Portville Hall of Fame
James Piatt was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, on September 30, 1946.
He is the oldest of seven children born to his parents, Bernard and Bunny
Piatt.
Jim grew up in a military family, changing schools roughly every two years.
He was able to return to his father’s hometown of Angelica, NY, where he
attended high school and graduated in 1965.
While at Angelica, Jim was:
Student Council President
Valedictorian of the Class of 1965
Varsity letter athlete in Basketball (4 years) and Baseball, in which they
won three Sectional titles
All-County Basketball All-Star (twice)
Jim attended the University of Buffalo on a General Motors Scholarship. He
transferred to Geneseo and graduated in January of 1970. Interestingly, Jim’s
college roommate was from Portville. This roommate, Bruce Voorhis, wound
up living and working his entire professional career in Angelica. Jim did the
reverse – he spent his life serving Portville.
In January of 1970, prior to graduation, Jim interviewed with Lee Frair and
John Dubots for an elementary science teaching job. They hired him to teach
sixth grade science and Jim worked at PCS from January 1970 until retiring
thirty-two years later, in June of 2002. He will always be remembered for his
role in the Sixth Grade Ecology Camp.
Back in his youth, Jim worked summers for the NYSDOT. In 1966, he
worked on the crew building a new Route 305 from Clarksville to Cuba. This
is how he met Rosie, whose house was located along the road project.
They were married November 18, 1967, at the West Clarksville/Nile Church
and they have been married for 50 years. Their son, Scott, was born in
March of 1973. He graduated from Portville Class of 1991. Their grandson
Drake will be a freshman in the Fall.
Jim's interests and involvements included:
West Clarksville Volunteer Fire Dept. (1970’s)
Richburg Central School Board of Education (VP in the 1980’s)
STARS RC Flying Club
Cuba Memorial Hospital Board of Directors (Chairman 1990’s)
When asked what accomplishments (aside from his family) that he is most
proud of, Jim said:
The Elementary Science Program K-6
The people he worked with that embraced “hands on” learning.
The Ecology Camp Program
And winning the Alcas Teacher of the year Award in the 1990’s
We think Mr. Piatt will always be a “teacher-of-the-year” in Portville.
(As presented by Gary Swetland for Hall of Fame at the Alumni Banquet, 2018)
He is the oldest of seven children born to his parents, Bernard and Bunny
Piatt.
Jim grew up in a military family, changing schools roughly every two years.
He was able to return to his father’s hometown of Angelica, NY, where he
attended high school and graduated in 1965.
While at Angelica, Jim was:
Student Council President
Valedictorian of the Class of 1965
Varsity letter athlete in Basketball (4 years) and Baseball, in which they
won three Sectional titles
All-County Basketball All-Star (twice)
Jim attended the University of Buffalo on a General Motors Scholarship. He
transferred to Geneseo and graduated in January of 1970. Interestingly, Jim’s
college roommate was from Portville. This roommate, Bruce Voorhis, wound
up living and working his entire professional career in Angelica. Jim did the
reverse – he spent his life serving Portville.
In January of 1970, prior to graduation, Jim interviewed with Lee Frair and
John Dubots for an elementary science teaching job. They hired him to teach
sixth grade science and Jim worked at PCS from January 1970 until retiring
thirty-two years later, in June of 2002. He will always be remembered for his
role in the Sixth Grade Ecology Camp.
Back in his youth, Jim worked summers for the NYSDOT. In 1966, he
worked on the crew building a new Route 305 from Clarksville to Cuba. This
is how he met Rosie, whose house was located along the road project.
They were married November 18, 1967, at the West Clarksville/Nile Church
and they have been married for 50 years. Their son, Scott, was born in
March of 1973. He graduated from Portville Class of 1991. Their grandson
Drake will be a freshman in the Fall.
Jim's interests and involvements included:
West Clarksville Volunteer Fire Dept. (1970’s)
Richburg Central School Board of Education (VP in the 1980’s)
STARS RC Flying Club
Cuba Memorial Hospital Board of Directors (Chairman 1990’s)
When asked what accomplishments (aside from his family) that he is most
proud of, Jim said:
The Elementary Science Program K-6
The people he worked with that embraced “hands on” learning.
The Ecology Camp Program
And winning the Alcas Teacher of the year Award in the 1990’s
We think Mr. Piatt will always be a “teacher-of-the-year” in Portville.
(As presented by Gary Swetland for Hall of Fame at the Alumni Banquet, 2018)
| The Portville Historical and Preservation Society |
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| 17 Maple Avenue Portville, NY 14770 www.portvillehistory.org |
Portville, New York
| Jim Piatt PCS Hall of Fame ~ Class of 2018 |
