Thomas A. Edison High School

Here follows a history of the school as published on the Fairfax County Public Schools website:

What's in a Name?
Learn about our school's namesake in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21:

Edison High School opened in 1962. The school is named for Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most revered American inventors and businessmen. Thomas Edison was born in Ohio in 1847. When he was 19, Edison took a job with Western Union as a telegraph operator. In 1871, he married Mary Stilwell and the couple had three children. Mary died in 1884, and in 1886, Edison married Mina Miller and had three more children.
Edison's career as an inventor gained traction in the 1870s. He created the first industrial research lab at Menlo Park, New Jersey. In 1878, Edison patented the phonograph, the first device capable of recording and playing back sound. "I am the Edison Phonograph created by the Great Wizard of the New World to delight those who would have melody or be amused." One of his earliest recordings was his recitation of Mary had a Little Lamb, which he later reproduced in 1927 when demonstrating how the first phonograph worked. "Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as snow. And everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go." The phonograph became widely popular and soon Edison came to be called "The Wizard of Menlo Park." His Menlo Park laboratory eventually expanded to occupy two city blocks. Under Edison's leadership, his company invented devices that changed and shaped the world in dramatic ways. Among these inventions were the first long-lasting, practical electric light bulb, in 1879, and the Kinetographic motion picture system around 1891. Edison's associate, William Dickson, developed the Kinetograph camera, and Edison invented the Kinetoscope viewer. The device was installed in penny arcades where people could watch short films through a peep-hole viewer. One of these films, featuring Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, was the first film recording of Native American Indians. In 1895, the Kinetophone was introduced. A combination Kinetoscope and phonograph, the device combined sound with film for the first time. The Butterfly Dance, created in 1895, was shot on 35 millimeter film which later became industry standard for still and motion-picture photography. During his lifetime, Edison patented 1,093 inventions in the United States. He is quoted as saying, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." Thomas Edison died in 1931 in New Jersey. Edison High School in Fairfax County is named in his honor.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2009 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

Donald Hakenson went to Edison during the split shift semester when Hayfield was being finished in the Fall of 1968. We did not have a four hour school day, but the schedules were staggered to allow shared areas like the cafeteria to serve all the extra students. Our freshman class was split at the end of the 1967-1968 school year, and about a third of the class became Hayfield students. These students were the first graduating class from Hayfield in June 1971. The split included our Fall 1967 Gunston Champion Edison Freshman Football Team, with a good portion of the team ending up at Hayfield. This created quite a rivalry, because in the Fall of 1968 we shared the same practice/game fields, and culminated in two very good varsity football teams during the Fall of 1970. Edison won the district title and lost to an Ed Henry coached Marshall High School team in the regional championship game, and Hayfield finished with a winning record. This rivalry will make a good future story for the newsletter.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2006 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

Sports In Franconia
written by "Pearl" Watts

Sports and community involvement in sports has a very strong tradition in the Franconia area. As the population greatly increased in the 1960's and 1970's, so did the number of subdivisions and elementary schools, helping to create plenty of friendly rivalries among age group teams from within various areas in baseball and football leagues around Franconia.

With the opening of Edison High School in the early '60's, the Franconia area had an even more sports solidarity as the Eagles quickly moved into the upper echelon in Northern Virginia high school sports, with football and boys basketball being in the forefront. In the early '70's Edison also added boys cross country along with track and field in having highly regarded squads. Leading the surge was Edison's George Watts, who according to former Eagles' athletic director Bob Carson, "was instrumental in putting distance running for Edison and Northern Virginia on the map. He was the first distance runner of national prominence from the area and made other parts of the country take notice of what this area could produce." Watts' first foray into running a long ways and actually enjoying it, may be traced back to afternoons after Rose Hill elementary school and Mark Twain junior high when quite a few of the youngsters would gather near the current Greendale golf course from homes on Haystack Road, Greendale Road, Carriage Drive and Split
Rock Road. In the cold winter late afternoons of December, January and February following youth football season, ages from approximately 6 to 14 years would gather for an expanded version of a combination hide and seek and freeze tag. The Greendale golf course was not under construction until the early to mid '70's and their entire layout was the play area. It appears now much like it did before with the natural tree lines, but without the pond near the clubhouse and plenty of tall grass instead of fairways and putting greens. The game, which simply became known as "chase" usually, pitted a couple of the older kids in the neighborhood against, "as many of you little kids as you can gather". The game started in what was approximately the middle of the course near an old, charred, and toppled over tree. This tree which sat at the top of a small hill beyond sticker bushes and the current tree line bordering the right side of the current 18th fairway. Of course the older kids got to hide first and if they were not caught before the early sunset hours of the winter following school, better luck next time. George Watts and others of his age headed the younger squad's pack and their determination in seeking out and tagging the older boys by running until they were out of breath... and then a little further, surely could not have hurt their endurance development once they got to high school.

Following is an article reprinted from the Northern Virginia Journal Newspapers from November 20, 1997 followed by an article reprinted from the Alexandria Gazette by reporter Bill McDowell from October 14, 1974 about Watts in what will be a continual look into sports involving the Franconia area in upcoming issues.

WATTS WAS A HIGH - VOLTAGE RUNNER:
Edison Grad a Great Sport, Top Performer at Burke Lake

Edison's George Watts was perhaps the most dominant performer all-time at Burke Lake Park. In 1974, the first year the Burke Lake course stretched 2.98 miles, an increase from 2.4 miles, Watts won the Northern Region individual title by 30 seconds, the largest winning margin ever posted by a boy’s runner on the course. "I was pleased with the time I ran," said Watts, who holds the 2.4 mile course record at 11 minutes, 43 seconds, set in 1973 at the Gunston District championships. "But maybe I would have run faster if we had been running 3 mile races for more than just my last year in high school." Watts is the oldest member of the Burke Lake all-time list. His time of 14:42 at the 1974 region championship makes him the fifth-fastest performer. It's nice to have the Burke Lake list so that you can compare times," said Watts. You don't get better unless you try to go after the good ones."

Watts, a 1975 Edison graduate, won eight state titles in cross country and track under Eagles coach John Cook, who was at the helm of the program there for 10 years before holding the same position for 20 years at George Mason University. "Coaching Watts was one of the highlights of my career, including anything and everything I've done at any level," said Cook, whose GMU squad won the 1996 NCAA indoor track and field title. "He was a talented, hardworking guy who never shirked away from anything. I don't think he ever missed a practice. We stay in contact and are still good friends to this day." Watts lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife Karen and daughter Katie. He is head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach for the University of Tennessee.

The 1973 Group AAA cross country championship was Watts' most unforgettable competition. Watts won the race by 15 seconds, completing the 2.4 mile course at Dunbar Farms in Williamsburg in a record time of 11:57, or so he and everyone thought. Watts was disqualified when it was discovered that Cook entered an off limits area to coaches. On this cold afternoon, Cook walked into the restricted area to hand a warm-up jacket to Watts, who was standing in the finishing chute, awaiting the card that signified he had finished in first place. After giving Watts the jacket, Cook accidentally bumped into official Randy Hawthorne. The meet director saw the possible obstruction and then decided to not only disqualify Watts, but the entire Edison squad. The Eagles would have finished second in the team championship to Handley High of Winchester. Said Cook, "It was a judgment call by the officials and a strict interpretation of the rules as to the area I was in." Watts was just an innocent bystander. "The officials just told me to go," said Watts. "It seemed like I held up the line for 5 minutes while I tried to tell them that I wasn't competing as an individual, but that I was part of the Edison team and needed a card." Moments before the awards ceremony, word began swirling around that Watts and teammates Charlie Rose and Brian Bradley would not receive their all-state medals, nor would Edison be presented the second place trophy. The meet director then presented medals to the top 15 individuals of the Group AAA race. Watts was not included in the presentation. The meet director then proceeded with the medal presentation for the Group AA race. As those results were being announced, 12 of the 15 medalists from the AAA race walked back, one by one, and returned their medals at the awards table. It was silent protests to the state meet officials’ actions. Edison principal Emory Chesley even petitioned the Virginia High School League during its next meeting in an effort to have Watts' title reinstated, but to no avail. "It was a touching moment," said Watts about the protest by his peers. "It was initiated by [state meet entries] Mike Fields of Menchville and Dave Cannon of George C. Marshall, who finished 1-2 at the state meet the year before." "Their act shows that we have to have faith in younger people and their actions. To think that a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds could get organized and do something that adults wouldn't have thought they could do -- now that's sportsmanship," said Watts.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2010 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

The Edison Rock
Written by Carl Sell

The way Earl (Coochie) Downs tells it, he and some friends put the big rock in front of Edison High School almost 50 years ago, because they didn’t want any of their fellow seniors leaving a final painted message on the front walls of the school. It turned out to be a great idea because every class since has put their own personal stamp on the rock during their senior year. It has become a right of passage for every senior class at Edison, and most other area high schools.

What Coochie thought would be an easy job turned out to a backbreaker. First he had to find just the right rock, then figure out how to get it to Edison. The latter chore had to be done surreptitiously under cover of darkness, because he was sure the powers that be would squelch the idea if asked.

Coochie and some of his friends toured the area in his 1955 Ford until they came across a construction site on Rolling Road. A contractor was digging basements and uncovering some huge rocks as part of the job. One was perfect for the intended use. Coochie convinced the bulldozer operator and construction foreman not to break the rock into smaller pieces until he could get back with a dump truck.

He enlisted the help of Tony Davies, who lived behind Edison, and thought he could borrow a truck from a nearby neighbor. They got the truck and headed back to Rolling Road in the hope that their prize was still there. It was, and the dozer operator put some dirt in the truck bed to stabilize the rock before he lifted it into the truck.

Now that they had the rock, the problem of what to do with it reared its head. They couldn’t take it to Edison in broad daylight, so they took it to the Davies’ yard and dumped it there. During the unloading, a piece of the rock broke off and one of the boys (Charles Morris) helping with the unloading cut his fingers, Coochie recalls.

About a week later, they loaded up the rock at night and took it to the front of the school. They found a perfect spot for the rock where two lights on the front roof illuminated the main entrance. A great place for the rock, but they needed darkness to complete the job and not get caught.

Coochie crawled up on the roof and was redirecting the lights away from the work area when a police car pulled in and asked what he was doing on the roof. Coochie, Tony, and the others managed to convince the officer they meant no harm, and in fact were providing the new school with an instant tradition.

After hearing the story, the officer said “ya’ll be careful” and drove away. The boys, who only minutes earlier had imagined themselves “under the jail,” breathed a sigh of relief and finished unloading the rock. It sunk in the ground with the square piece in front just as if they had planned it that way.

When they finished and stepped back to admire their handiwork, it was apparent that something else was need to set it off. So they went back to Tony’s house and got some topsoil, mulch, flowers and flag stones and spruced up the area. Just in case some of their friends didn’t believe who did the job, they put their names on the underside of the flagstones. A few nights later, the boys came back and rubbed off their names because they were afraid they would get caught. The rock had become a major topic of conversation in the halls and in the office … especially in the office!

Turns out the rock was a big hit, so much so that Coochie and the boys decided to own up to their work. They went to the office an admitted to Woodrow Robinson, then the principal, that they were responsible for the rock. Mr. Robinson thought for awhile, decided the rock was a good idea, and told the boys to get back to class. Others involved in the rock caper were Douglas Beach, Charles Lacey, John McClellan, Lee McWharter, Danny Moldenhauer, Allen Waggle, Joe Zombro, Stephen Schaefer and Charles Morris. The rock has been repainted by the senior class every year since then.

Coochie has lived in Franconia since the early 1950s. His dad and uncles built three houses on Clames Drive. Coochie and his wife Nancy lived on Joyce Road. They have three children Kimberly Down O’Shoulin, Amy Downs Ford and Jay Downs. All are Edison graduates.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2010 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

When the Edison Eagle Flew the Coop
Written By Jim Cox

Acquiring and Dedicating the Eagle:
On May 14, 1968 the Edison Eagle took its place on top of a 20 foot Steel Base shaped like an “E” next to the main entrance of the school. According to an Alexandria Gazette article the Eagle had a 15 foot wingspan and weighed about 180 pounds. The school mascot was dedicated the next day, and the entire student body turned out for the ceremony, including future Franconia Museum Board members Debbi Wilson (69), Marcia (Wollock) Moon (69), Don Hakenson (71) and me (Jim Cox – 71.) The acquisition of the bird had taken the entire school year up until this point, and was mainly obtained through the efforts of Don Casto, a teacher, and Chris Reed a student. Mr. Casto was the sponsor and Chris was the president of the Joy Boys, a club for promoting school spirit. One of the main problems that they encountered was raising the $814.00 to pay for the mascot. The Gazette states that Bob Carson, Athletic Director, supported their idea and allowed them to proceed with the project if they could raise $400.00 towards the cost. I remember Chris Reed walking around with a coffee can, collecting change at the dedication to try and finish paying for the Eagle.

The Eagle was ordered from Fibreglass Menagerie of Alpine, California, but where to put the mascot was the next problem to solve. The first idea was to put it on top of the building, but this was rejected. The Gazette tells how James D. Woolridge, assistant school superintendent for construction, came up with the idea for placing the Eagle on a standard “T” shaped staff with an “E” attached. This plan was approved, the platform was fabricated by Arlington Iron Works, and installed in front of the school.

August 28, 1968:
The Gazette Reports that the “Mascot Has Flown The Coop”

The theft was reported by Bonner Allee, Edison Assistant Principal as occurring on a Thursday night. The article mentions that the thieves had to climb up a 20 foot pole and remove the welded on Eagle. In addition the article wondered how the thieves got the 180 pound bird with a fifteen foot wingspan down without being seen. Obviously in 1968, Franconia Road was not the busy at all hours road that it is today.

September 4, 1968:
The Gazette Runs a “Vanished Eagle” Editorial

The article cites an overall problem of crime and vandalism on the rise and also states that the thieves were pretty skilled in that “the entire operation represented a degree of ingenuity and strength that might better have been devoted to some more productive enterprise.” Also stated was the fact that $800.00 is a lot of lunch and allowance money since the students had paid for the mascot, and the crime did represent grand larceny. The editorial also included a plea for the culprits to return the Eagle rather than destroying it.

November 8, 1968:
Gazette Headline Reads “Police Find Edison Eagle’s Smashed Head”

Police found the smashed head portion of the mascot on a smoldering rubbish heap near Mount Vernon High School in late October. The head was found outside a vacated apartment in the Engleside area, and the apartment had been “traced to a troubled young man often in trouble with the police and a former student at Edison.”

November 18, 1968:
“Edison Eagle’s Remains Found; Fiberglas Bird Salvageable”

“County Detectives this morning reported that two wings, each removed from the body on pegs, and most of the body were found roughly intact in a wooded area in the county’s Newington Station section,” and that the “tail section of the American bald eagle replica had been ripped off, an critical fiberglass plastic surgery may be needed to restore the mascot.” Corporal Billy Lamb turned over the remains to Robert Carson, Edison Athletic Director. Corporal Lamb, also an Edison parent, was pursuing a prime suspect in the crime.

January 3, 1969:
“Final Period Rally Sparks Edison To Victory Over West Springfield”

You may be wondering what this has to do with the Eagle, but it was the event where the mascot had its second coming, helped rally a struggling Edison basketball team, provided Jim Cox with an opportunity to do some heavy lifting, and showed why Bob Carson was one of the finest Athletic Directors ever to work at a Virginia High School. All these things happened in one night, I know because I was an eyewitness. The 1968-69 Edison Varsity Basketball team was struggling early in the season, losing to teams like George Washington, Wakefield and Woodson, in fact they had not won a game leading up to their opening district game at home against West Springfield. I was a sophomore at the and was not a good enough player to be a member of the JV team, however some of my friends were on the team, and my JV Football Coach Doug Greene was also coaching the JV Basketball team. Even though I was not a very good player I have always loved basketball, so I went to Coach Greene and became the manager, a pretty thankless job, but I got a ride to every game and got a front row seat on the bench. I also got to shoot around with the players some at practice.

Anyway after the JV game that night the players were getting dressed and I was putting stuff away, when Bob Carson came in, grabbed about six of us and told us he had a job for us. Coach Carson was close to this particular team, because he had coached it for about a week when Coach Greene had to go out of town, the only Edison team that I can remember “Big Bob” coaching, I remember that he was a hell of a motivator! Anyway when he gathered us in the locker room he said “BOYS (that’s how he always started) … I’ve got the Eagle in the equipment room, with a new head, and I want you fellas to carry it out on the floor to get the team and the crowd fired up”. So we proceeded to get the bird and bring it out into the gym right next to the bleachers, just outside the hall to the varsity locker room. Remember the Eagle had a fifteen foot wingspan, so we had to build it next to the bleachers. Anyway we carried it out to center court and naturally I got to carry the tail section, or as my Mom would say “the part that jumps over the fence last.” I don’t remember who else was helping with the bird except that Doug McBroom was there, Bob Carson enlisted all the bigger guys to help. As a result, the team won a close game, taking the lead in the fourth quarter. The article lists Lynn Lamb as scoring on a putback late in the game, he was Officer Lamb’s son (remember the detective that returned the Eagle to Coach Carson). Don’t think the Eagle played a huge part in turning the season around, but the team did go on to win the regular season district championship, and formed the basis for the 1969-70 Pete DeHaven, Steve Morris led, and Carl Hensley coached Regional Champions, a story that also needs to be told.

Coach Carson had acted fast to get the mascot back together, he had the tail repaired and a new head delivered, and it was only recovered about six weeks earlier. As you can also see he was a key part of anything that happened around Edison during his tenure there as athletic director. During my own high school coaching days at Jefferson I frequently ran into Coach Carson and Coach Hensley when playing against Lake Braddock. They always made it a point to stop and visit with me and offer encouragement about my coaching, even though I had pretty good success against their school.

January14, 1969:
“Back On TOP”

The Gazette featured a front page photograph of the Eagle returned to its perch. The Article states that “Hugh Salter, John W. Alwood, Eugene Thomas, Sr. and Eugene Thomas, Jr. are in the photograph. Mr. Salter welded the Eagle to the platform and the “Thomases donated a crane to lift the bird in place.”

Editors Note:
It was a fun to research and write this article, especially since it was part of my personal history, and I never forgot carrying that bird out to center court, wondering the whole time how I got involved in this. That school year was one of my pivotal times in life, I learned some hard lessons, made some mistakes that I vowed to never made again, accomplished several good things, and started growing up. I enjoyed revisiting that time through writing this story.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2009 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

Edison High School Memorials:

Editor’s note: it was a rough year for the Eagles, we lost three former Edison Coaches and a member of the class of 1971. Some obituary information and memories about Coach Mike Beto, Coach Blaine Morton, Coach Hoppy Campbell and ‘71 Classmate David Mason is presented here. David was also a Maple Grove resident and attended Franconia School.

Coach Mike Beto:

Listening to the radio on the way home from work yesterday, I heard the news about Manny Ramirez and the comments made about how he sure was pretty much stupid with what he did. Got home that evening and somehow thought to myself that "Manny being Manny" would have had a hard time getting a passing grade as a freshman in Mr. Beto's shop class. Somehow his ashtrays would have looked more like what Bob Marley used before needing an ashtray.

Then was looking at the newspaper this morning and in the obituary section of the Post it said that Mr. Michael Beto had passed away on April 28th. He was 76 years old, born in Clarksburg, WV and went to Salem College on a football scholarship, getting a Bachelor's Degree in teaching. Served in the U.S. Army in Korea and received a Master's Degree in Administration from UVa.

One of eight children, with one brother and one sister surviving and predeceased in death by one sister and four brothers; with his wife of almost 50 years still alive One son, Mark, and two grandchildren also survive. His son Tony passed away three years ago (remember seeing that).The sons went to Lee High School where Mark was a good baseball player and Tony a very good wrestler, from what I seem to remember.
May 8, 2009
-- Pearl Watts Class of 1971

Coach Beto was a good man, and one of the strongest people pound for pound that I have ever seen. He once jerked a 120lbs from the floor over his head one day, in the little excuse for a weight room we used to have. Made us all feel weak! He also used to take on all comers in arm wrestling in his shop class. He would tell you to begin, and let him know when you were ready, then he would slam your knuckles on the table. I had him as a football coach for 2 years and a teacher for one, plus I substitute taught for him at Falls Church High School, after I got out of college. If I remember right he was part of a regional championship football team coaching staff while there. Wonder where some of our other coaches have ended up, like Doug Greene, Ron Colemen and Bill Fox.
-- Jim Cox, Class of 1971

"I fondly remember Beto throwing [name withheld!] (sort of a smart ass....but aren't we all!!) across two "work stations" in shop class to "get his attention" during my freshman year. He told us the very first day of class that he was "fair but square" and said "you dig?" which, with those words and giving Beto's stature (one I now share in being "portly") got my attention. I'm thinking [person x] certainly didn't "dig" that day!!!! I used to run into "Coach" while umpiring Mark's Babe Ruth and HS games. Mark was a good pitcher and Beto ctually coached Mark's BR team."
-- Bill Polen, Class of 1973

"I remember as a freshman him driving the team bus and stopping on Franconia Road (when you could do such a thing) and sending someone into a deli to get him a "hoagie." It was the first time I'd ever heard the word. I thought it was a cigar. The things that stick with you..."
-- Buzz McClain, Class of 1973

Coach Blaine Morton:
Washington Post- Blaine Edward Morton Sr., of Springfield, Va., a retired Fairfax County school administrator, died on Monday (Nov. 10, 2008) in Fairfax Inova Hospital, of complications following heart surgery. Mr. Morton was born in Cumberland, Md., graduated from Allegheny High School, Fairmont State College and earned his masters in education from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. An outstanding athlete, he was honored by being inducted into the Fairmont State University Athletic Hall of Fame. He served in the United States Marine Corps after college graduation, retired as captain and resumed his passion of sports by teaching and coaching football in Salem, Ohio, East Liverpool, Ohio, and Massillon, Ohio. He moved to Fairfax County to teach and coach football at Edison High School.

After years of coaching, he was named student activities director at Edison High School, a position he held until his retirement. Mr. Morton was very active in community and youth sports programs, both in Springfield and Franconia, Va., coaching youth teams and serving on boards for Little League and Springfield Youth Club. For many years he served as coordinator of the Fairfax County Cross County Track Meets at Burke Lake as well as hosting the Special Olympics at Edison. Since retirement, Blaine’s love for golf led him to volunteer at several golf courses until he became a permanent employee at Fairfax County’s Greendale Golf Course in Alexandria, Va. Survivors include his wife, Juanita; and his children, Barbara Lynn Clarke and her husband, Bruce of Oak Hill, Va.; Blaine Edward and his wife, Lisa of Centreville, Va.; Bruce Alan and his wife Barbara of Oak Hill, Va. and Bryan Robert and his wife Carrie, of Chantilly, Va.; and ten grandchildren, Katelyn, Kristin, Kelsey, Tyler, Hayley, Katie, Claire, Michael, Casie and Brynna.
-- Pearl Watts Class of 1971

Curiosity makes me spend a lot of time on the Internet, I went to the Allegheny HS, Cumberland MD and found that Coach Morton played there from 1946-1949. His teammate was Earl Bruce, future Masillon HS Ohio Football legend and Ohio State Head Coach. Evidently Coach Morton had a long association with him, I found a short reference in a newspaper article that Bruce coached Salem HS in Ohio for 2 seasons and was succeeded by Blaine Morton for one season where he had a 9-1 record. Then Bruce Went to Masillon HS, and eventually Coach Morton ended up there as an assistant. I would like to know the whole story. Could not find any info on the Fairmont State Site. Coach Morton came to Edison in the 1969-70 school year, his second season the team won the Gunston District, and lost the Regional Championship game to an Ed Henry coached Marshall team.
-- Jim Cox, Class of 1971

Coach Hoppy Campbell:

Washington Post -- ROBERT CAMPBELL "Hop" (Age 61) Died on May 31, 2009 at his home in Herndon, VA. He was born on July 29, 1947 in Arlington, VA to the late Robert E. and Lois Holdren Campbell. Hop graduated from Thomas Edison High School, Alexandria, VA in 1965, then went on to received his Bachelors degree from the University of Richmond in 1969. He worked as a mortgage banker for over 25 years and was an avid volunteer and coach in the Herndon community. Hop was the beloved husband of 30 years of Kimberly Campbell; loving and devoted father of Tara Rose Lussier of Leesburg, VA, Kimberly Brooke Campbell, Robert Taylor Campbell and Christopher Colby Campbell, all of Herndon, VA; brother of Shay Campbell of Raleigh, NC; grandhop to be of twins, Poet Elizabeth and Robert Lyon. Also survived by many nieces and nephews.

David W. Mason - Class of 1970 - 1971
Washington Post -- David Wayne Mason, 56, a Fairfax County resident and self-employed carpenter, died of a brain hemorrhage Oct. 3 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Mr. Mason was born in Alexandria and graduated in 1971 from Thomas A. Edison High School. Over the years, he owned and operated a business, Dave's Contracting. He rehabilitated injured squirrels and other small animals and donated handmade birdhouses to local parks. His marriage to Deborah Weeks Mason ended in divorce. He had a daughter, Marti, from that marriage. Survivors include his wife of three years, Dr. Ganchimeg Choijav "Chimgee" Mason of Fairfax County; two stepchildren, Mongolmaa Gurbazar and Iderjavhlan Gurbazar, both of Mongolia; his mother, Bertha Mason of Fairfax County; a sister, Brenda Brittain of Fairfax County; and a brother, J. Perry Mason of Occoquan.

"As mentioned at the beginning of the memorials, David attended Franconia School. David and I were never close friends, but David always had a big smile and friendly greeting when I ran into him. His death notice does not mention it but he was a Metro bus driver at one point after high school. Don Hakenson and I shared a table with him at our 20th class reunion (last one we had) in 1991, and had a great time. I was sorry to see that he had passed away."
-- Jim Cox, Class of 1971

Gerald John Neufang:
Gerald John Neufang, Sr., 72, of Fredericksburg passed away Thursday, February 11, 2010 at his home after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born in Syracuse, New York to the late, William and Josephine Neufang. Jerry graduated from Ithaca College in New York with a MS in Education Administration. He moved to Springfield, VA in 1964 and lived in the Alexandria area for 30 years where he taught and later became an assistant principal at Thomas A. Edison High School in Alexandria. Jerry also coached baseball and football at Edison High School as well as coaching in the Central Springfield Little League. He enjoyed gardening, working outdoors and sports, especially baseball.

He is survived by three sons, Gerald J. Neufang, Jr. and his wife, Debbie of Stafford County, Jeffrey S. Neufang, Sr. and his wife, Michelle of Manassas, and Joel M. Neufang, Sr. and his wife, Joelle, of Stafford; a daughter, Jill Ann Keenan and her husband, Bruce of Winchester; 14 grandchildren; and four brothers, William Neufang of Baldwinsville, NY, Richard Neufang of Burlington, KY, Robert Neufang of Solvay, NY and Edward Neufang of Tucson, AZ. Jerry is preceded in death by his wife, Joanne Neufang, a grandson, Camden Dray Keenan and his sister, Florence “Phronsie” McCarthy.

Many former Edison Coaches and athletes posted tributes about Coach Neufang on the funeral home website, which are no longer available. These included messages from Athletic Director Bob Carson, Coach Doug Greene, and Pat Toomay, former Edison athlete, and later NFL player. Tributes were also posted by family members, and Central Springfield Little League players coached by Mr. Neufang. Surprisingly some Edison students posted statements that claimed they were less than stellar performers during their high school years, but credit Coach with giving them firm guidance in his role as Assistant Principal. One thing is certain, Coach Neufang touched many lives in different ways, and the world is a better place through his efforts. Edison graduates were especially lucky to have him as a coach, administrator and mentor.

I have a personal memory concerning Pat Toomay and Coach Neufang. I lived right next to the high school and frequently wandered around the practice fields. During Toomay's senior year I used to hang around watching football practice, and have a vivid memory of Pat staying after practice and working on punting with Coach Neufang. They were a real “Mutt and Jeff” pair, as an 11-12 year old Pat Toomay looked about 8 feet tall to me, and I was already almost as tall as Coach Neufang. Anyway they would each punt the ball and Coach could punt as far, or further than the much taller Toomay.

Coach was also a legendary softball pitcher, fast pitch softball. I got to hit against him in gym class several times, I would see the ball come out of his hand and then heard it hit the catcher's mitt before I could get the bat off my shoulder. Coach was quite an all around athlete.
-- Jim Cox, Class of 1971