Fifty years ago, 47 members of our class traveled to Washington, DC, with stops in Philadelphia on the way south and New York City on the way north. Our group was led by faculty member Sr. Maria de Lourdes, Sister Anita Mary (?), Mr. Michael Gelinas and Mr. Donald White.
My memory is less than what it once was, or so I like to think, but I will do my best to recount the itinerary. But I encourage those with more vivid recollections of the trip to post them. Please consider this a draft and not a final product. The article from the Dec. 20, 1963, Chronicle at right may also help. (Click to enlarge)
We traveled, as always, on a Peter Pan Bus. Our first destination was in Philadelphia where I recall seeing the Liberty Bell. We may have visited Constitution Hall as well. Then on to Washington, DC.
I do not recall our hotel, how many days we were in Washington or all the places we visited. So you are encouraged to post insights and opinions, factual additions or modifications as you want. I recall we visited:
(1) The Capitol where we were greeted by Congressman Boland and Senator Ted Kennedy. Several of us sat in Senator Goldwater’s seat in the Senate Chamber. I think Kevin O’Malley was bold enough to open the desk top out of curiosity. (Editor’s note: Here are identifications, including a couple of what we hope are good guesses. Comment if you have changes or answers.)
1- Brendan Montano, 2 – George Shannon, 3 – Richard Minnie(?), 4 – John Moore, 5 – John Dion, 6 – Edmond Crowley, 7 – Mark Rivest, 8 – Bob McCann, 9 – Joe Fallon, 10 – Paul Donahue, 11 – Bob Stroshine, 12 – Jeff Powers, 13 – Kevin O’Malley, 14 – John Stocks, 15 – John Foley, 16 – Sen. Edward Kennedy, 17 – Sister Marie de Lourdes, 18 – Sister Anita Mary, 19 – Rep. Edward Boland, 20 – Mike Reavey, 21 – James Gastone, 22 – Joe Gelinas, 23 – Bill Danoff, 24 – Tom Counos, 25 – Richard Grogan, 26 – Bill McDonald, 27 – Paul Bueker, 28 – Ed Callahan, 29 – Paul Greeley, 30 – Barbara Deknis(?), 31 – Maureen Pollard, 32 – Barbara Karzmarczyk, 33 – Suzanne Rouillard, 34 – Marty Axt, 35 – Kathy Modry, 36 – Peggy Morneau, 37 – Andrea Hayes, 38 – Patricia Manning, 39 – Kathy Williams, 40 – Mary Clark, 41 – Lynn Albano, 42 – Janet Szczebak, 43 – Pat Raimondi, 44 – Mary Ann Popec, 45 – Donald White, 46 – Michael Gelinas, 47 – Angelina Cardaropoli, 48 – Judith Salmond, 49 – Mary Perrin, 50 – Patricia Matthews, 51 – Barbara Mooney, 52 – Joann Moore, 50 – Kathy Kirwin
(2) The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
(3) The JFK grave at Arlington Cemetery. I was privileged to lay a wreath at the grave on behalf of our group.
(4) The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier(s).
(5) The Army Mess Hall at Arlington. Army food was not a recruiting tool, in my opinion.
(6) The memorials for Presidents Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson. Had there been a Franklin Roosevelt Memorial at the time we would have spent several hours there channeling Franklin and Eleanor.
(7) The “Catacombs”?
We had some free time in the evenings and I recall visiting the Goldwater for President Headquarters with Bill McDonald (?), Kevin O’Malley and John Moore (?) where we collected campaign paraphernalia for future distribution.
Our trip home included an overnight stop in New York City where we stayed at the Commodore Hotel (now Trump Tower) located at Lexington and 42nd Street. I think we visited the American Museum of Natural History and The Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art. We enjoyed lunch at an Automat. Incredibly, we were permitted to roam NYC streets after dark. I recall some of us (all?) visited Times Square and saw some pretty strange stuff. I do not recall who else visited these precincts, but that is just as well.
While driving north several of us displayed Goldwater for President posters in the bus windows only to incur the wrath of Sr. Maria de Lourdes who ordered us to remove them.