Butler High School graduates gather at Florida reunion

This year’s Butler High School (BHS) alumni reunion, held annually in Florida for anyone who ever attended the school, included 55 former students from towns, such as West Milford, which sent students there.

The reunion was Saturday, Feb. 18 at Oaks Golf and Country Club at Sarasota.

Among the former BHS students from West Milford were Martin Murphy (Class of 1958) and John Aiello (1959). At that time, West Milford and many other towns did not have high schools.

In the 1950s, eight districts sent students to BHS: Butler, Bloomingdale, Wanaque, Ringwood, Pequannock, Jefferson, Kinnelon and Riverdale.

Murphy, who grew up in Apshawa, attended parochial school in his early years.

Aiello, who lived at Greenwood Lake, was a graduate of Hillcrest School, which replaced the earlier one-, two- and three-room schools throughout the township.

Murphy now lives in retirement at Cape Cod and Aiello’s main residence is West Palm Beach, Fla.

After high school, Murphy went on to college and law school. After Louis Wallisch retired, Murphy became West Milford’s attorney.

In Wallisch’s later years, Murphy spent much time with his aging friend, who took pride in seeing the young attorney step in to fill his shoes. Murphy followed his mentor’s traditions.

The Aiello family built the string of stores at the corner of Union Valley Road and Greenwood Lake Turnpike and Lakeshore Road. They still own Greenwood Lake Liquors, the bar and liquor store on the corner that has been a popular local watering hole for decades.

Reporters in the days after Wallisch’s retirement in 1985 never had difficulty finding news to write about when Murphy and Aiello were having their say. Aiello, a Republican, and Murphy, a Democrat, couldn’t get on the same page politically.

In a phone call Sunday night, Feb. 19, Aiello said he enjoyed talking to Murphy during the reunion.

“Marty and I were always of different political persuasions but we never attacked each other personally,” he said.

Mark Mickens (Class of 1981), who lives in West Milford, heads the Butler Bulldogs Education Association. Serving on the board with him are Rebecca Calvi (1989), David DeFeo (1975), Chris Ziegler (1986), Bob Jobes (1961), Heather Greco Gillen (1989) and Michael Selletti (1997).

More than $1 million has been donated, much of it by alumni, for various BHS projects to give additional experiences and learning opportunities to students. For information, send email to markmickens@yahoo.com.

Elizabeth “Betty Jean” Hansen Wolfe heads the reunion committee, which includes Arlene Dunay Suetter, Shirley Dunay McNally, Sigurd Rhodin Lovfold and Cheryl Ladika Mooney.

Wolfe sends emails to BHS people and shares information about alumni that she receives. Send email to bettyjean34209@aol.com

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that 55 of those attending the reunion were from West Milford.