Hickory musical ambassadors rekindle memories of 1973 Romania trip

Aug. 24—SHARON — At a time when the Cold War divided Europe between East and West, a group of Hickory High School students served as "Ambassadors of Friendship" — spending three weeks in Romania in 1973.

Now, 50 years after that international field trip, many of those students had a chance to catch up and share memorabilia, including faded photographs and clothing, during a reunion Aug. 19 at the Apollo Maennerchor Club in Sharon.

"It was a big deal at the time," said Ed Groves, the former longtime choral teacher at the high school, who oversaw the trip.

Then known as the Socialist Republic of Romania, the communist country was ruled by dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. However, Romanian leaders were willing to allow some level of interaction with the West and were interested in participating in the Ambassadors of Friendship program.

"They wanted to be seen as different compared to the other communist countries," Groves said of the Romanian government.

The Ambassadors of Friendship program organized musical tours by choirs and bands from across the United States, and in 1973, Hickory High School was one of several American schools asked to participate.

As part of the application process, Groves said a recording of the choir had to be submitted. One such record was readily available, since Groves said the choir already had made annual recordings of their performances.

Alumnus Tom Gress, now a resident of Plantation, Fla., said he remembered the day when the students were told the choir was among those chosen to visit Romania.

"We all arrived for choir practice, but then they told us to sit down, which was strange because Mr. Groves liked to get started right away," Gress said.

"We were waiting around for Mr. Groves to show up because he wasn't there on time, but then we found out he was late because he was on the phone in his office with someone from the State Department about us going to Romania."

Alumna and reunion organizer Janet Buzzeo, whose father was a teacher and chaperone for the trip, said the junior and senior students were "psyched" at the announcement since, for many, it would be their first experience traveling by plane or leaving the country.

However, it cost each student $300 to participate, which meant the students had to organize a series of fundraisers, side jobs, and other activities to raise the money, said alumnus Rick Perdian, of Stillwater, N.J.

A pair of local Romanian families, the Gruitzas and Regules — some of whom attended the trip as chaperones or students — also helped support the students, from tips on Romanian customs and words to hiring some of the students.

"We made hoagies, we had spaghetti dinners, we did everything," Perdian said. "The Gruitzas even had a business where they'd pay us for chipping bricks."

When the time came for the trip in June, the students flew to Paris, France, before arriving in Bucharest, Romania.

After disembarking from the flight, the students were greeted by Romanian soldiers with AK-style assault rifles, who monitored everyone entering and leaving the country — an often-remembered sight as the students reminisced during the reunion 50 years later.

"I think that was when we all realized we were in a communist country," Gress said. "Before that, all I really knew about Romania was stuff from movies."

The choir was also escorted by official guides assigned by the Romanian government, and were told early on that the government was always going to be listening in on the American students.

While the surveillance was another reminder of communism, Buzzeo said the experience lead to some humorous moments for the students as well as they searched for the listening devices, or "bugs."

"One game we'd play in the hotel rooms was 'find the bug,' and we'd disable them in some way, shape or form. You'd find them in places like heating elements or ceiling light fixtures," Buzzeo said.

The tour — which included major cities like the capital of Bucharest, as well as smaller cities throughout the countryside — featured a mixture of songs, including American spirituals and classical music, as well as four pop songs, including "California Dreaming."

Those performances gave the American students a chance to interact with Romanian citizens, who responded positively to the Americans and their music.

Sometimes, the Romanians would clap and stomp their feet when they wanted the choir to repeat a song. Other times, they threw flowers onstage after the Americans were finished, Groves said.

"We would get done with a show, and there would be all of these roses at our feet," Groves said.

Many Romanians, especially the Romanian youth, were especially interested in trying to meet the Americans.

Sometimes the Romanians tried speaking English phrases they learned with the students, Buzzeo said. Other times, the Romanians wanted to purchase the Americans' blue jeans, an item highly sought after in Romania but largely unavailable to Romanian citizens, Perdian said.

One aspect of the trip often discussed by the alumni were the nights spent in small Romanian villages, where the students ate and lived in some of the Romanians' homes.

"We were treated like celebrities," Gress said. "When we pulled in, the people were cheering and performed for us in their traditional clothes — it was wonderful."

Another memorable stop for the students was a visit to the Black Sea, where the students could enjoy the beaches and relax in a resort town normally visited by tourists from other communist countries, Perdian said.

"Apparently most of the people who could afford or were allowed to vacation there were politically-connected people," Perdian said. "I remember one Romanian man told us, 'you Americans are much nicer than the party officials from East Germany.'"

The Black Sea visit was also one of the few chances for the Hickory students to meet some of the other American students touring Romania at that time.

One evening, students from different groups snuck out of their hotels and met up underneath some overturned boats, but they were discovered by Romanian soldiers, Buzzeo said.

"The boat flipped over, and there were three guys standing over us with guns, so we scuttled back to the hotel," Buzzeo said.

The Americans also had many chances to try Romanian cuisine, which was sometimes very different than what the students were used to, including animal brains or a sausage patty that the Romanians described as a "hamburger," Perdian said.

Other Romanian dishes were strange to some students but familiar to others, depending on their upbringing — such as a "gorgeous" chicken soup, which included chickens' feet and heads, served during a visit to the Carpathian Mountains, Buzzeo said.

"Some kids would find out they were eating something like brains or a chicken head and they'd get grossed out, but some of us with ethnic grandparents that had just immigrated from Europe might recognize it and say, 'I know this, it's delicious,'" Buzzeo said.

After the three-week trip was over, the Americans returned home. Some of the alumni said they kissed the ground upon their return.

A "thank you" banquet was later held at Buhl Park, where the students performed songs from their Romania trip for some of the community members and organizations who helped finance the tour.

In 1989, when the Romanian Revolution overthrew Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, some of the students followed the developments along on television with a better understanding than other Americans who were unfamiliar with the country.

"There were times we would hear a place mentioned or we'd see something on TV, and think 'Oh my god, we were in that place,'" Buzzeo said.

The reunion organized at the Apollo Maennerchor Club in Sharon was the first time many of the alumni had a chance to meet and reconnect, with some bringing mementos of the trip.

"Some you don't recognize at first, but then you hear their names and their voices and you realize who it is," said Groves, as former students excitedly reintroduced themselves throughout the evening.

Groves himself later led some alumni in singing some songs, much like he had during his high school teaching days, albeit with some laughter among the alumni as mistakes were sometimes made.

A few scrapbooks on display showed some of the trip's highlights, from the Black Sea beaches to a visit of Count Dracula's castle. A mug and jacket, both featuring a unique logo for the trip designed by a local artist, were also available.

Buzzeo attended the reunion wearing some clothes she acquired during the trip, including a red-and-white shirt and a cap featuring the pin of the Romanian Pioneers, a youth organization that trained Romania's children in communist doctrine.

"It was a fabulous time," Buzzeo said of the trip.

Perdian said he has since visited Romania along with other places in Europe and added that he appreciated the chance to visit another country at a time when many American students his age were unable to do so — especially with the limits imposed by most communist countries.

Gress, who recently retired after 44 years of teaching choir and now performs in two tribute bands, said he took many cues from his time as Groves' student and has organized many trips over the years, where his students could perform across the U.S.

Although not an international trip like the Hickory choir's trip to Romania, Gress said he wanted his students to have a similar experience of visiting new places and meeting different people.

"Music is universal. Music is something that can bring everyone together," Gress said.

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