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In the days after the shocking and tragic loss of Ken Tashian there's some missing information and background as to how I, Stan Cohen, came to be in the position of Administrator of various groups and websites previously handled by Ken after his sudden passing on May 19, 2021. So let me fill in the details. [Links in this posting will take you off this site and replace the browser tab you are in.]
Let me introduce myself
I'm Stan Cohen, Class of 1974, the youngest of five children, all PHS graduates of 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971. I was a member of the Delphian photography teams of years 1972, 1973 and 1974. I was Photography Co-editor for the 1973 "Tapestry" edition, with Phil Adler, and 1974, and the 1974 "Highlights" edition with Mark Zettler. At that time, in 1972, my sophomore year, Mr. Robert Boyce, of blessed memory (2015), Yearbook Advisor, told me if I wanted to be a photography editor, I would "need to have my own darkroom." So that's what I did for the summer before starting junior year - I built my own darkroom in my parent's basement. Of note, the 1974 "Highlights" edition of the Delphian was entirely photos with no artwork traditionally used due to the strong photography team, in addition to Mark and myself. I am quite proud of the work, quality and quantity of what we did in the production of this edition. You can view/download the Highlights edition as well as years 1960 to 2019 in PDF format here:
http://www.moosecove.com/images/phs/yb/yb.shtml
How I came to know Ken
I have been communicating with Ken in relation to the "Paramus High School - Home of the Spartans" ParamusSpartans.net website and the Facebook group providing information he would be interested since early 2014. In an email, Ken made note of Pops upcoming 100th birthday and gave me an invitation, "Stop by if you can" with the date, November 29, 2014, time, and location. Much to his surprise, I showed up with my wife. We had not met in person prior to this. I've also been posting news of Pops Tashian since 2014, in the 1974 Facebook group. For a few privileged minutes I sat with Pops and flipped through pages of my yearbook. Pops, so sharp of mind, remarked when he saw a photo, "Kenny Maxwell, know him well" and so it went for a few minutes until Mr. Mayor, Rich LaBarbiera, came to get a few Photo Ops with Pops. I attended Pops' wake and funeral as well. Mr. Bill Savage gave a wonderful eulogy for Pops filled with anecdotes and great memories.
Pops and I at his 100th birthday. Possibly the one opportunity in my lifetime to talk with a Hundred Year Man. Unfortunately I do not have one of Ken and I.
How I came to be an Administrator
In July of 2020, Ken had added me as an Admin with editing privileges of ParamusSpartans.net in order to take some of the workload of posting new and updating existing obituaries with additional information and photos. Ken provided a guide and steps needed to do these postings. Prior to this point, I would collect and email Ken with the information, but the workload was on Ken. I also provided photos I had taken, newspaper articles and so on. Ken was asking for more of my photos to do a Track and Field posting two weeks ago. There were plans to do a Cheerleaders page. These plans did not come to be realized.
ClassCreator.com (the company that hosts the websites)
Jessica, the support contact at ClassCreator.com, knew and interacted frequently with Ken on administrating the two websites. I notified Jessica of Ken's untimely passing at which time she elevated my Admin level to Root in order add Ken to the In Memory group of ParamusSpartans.net site. I also inquired if Ken was the sole Admin of "Paramus High School Class of 1964" PHSClass1964.com site. The answer was yes, and Jessica added me as an Admin with editing privileges without my prompting her to do so. Ken is still the Root Admin. Of note is that Root Admins cannot be added to the In Memory group. To my knowledge, I am not aware if Ken had a contingency plan in place should we find ourselves in our current situation.
For the Class of 1964
Please note that I do not intend to fill Ken's shoes on maintaining the '64 website. My goal is to ensure a smooth transition to new caretakers to preserve Ken's amazing work for the future. After this transition I will bow out but will remain available for technical assistance as needed. First course of assistance should be the Support team at ClassCreator.com.
For all members of the ParamusSpartans.net website
At the present time I will administer the site as best as I can while learning their system. I will need a few tech savvy individuals to provide assistance and backup as needed. While I am a steadfast Spartan I cannot do this alone. Ken's plan was to have one person for each decade handle those particular years and asked if I would do the 1970's. I have already fixed a broken profile and need to add another deceased graduate. So here I am asking the same of others to step up to the plate.
Other Administrations
On Facebook, I volunteered to be elevated to an Admin of the "Paramus High School - Home of the Spartans" group (Ken was the creator) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1555080731416213/ to help vet those requesting to join the private group and monitor posts and alleviate him of some of tasks.
On Facebook, I also administrate my graduation year group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/PHS1974/
For this group I have added 22 albums consisting of 560 plus photos from my service to the Delphian and others including the cultural enrichment programs of Ms. Ruby Bishar. These included such event highlights as the New York City Ballet company and the Metropolitan Opera. I have also contributed some of the photos as a member of the 1972 and 1973 graduation groups.
This, hopefully, provides sufficient background as to what has transpired since May 19, 2021, the day of tremendous loss of Kenny Tashian to the Paramus High School community.
Thanks for reading this far.
-Stan Cohen, Class of 1974
StanJCohen@gmail.com
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