Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this weekly Enfield history series is a bit more unusual than the norm, as we open up the 1970 Enfield High School yearbook and find a collection of former pond hockey players which formed a Raider team under Coach Dick McCarthy for the 1969-70 high school season.

The Enfield Twin Rinks was still five years away from being constructed, so practice time occurred in places like Brainerd Park and the outdoor rink behind Kennedy Middle School. The team did not have a very successful win-loss record, but as stated on Facebook by team member Bill Ragno, "No State Titles, barely a league but, a bunch of guys playing for the love of the game who started it all!"

They were the pioneers for what would become highly productive programs at both Enfield and Fermi high schools. Enfield won three state championships and Fermi captured two during a stretch between 1982 and 1990.

From the 1969-70 squad, we move forward 50 years, to the current team, consisting of players from Enfield, East Granby and Stafford High Schools. They are shown at last Saturday's Wreaths Across America ceremony in a photo by Maureen Brennan.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question, following a main story about old banks in Enfield, was, "Speaking of banks, there were two Top 15 hit songs released in 1973 containing the word "money" in their titles. One was by a British rock band, and the other by an American R&B group. Name them." The answer: "For the Love of Money" by the O'Jays, and "Money" by Pink Floyd. Both groups are members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

This week's trivia question:
Not only was the late Dick McCarthy an outstanding hockey player and coach, he also taught for many years in the Enfield school system. What subject did he teach? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.