Sister James Martin, SSJ

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Bill McDonald

The Springfield Republican reported earlier this month that several members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield were leaving the Mont Marie Motherhouse, relocating to eastern Massachusetts as a cost-saving measure. Among them was Alice Kenney, 86, known to us in the early Sixties as Sister James Martin. (Thanks, Mick Ogulewicz, for pointing me to this information, and my apologies for being tardy in posting.)

This photo appeared with the article. Sister James Martin/Alice Kenney, who was in her early- to mid-30s when we were at CHS, is standing. How many other members of the faculty 1960-64 are alive?

If we need another reminder of time passing, the Mont Marie Motherhouse was the subject of much attention during our senior year at CHS. In the effort to raise funds for its construction, students conducted a magazine drive, which kicked off with a rally (PantherPix picture below; note the poster “Unite for the Black and White”). Ultimately, our class brought in the least(!), but overall CHS students exceeded the $30,000 goal by more than $25,000.

Frosh Day, i.e., hazing

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Bill McDonald

Early on, we participated, apparently willingly, in “Frosh Day.” On that day each year, seniors were able to lord it over freshmen, requiring them to perform various chores and silly acts, e.g., walk backwards, carry seniors’ books, sing, etc. I believe that is George Shannon at left in the photo above from the Springfield newspaper. Recognize anyone else? Is it Jim Montanari in the middle?

Page four of the October 28, 1960 Chronicle had a picture of “frosh Edward Page” (at right) wearing the big bow that marked first-year students and an article recounting the various humiliations faced by the Class of 1964. Okay, so they weren’t “humiliations,” but I bet there were a few instances where freshmen were not having “fun” and I doubt this tradition existed for a whole lot longer in the same manner.

Anybody remember Frosh Day? Good times? Not so pleasant memories?

But, in the ways traditions such as these kept going, we were able as seniors to lord it over the Class of 1967, as shown in this picture from our PantherPix.

Below is the October 28, 1960, Chronicle. This was the issue right before the November 1960 election between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. A poll of CHS seniors in history classes (page two) showed a strong preference for Sen. Kennedy (88 percent) over Vice President Nixon (12 percent), and for the Democratic Party, by the same percentages. Yet, interestingly, 80 percent of those polled said they would vote for President Dwight Eisenhower if, hypothetically, he was running.

Page one

Page two

Page three

Page four

Another icon gone . . . no, saved

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Bill McDonald

UPDATE: Peter Picknelly, CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines, according to the Springfield Republican, has said he will purchase the Student Prince and Fort and plans to open it again in the fall with only “a few tweaks.”

Earlier, it was Gus & Paul’s, the deli in East Forest Park. Now, according to the Springfield Republican, Springfield may lose the Student Prince and The Fort, downtown. The owners, citing decreasing usage, are closing the operation down. (The Fort, for me, was a place I hoped to visit when I came back in October for the reunion.)

Frequenters of the Fort Street business — much of the Springfield establishment due to its proximity to City Hall and federal buildings — are hoping for new owners, and a sale is possible.

Yet another example of how the Springfield we once knew continues to change. That’s often a good thing. Is it in this case? What’s the future of downtown? Will a casino be a boost? Short-term or long-term?

Back to the beginning

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Bill McDonald

Fifty years ago last week, we graduated from Cathedral. Our celebration of the 50th anniversary of that, however, doesn’t take place until mid-October. What does Purple Panthers ’64 do until then? . . . We go back to the beginning, September 1960.

The Chronicle of September 30, 1960, in its page two cartoon (above), presented us as babies. Based on the picture at right of this manly example of a freshman boy, that was about right. I was 13 when this picture was taken and, as I look at it now, I think “Didn’t we have mirrors in the house?” That hair . . . those glasses . . . that nose! Thank goodness for puberty.

Is anyone else willing to dare to send in his or her picture from freshman year. Please!

Freshmen were not mentioned by name in that first issue of the Chronicle (below). No surprise, we had been there only a few weeks. But we already had a big impact as a class. The page one article announcing a record enrollment of 2,600 students said freshmen numbered 800, largest of any class. Lots of round numbers used, so those were likely beginning-of-the-year estimates.

Upcoming are editions of the Chronicle from 1960-1, 1961-2, and 1962-3. We won’t be tying topics any longer to their occurrence a half-century ago. Here we go, with the first Chronicle we saw as freshmen.

Page one

Page two

Page three

Page four

‘A time we’ll treasure through the years’

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Bill McDonald

“There’s a time for joy
A time for tears
A time we’ll treasure through the years
We’ll remember always
Graduation day“
— The Four Freshmen

June 10, our graduation day, was a Wednesday in 1964. The event began at 3 pm, at the Eastern States Coliseum, West Side, at least according to the invitation (at left). Probably started a little late.

While the Four Freshmen make a confident assertion above, I, at least, remember . . . not much at all about graduation day. The last issue of the Cathedral Chronicle (see below) came out the same day as graduation, so no pictures of the event were published in it, just a preview picture of our top three students in caps and gowns. The only copy of newspaper coverage we have (at right) is brief and includes no pictures.

Who has pictures? Even better . . . movies!

What memories do you have? Exciting day, boring ceremony? Special evening out with family and friends? I remember an extended family get-together soon after graduation where I received my first tangible benefits from graduation, in the form of cash and checks from dutiful family members.

Last Chronicle
Our last issue of the Chronicle had a two-page spread of photos of “Senior Class activities” (pages three and four) from throughout our senior year and a farewell to the classmate called “Mr. CHS Athlete” in the article (page five) by Reid Oslin. I think we all know who that was. Hint: His initials were E. R. Yeah . . . Eugene.

This photo from the issue shows the “action” in the Model Senate, featuring George Shannon as president pro tempore, Diane Dillon as senate clerk, Tim Swearingen and Judy Maloney, Mike Reavey getting back to his seat, and Kevin O’Malley looking off to the right from his front row seat.

If I don’t remember our graduation ceremony, I do remember how bad we all felt when our Purple Panthers took second place in the 1964 Western Massachusetts basketball tournament. In another picture in that last Chronicle, the faces of our co-captains, Gene Ryzewicz and Rich Murphy, mirror the expressions of all Cathedral fans that night.