MyRye.com is starting a new series called the Yearbook Project. We are highlighting members of the Rye High School Class of 1999 (celebrating their 25th reunion in 2024) and the Rye High School Class of 1974 (celebrating their 50th reunion in 2024).
If you graduated RHS ’99 or ’74, or if you know someone who did, please get in touch with us.
Today, meet Steve Loddo of the Rye High School Class of 1999.
Your name: Steve Loddo
Rye High School Class Year: Class of 1999
MyRye.com: Who were your favorite teachers at Rye High School?
Loddo:
- Mr. Mendick – Drama and English Literature. I first got to know Mr. Mendick when I was in sixth grade and was on the stage crew for the high school production of Little Shop of Horrors. He was a very important teacher and advisor throughout my years at RMS/RHS, especially when I was chosen as the student director for the play “Macbeth Did It” in the fall of 1998. (Back then, the fall drama was always directed by a RHS student or two.)
- Mr. DeRosa – Regents Biology and AP Biology. Mr. DeRosa was one of the kindest and funniest teachers I ever had. He taught the biology class that I was placed in for freshman year. Later, even though I was looking to study fine arts in college and didn’t need more science credits, I signed up for his AP Biology class for my senior year because I knew it would be an interesting and entertaining experience.
What were your favorite sports or extracurricular activities at Rye High School?
Loddo:
- Stage Crew was my life for most of the seven years that I was a student at RMS/RHS. I worked on every middle and high school production, as well as assemblies and outside events held in the theater. It was not unusual for school administrators to pull me out of class or call me at home if the stage lights wouldn’t turn on. Eventually I was named student Crew Manager, and went on to study technical theater and sound design at Boston University. (Note: My brother Jeff (RHS Class of 2005) is now the technical director at the Rye High School theater.)
- Despite being the tallest kid in the school at 6’-8”, I didn’t play basketball or any other sports at Rye HS. However I did attend just about every home varsity hockey game during my senior year, and some away games as well – especially if they were playing archrival Mamaroneck. One time, RHS security had to walk me to my car in the Playland parking lot after a game because I had been heckling the opposing goalie and his mom threatened to beat me up!
- Another favorite activity was running lights and sound for the Wildside concerts and events at the Rye Rec. Wildside was a group of students from Rye HS and Rye Country Day who, under the supervision of an adult advisor, held drug-and-alcohol-free gatherings.
Tell us about the street in Rye you grew-up on:
Loddo: I grew up on Eve Lane, off of Forest Avenue. My family had a house there from 1953 until 2020, when it was sold and torn down to make way for new construction. When I was a kid, there was a public path at the top of the street which made it an easy walk to Midland elementary school and the Rye Rec. It was also very close to the Community Synagogue, where my family were members. There were several other kids who lived on the street and were close to my age. When we were young, and before they built additions to the school, we would go sledding on “Midland Hill” after every good snow. Anyone who went to RHS in the mid-to-late 1990s knows that a certain family who lived diagonally across from me hosted weekend parties on a fairly regular basis that were attended by many students.
Where would you and your friends hang out in Rye?
Loddo: The two places you were most likely to find my friends and me were Starbucks on Purchase Street and/or “The Circle” at the east end of Dearborn Avenue, next to Oakland Beach. Gathering at a friend’s house to play Goldeneye or Mario Kart 64 was also a popular pastime.
Where do you live now?
Loddo: I currently live in Aurora, Colorado. After graduating from Rye High I lived in Boston until 2003, then returned to live in Rye and Harrison for many years. Throughout my adult years on the East Coast I also lived in Mount Kisco, Brooklyn, and on Long Island.
What have you done since the day you graduated high school?
Loddo: Let’s start with the fun stuff. Since getting my RHS diploma in 1999 I have been to hundreds of concerts and sporting events, and have driven to or through about three dozen US states and two provinces of Canada. I’ve also slept in a glass igloo north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, soaked in volcanic hot springs in Costa Rica and snorkeled through an underwater sculpture park in Grenada. Notably, several of my Rye friends and I went to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany for a few memorable days in 2008, then took a train to Amsterdam.
As far as work goes – I was employed at several summer theaters throughout New England during my college years. Upon moving back to Rye in 2003 I started working for my dad’s local construction company and also joined the Poningoe Hook and Ladder Company of the Rye (volunteer) Fire Department, where I was a member and elected officer for over 10 years. My interest in the fire department led to my career as a Public Safety Dispatcher in Stamford, CT, where I worked from 2005 to 2017. Then, from 2017 to 2021, I worked at Grand Central Terminal as a Rail Traffic Controller for Metro-North; routing trains, coordinating track maintenance, and dealing with all manner of emergencies on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines.
After working in Manhattan throughout the early and worst days of Covid-19 (many railroad employees such as myself did not have the option to work from home) and dealing with some personal difficulties, I was ready for a change of scenery- so, in 2021 I moved to Colorado. I now work for a commuter railroad in Denver and am a season ticket holder for the Avalanche of the National Hockey League (although the New York Rangers will always be my favorite team!). I live with my fiancée, Jackie, and we enjoy hiking and spending time with friends and our two cats. I miss the salt water sometimes (and the bagels), but mountain life is pretty amazing.
What in your view are the two or three greatest Rye traditions you remember from your high school years?
Loddo:
- The Rye/Harrison game and preceding pep rally and bonfire.
- The tradition of having the RHS seniors dress up on Halloween and visit the elementary schools [see the photo above].
- Fireworks at Playland, especially on the 4th of July.
Thank you, Steve!
