It’s been 75 years since Francesca (Fran) Casavecchia Mancuso walked the halls of Cuyahoga Heights High School, yet the memories are as vivid as ever. A recent conversation with her brought to mind several flashbacks of her high school years. “The big thing was that the band got to march in winter in Downtown Cleveland with all the big schools – East Tech, West Tech, Cathedral Latin, Lincoln West, and Brecksville,” said Casavecchia, who played the clarinet. “It was such a big deal because we were a little high school compared to them.”
One year, Casavecchia forgot the reed needed to play her instrument. “I just panicked and I went up to my music teacher and I told him I forgot my reed. He said, ‘just put your clarinet in your mouth and march!’ I was so worried but I can laugh about it now,” she said, recalling the thousands of people lining the parade route. Casavecchia (far left) as a majorette.
Casavecchia remembers the band performing at different venues, including in the Memorial Day parade down E. 71st Street. She also participated in majorettes, orchestra, student council, announcer club, Y Team (a service club), chorus, and was a member of the ensemble in musical performances. “I was up for anything and because it was a small school, if you went out for something you made it,” she noted, “Except for cheerleading. I was too tall and couldn’t do somersaults or splits,” she said, recalling that she was the second tallest girl in the class.
After football games, the students would gather at a local hangout or Manner’s Big Boy in Valley View. “If anyone had a car we’d all pile in because most people didn’t have cars in those days except for the tuition students who drove to school,” she recollected.
During the 1950s, Cuyahoga Heights was home to several major companies, including Ford, Alcoa, and American Steel and Wire. The property taxes they paid to the schools enabled the district to construct a beautiful running track. “One day, we were told we couldn’t practice because an Olympic star was coming and she wanted to use our track because it was the best in the area,” said Casavecchia. The Olympian turned out to be track-and-field star Stella Walsh who had set a world record in the 100-yard dash. “We had to wait until she was done before we got to use the track again,” she explained.
Casavecchia attended occasional sock hops as well as her senior prom at the Richfield Tavern. “I still have the menu,” she stated. Her date was Vincent Mancuso, a graduate of Lincoln West whom she met at a local skating rink. “All my friends thought it was such a big deal because he was from one of the big schools,” she said proudly. It’s no surprise then, that a statement in the Class of 1950’s Prophesy section reads: “Frances Casavecchia has finally decided to settle down to one guy.” The Mancusos were married in 1953.
After school or during lunchtime, she and her girlfriends would go to a store adjacent to the school to buy candy bars. The boys, however, would go to the nearby cemetery to smoke. “Smoking was popular then but you weren’t allowed to smoke on school property,” said Casavecchia. The more things change the more they stay the same! After graduation, Casavecchia utilized the office skills she learned in high school to join the Ford Motor Company on Grant Avenue. “They asked me what I wanted to do and I said ‘clerical work’ so they hired me on the spot and they sent (a group of) us downtown to college to learn their system and I worked for them until I got married,” she said.
Casavecchia recalled the fun she had throughout high school and the lasting friendships she formed. “It was a nice class,” she said, looking back on the Class of 1950.
Pictured:
Casavecchia far left, as a majorette.
Cassavechia's yearbook photo.
Casavecchia is pictured in several photos from the 1950 yearbook, "The Cayugan".
Cuyahoga Heights High School circa 1950.
