Gary Ranalli ~ 1972

French teacher Gary Ranalli was one of the more flamboyant teachers at OCHS in the early 1970's. He taught me French, and I enjoyed the way that he moved the classroom outdoors under the trees in the warm months.

French Club

The 1970 version of the French Club is seen before their departure for Montreal, presumably to learn French on the street.

Gary Ranalli - Post Shower

No Gary Ranalli was not starring in Grease. He had just taken a shower after running.

Gary Ranalli -- Playing Chess

Teacher Gary Ranalli playing chess. He was the staff supervisor of the chess club.

From My Favourite Teacher -- Gary Ranalli

At least that how Gary Ranalli thought what I thought when I asked him to autograph his picture.

Gary Ranalli in Front of School

Gary Ranalli strolls through the traffic circle to the front door of the school with the ever ubiquitous smile on his face. Check out the cars.

Gary Ranalli

This is flamboyant French teacher Gary Ranalli arriving at school. He was green long before being environmentally conscious was cool. He would take his classes outside. He thought outside the box. He covered the curriculum with discipline, but still made class interesting and cool.

The above photo appeared in a yearbook, but not in that incarnation. I took the negative to my darkroom, and I projected the image onto photographic paper with the easel tilted. The net result was as below:

Graham See was the staff coordinator for the yearbook that year, and he labelled this pic "French is an uphill drag".

Gary thought nothing of inviting us to his house. His family was as egalitarian as his classroom. He had a child in the high chair, (a toddler) and the toddler said "Gary, I want a drink". I was mortified to hear a toddler call his father by his first name. It didn't faze Gary at all.

After School

Why does everyone look so down in the dumps? What are they doing?

Actually, it is an impromptu game of chess going on. A student is challenging French teacher Gary Ranalli, sitting to the right. The chessboard is on the floor.

The only student that I recognize, is facing the camera. He is Doug Hamlyn's younger brother, (someone left me a comment saying that Doug Hamlyn doesn't have a younger brother). The person is in fact Don Hamlyn.