Saugus High Revisited

Keeping classmates connected was a labor of love for 1960 Saugus High School graduate Judi Franklin

By Janice K. Jarosz

In 1960, Judi Franklin’s classmates voted her in as Treasurer of the senior class at Saugus High School. During those carefree high school years, Judi and her classmates enjoyed the music of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, to name a few; record hops, hot rods, going steady, free driving lessons, donkey basketball, the Adventure Car Hop and decorating the gym for the upcoming proms. Their “dance cards” were filled with four exciting years together, learning, laughing and growing up in Saugus.

Several years later, Mr. John Lumsden was the President of the Saugus Alumni Association and needed someone to help update the alumni records. Dozens of letters were sent out asking for information, and our very own Miss Franklin was one of the few to respond. Mr. Lumsden was so impressed with her letter that he asked her if she would be willing to take on the job, and as they say, “The rest is history.”

When Judi began her new position there were no cell phones or computers. Missing alumni were contacted the old-fashioned way – handwritten letters or the land line. Hundreds of phone calls were made, updating and adding each graduating class, and after a lot of time and energy all data was up to date. Judi also added a dedicated list acknowledging classmates who had passed. It was a time-consuming and very demanding project, but Judi was determined to ferret out every missing name, updating those with new addresses, and working with class officers in planning class reunions, along with also answering past yearbook requests.

Several years into her “employment,” the Alumni Association purchased a brand-new computer to assist in data research. But, because it was so new to her, she enlisted David, her techie son, for instructions, and she did so well he awarded her an A Plus in Computer Science!

Judi Franklin Alabiso continued to spend the next 25 years maintaining and updating records, reconnecting lost alumni and assisting in organizing yearly events. Judi was the one resource to contact when class officers and others were looking for lost classmates, and if she could not find someone – no one could!

The many hundred alumni friends extend their deepest appreciation to her “labor of love” in preserving the alumni history of Saugus High School, and as a testament to the respect she garnered all those many years, all four class officers of SHS 1960 never missed their reunions, even when two of them had to fly in from California and Florida. Judi recently retired from her position on the Alumni Association but remains as a board member. Ms. Judi (Franklin) Alabiso is a true Saugus treasure.

  Editor’s Note: The Saugus High School Class of 1980 will be holding its 45th Class Reunion for 1980 graduates, friends and members of all Saugus High classes on Nov. 29 (Saturday after Thanksgiving) from 1 to 6 p.m. inside the Saugus-Everett Elks, Lodge No. 642 at 413 Main St. in Saugus. The Saugus Advocate will be publishing articles about alumni leading up to the reunion. For more information, please contact Andrea Saunders (1980 Class President) at pa********@*ol.com or 978-482-5787; Pete Nicolo can be reached at PS**********@*****st.net or 978-815-8234.