News from AEHS Alumni

#19-November, 2012

Red and Blue Our Colors Shine!

By Barbara Strang '70

Editor's note: Several people sent recollections about the question of how and why the AEHS colors and mascot were selected. Thanks to everyone who did so!

Why are Einstein's colors red and blue? And why was the Titan mascot chosen?               

Apparently, there was a small committee of students set up in the summer of 1962 at Sligo Junior High to decide these issues. These students were given the choice of two possible combinations: scarlet red and Columbia blue, or black and white. The committee chose red and blue, and rejected black and white.               

They came up with several ideas for the mascot: Atoms, Nucleus, Titans - there may have been more. The student body voted on the mascot in the fall of 1962. As they recalled, Titan was to stand for "Titan of Science", which Albert Einstein certainly was. I guess that morphed into the body-builder type symbol often used. How would you illustrate a Titan of Science, except with a figure of Einstein himself, or maybe an obelisk like the Washington Monument, or one of the symbols used to represent the atom? Of course, that would have gone better with the Atom as the mascot. We all know that Nucleus ended up as the newspaper, which I have always thought was a great name for a newspaper.  

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The AEHS Booster Club is spearheading a fundraiser with the help of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) and the school to make improvements to the gym. The money raised will support the dynamic new look on the far wall of the gym, as well as complete the purchase of the remaining 32 banners needed to recognize the athletic success of Einstein teams and athletes. Go to AEHSboosters.com to see the new look, which was designed by Tom Ruttkay '70, a current AEHS art teacher and AEHS graduate.

            A total of 32 banners are needed to recognize Einstein teams that have been region champions (9 banners) and teams that have been division/county champions (22 banners). Eleven banners recognizing teams that have been state champions (4 banners) and state finalist (7 banners) are already hanging in the gym.

            A five-inch black band will be painted under the baffles around the gym and space will be sold for people to place their names and years of graduation on the band. Three-inch white vinyl letters will be used for names and graduating years. The form below sets out the number of ways names can appear. The cost is $150 for a name plus $10 per graduating year for the first four graduating years. There is no charge for any additional graduating years over four. Purchasers can designate where the dollar amount paid for adding graduating years can go to support: Einstein parent organization (PTSA, PACE, Boosters), the Athletic Hall of Fame, to a scholarship fund at the school, or to a department or team or to the project itself.

1. "Let there be light." Name the long-time Athletic Director, who with the Booster Club raised the funds for the first stadium lights in Montgomery County.
2. Name the founding Principal of AEHS, who constantly said to his teachers "I'm only as good as you make me." 
3. Name the two AEHS graduates currently serving on the Montgomery County Council.
4. Name the AEHS graduate whose firm designed and renovated AEHS.
5. Name the innovation developed by the AEHS Counseling Department and adopted by all of the Montgomery County Public Schools.
6. What AEHS athlete became the backup quarterback to Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan at Auburn University?
7. What Einstein graduate was a four-year starter in basketball at the University of Virginia and a teammate of three-time Naismith College Player of the Year Ralph Sampson?
8. Name the production in which Richard McNally, one of Einstein's first Assistant Principals, stole the show by playing a punk kid clad in a black leather jacket. 
9. Name the AEHS graduate who has worked at AEHS for an entire career.
10. During the early years, AEHS student Roxanne Pierce was an Olympic gymnast.  Why did she not receive a varsity letter?
11. Name the AEHS graduate who won the United States Monopoly Championship.
12. When and under whose direction did the Visual Arts Center begin?
13. How many AEHS scholarships are named after students and faculty members?
14. Name the AEHS scholarship named for a visually impaired counselor. 
15. On two occasions, Einstein faced closure.  Explain the circumstances.
16. In what year did AEHS Class of 1965 graduates Charles Wood, Dr. Scanlon, and Bob Owens incorporate the first Booster Club in Montgomery County? 
17. Bob Owens was one of the co-founders of the AEHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.  Who were the other co-founders?
18. What Einstein graduate is currently the head women's basketball coach at the College of Charleston?
19. What former Einstein teacher, who was the daughter of concentration-camp survivors and a refugee from Communist Hungary, was the mother-in-law of broadcast journalist Peter Jennings and diplomat Richard Holbrooke?
20. What Einstein graduate has had recurring roles on the soap operas One Life to Live and All My Children?  

This quiz was prepared by Mr. Joseph Monte. Correct answers in a forthcoming issue of the newsletter!