Oz Legacies

What happens when the Kappa Sigma Teen Queen of the year marries the future principal of the Oswego Middle School? Magic, that's what, and a fairy-tale life!

I am talking about my lifelong friends Eddie Matott and Kathy Fleischman Matott, who have now been married, and happily so, for over 47 years.

Eddie and Kathy were the second best jitterbugging couple of the OCHS class of 1964, second only, of course, to Charlotte and myself. Ed will try to tell you that he is in first place, but I have the trophy from a 1962 dance contest to prove it. They didn't call me "Boppin John L" for nothing. I would give them first place, however, for their dancing routine to Dion and the Belmont's "Runaround Sue." That one they just nail.

My acquaintance with Ed Matott dates back to kindergarten.

I think he sat at the blue table. I sat at the red table. We joined the Cub Scouts together. His mother was our Cub Scout den mother. We played on the kindergarten basketball team together.

Then, he moved from the corner of Ontario and Van Buren streets to Hamilton Homes, on the east side, and became a St. Paul's kid.

He was a transplanted west sider, forced to live in an east side world. I always thought that Ed's redeeming qualities lay in his St. Mary's roots.

His redeeming judgment was in having the eminent good sense to court and pursue a relationship with Kathy Fleischman, an East Fifth Street beauty with solid credentials and deep Oswego Irish bona fides.

Kathy was elected one of our high school fraternity's "Teen Queens" of the month, and was voted Teen Queen of the year in 1962. She deserved the title. She still does.

A graduate of CCBI in Syracuse, while Ed graduated from Oswego State, they married in 1967, and have lived happily ever after since.

Ed became a middle school science teacher, then a vice principal under the venerable Carl Palmitesso, and then principal himself.

He also ran for 6th Ward alderman in Oswego, and was elected to five terms. He used up a lot of shoe leather in his five campaigns, but he got to know the wants and needs of his constituents, and he represented them ably on the Common Council. He was a great public servant. He has resisted efforts to draft him to run for mayor. I, for one, wish he would stop resisting and just do it. Oswego would be the better for it.

He still volunteers for city beautification projects, and keeps tabs on how the city looks when he and Kathy take their many walks through their beloved hometown.

In the last several years, Florida has beckoned, and Ed and Kathy have answered by staying several months in the sunshine state as snow birds in Sarasota. More power to them.

As a science teacher , Ed was a standout. As principal, he was tough but fair, and the kids respected "Mr. Matott." His detractors would say that he brought an "attitude" to the job, while his supporters would say he brought his heart and soul. Such is the job of a principal; you are never entirely right.

You must contend with the cross constituencies of parents, kids, teachers and school board members, and to navigate those sometimes choppy waters successfully is no small achievement, and navigate the waters he did.

Ed is a person who cares about his friends. He cares about his community, and he cares about his wife and family, as rightfully he should.

Kathy is on the successful back end of a bout with breast cancer, and is today vibrant and healthy, much to both Kathy and Ed's credit. They never gave up and they stayed positive, walked it off together, and it worked out for the best.

Ed had a bout with cancer as well, and beat it back. He is a fighter. Some even have described him as a "banty rooster" type.

My father always kidded him about his resemblance to Andy Griffith's side kick Don Knotts, as Barney Fife. He is a little wiry and quick to opine about everything, but that's the beauty of Eddie Matott.

Ed and Kathy are the proud parents of three children, Mary Kathleen, Matthew and Michael, and the grandparents of five, Daniel, Jack, Maggie, Mark and Christopher.

"Mr. Matott" always kids me on Facebook about my "hands on hip poses," but he is the first one to pose in similar fashion, or to fold his arms when lecturing you.

But he always means well, and what he has to say is important. I have grown to appreciate his friendship and counsel.

He has always been there, in good times and in bad, and his constant rock solid friendship is something I have come to value and indeed, cherish.

The principal and the beauty queen turned out to be a fantastic match, and almost everything they needed to know, they learned in kindergarten.

We are just lucky that they continue to share their wisdom and love for each other and for the Oswego community with all who enjoy their much-valued presence.