially during the four years I attended NTHS.
I said the word WE because there were many moving parts within the school community who helped make this daily five-to-10 minute broadcast possible.
Whether it was a player or coach sending results or appearing on the show, my classmates working behind the scenes or my advisors making sure the switch in the main office was on, I am grateful for what all my teammates did for me.
Hosting the “Sports Corner” in the Lumberyard all those years is an experience I’ll never forget.
I continued my education at Canisius College, and most recently, earned a master’s degree in Leadership and Innovation from Daemen University. I thought that once I started college, my community ties would be gone.
If anything, it evolved into a role I never imagined still having seven years later – serving as the public-address announcer for North Tonawanda athletics.
It’s an honor serving the community in this capacity, whether it’s for a football, soccer, lacrosse or basketball game and even for a cheerleading competition too.
One of the best parts of working the games is watching kids I’ve known since they were in grade school progress as upperclassmen. It truly means a lot when one of the kids tells me after the game, “Thanks for announcing our game, Joe.”
I’m glad I’ve been a small part of their time in NT.
Serving as the “Voice of the Lumberjacks,” especially during football season, is a position that I hold dear to my heart and take deep pride in.
Growing up in the mid to late 2000s, there was one man who was synonymous with NT Football. It wasn’t a player nor coach.
It was the man who held the microphone – the late Dick Grapes.
For 50 years, Mr. Grapes worked in the press box at Vetter Stadium and provided the action with his calming voice.
I am well aware of the impact Mr. Grapes had in the North Tonawanda community. His presence is dearly missed, to say the least, and he certainly left big shoes to fill.
Over the years, some NT fans have said to me, “You’re the next Dick Grapes!”
I then tell them, “Thank you for your kind words, but, there will only be one Mr. Grapes.”
When I walk up and down the steps of the bleachers on each game-day, I look at the sign that reads Dick Grapes Memorial Press Box for a couple seconds to remind myself I’m in a special role in this community.
While I never had the opportunity to work alongside Mr. Grapes, I hope if he were still alive today, he would approve of the job I’m doing.
Along with the work Mr. Grapes provided as a contributor, there is a rich history of athletics in the Lumber City – one which has lasted for over 130 years.
Since the days of NT football in the 1890s, NT student-athletes have represented our community with deep pride for the red-and-blue.
Other teams who have succeeded over the years include, but are certainly not limited to, the 1988 Lady Jacks Softball state title team;
NT Baseball’s success in the Niagara Frontier League and Section VI in the 1990s and early 2000s;
and, more recently, the 2017 boys basketball team, who won the program’s first sectional title since 1961 and advanced to the Far West Regionals for the first time in program history.
There have been many individuals who have accomplished so many feats, from NT Softball’s Kim Frizzell and Lady Jacks Volleyball’s Lindsay Matikosh;
to NT multi-sport stars Aaron Davis and NT Baseball’s Ricky Brooks;
to families of athletes like the Mirantos and Lapers as well as those who led these young men and women on the sidelines.
Larger-than-life icons like John Chiarmonte with NT Baseball;
John’s wife, Jeanne, with Cross-Country;
Dan Fire with NT Wrestling;
TK Murphy with Lady Jacks Softball;
the late Mike Eberwein with NT baseball;
former NT Football coach Eric Jantzi;
and, lastly, the late George Vetter, the namesake for our football stadium.
If Lincoln is synonymous with Gettysburg, Coach Vetter will forever be associated as the architect of the “Golden Age” of NT Football on the sidelines – and as the athletic director overall – for an entire generation.
If I continued listing names tonight, I’d be standing at this podium until next year.
My point is that no matter what era of NT history you were part of, no matter if you were involved in athletics or the fine arts, your contributions have brought us to where we are today.
And, shortly, six new names will join the previously inducted 30 individuals and five total teams in the North Tonawanda Athletics Wall of Fame and will be honored for all eternity.
But as I imagine our new inductees and any of my fellow alumni will tell you, the community’s support is what made their time as NT students memorable.
We’re called the City of North Tonawanda, but, to me, there’s always been a small-town feel when around the community.
Whether it was parents running the concession stand or the Tops Supermarket on Meadow Drive selling NT apparel, there were many outside moving parts that contributed to the culture of success the Lumberjacks have had.
The goal now is to keep that support going for our current Lumberjacks and Lady Jacks, especially after what we have experienced the past couple years.
The idea of community spirit was bent but not broken as our teams competed in every situation possible, even facing challenges that were out of their control.
My hope is the community – including those here tonight – will continue supporting the teams all year round.
Whether it’s having copies of the team’s schedules to hand out at your business or trying the “Lumberjack Sundae” at Jamie’s Ice Cream, the alumni support is what has kept the school spirit going all these years.
Having alumni return to coach our teams or lead our fine arts department – and there are many – shows how strong the NT roots are.
But there are still many ways to stay active, such as attending the football and volleyball games later this evening or liking one of our team’s posts on Facebook.
The question I ask you all to ask yourselves tonight is, “How can I help our current Lumberjacks have the same experiences I once had?”
If North Tonawanda overall is a Ferrari zooming along the open highway, the alumni network is its engine.
I have had countless opportunities to meet with such prominent members of our alumni over the years.
Through these numerous conversations, the one person that had a big impact on my young life as a citizen of North Tonawanda and who, to me, is the embodiment of this NT Spirit is a man named Frank Pallotta, a proud graduate of the NTHS Class of 1955.
I had a couple encounters with Mr. Pallotta on Spaghetti Dinner Nights at the North Tonawanda Football Hall of Fame on Goundry Street while I was in high school myself.
While I graduated with his grand-son, Bob Brauer, I didn’t really know about Mr. Pallotta’s life story and was amazed – that nearly 70 years later now – he is still so invested in North Tonawanda football, motivating the teams each week and, for many years, cheering on the teams himself.
A phrase Mr. Pallotta said during our interview years ago that stood out to me while preparing this speech was:
“Just call me Mr. Lumberjack, that’s all. I love the game of football and I love NT Football. I love the red-and-blue.”
I hope you find inspiration in keeping that passion alive in your own ways, too.
In closing, to John, thank you for not only inviting me tonight but also for contacting me when you were looking for helpers in the early stages of this venture.
I’m glad the statistics and photos I gathered for projects I created in high school now have a permanent home with the NT Wall of Fame.
The entire committee should be very proud of the work they accomplished the past two years.
Not every community has a Wall of Fame with such dedicated individuals like ours in North Tonawanda.
To Shawn, Darrik, Britni, Brandi and Breean and the family and friends of Coach Baronich, congratulations on your induction into the North Tonawanda Athletics Wall of Fame.
Thank you for all you did while wearing the red-and-blue colors.
May God Bless the North Tonawanda Lumberjacks.”
Logs From The Lumberyard 