We make the front page!

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Bill McDonald

Freshmen from the Class of 1964 were featured in this page one photo in the February 24, 1961, issue of the Chronicle. Visible, from left, are Sandra McMeans, James Montanari, Michael Reavey, Kathleen Modry, Stephen Rice, Robert LeClair, and Robert Coleman. At left is Sr. Patricia Joseph and Sr. Geraldine Maria is at right.

Gene Ryzewicz had begun to take his place as perhaps Cathedral’s finest athlete . . . of all time. Page three reported he led the basketball team in scoring as the Panthers took three, over St. Joseph’s of Pittsfield, Tech, and Classical.

Page four cites Carol Horr (piano) and Brendan Montano (violin) as “musical teenagers” participating in the Young People’s Symphony and Junior extension.

Here’s the February 24, 1961 Chronicle

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Slow news month for frosh

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Bill McDonald

Our class was pretty much absent from the first Chronicle of 1961. Of course, there was Christmas break and apparently a lot of snow since the last issue.

Three storms in only a few days in mid-January, the January 27, 1961, Chronicle said, resulted in one day off (January 16), but also the cancellation of the sophomore dance, basketball game against Classical, and several typing exams. Students also would have had January 20 off because of snow, but school was already closed that day so we could all watch JFK’s inauguration, on one of the coldest days in Washington, DC, for that event.

Jerome Webb as our sole representative in Chronicle pictures, at right. Jerome was on the chess team that had just defeated Longmeadow 7-0(!) to remain undefeated at 4-0.

In the first Literary Supplement of the school year, the class was represented with items by Ernest Gaudette, Lawrence Landry, and Dorothea Hammond.

In sports, basketball coverage started including freshman Gene Ryzewicz among the starting five. That wouldn’t change for four years, except for injury.

Here’s the January 27, 1961, Chronicle

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Literary Supplement, page one

Literary Supplement, page two

Face-plant for frosh

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Bill McDonald

The last Chronicle of 1960 featured an amusing item involving a classmate. The photo above (from page three) shows a somewhat embarrassed Joe DeCaro after falling, rather than jumping athletically, through the hoop at a basketball rally. (Gene Ryzewicz, No. 11, looks bemused.)

In the “Sports Briefs” column below the photo, the Chronicle said this (with the original punctuation errors retained): “Frank Wynn, general chairman of the second annual Catholic Hooperama and Charlene Cabana designed and decorated the ‘hoop,’ through which the Cathedral team was to make its appearance. However, Joe DeCaro leading his band of pint-sized freshmen, across the court and throughout the hoop ahead of the team, tripped and actually fell through the hoop landing flat in the center of the court.”

Joe now shares his slightly different memories of that event and of some other fun times as a team manager.

“This particular event was one of the milder hazing adventures Mr. Wise, Sr. (I would never call him “Bill”) [physical education instructor and coach, photo at right] put me through that year. He had recruited me to be one of the team ‘managers’ cum water boy, cum snapping-towel target, of football, hoops and baseball teams. Alas, my ‘career’ ended the afternoon I skipped out on detention and was pulled by the ear from the baseball field by a particularly unhappy Sister. But, I digress. Contrary to the article, there were no other ‘pint-sized freshmen,’ although I’m grateful for the reporter thinking of me as an army of one :).

“Mr. Wise had a bit of Barnum & Baily in him and decided he wanted his ‘manager’ to lead the team out on the court. I did not want to do it. Mr. Wise had a particularly effective technique of persuasion–threatening to have me thrown out the gym doors nekkid! I was not a fast runner, and complied.

“Either my nervousness or the distraction of being smiled at by Carolyn and Charlene caused me to miss their lifting the hoop ever so slightly off the floor in preparation for my burst through the paper. Years before the movie, I demonstrated that white men can’t jump, tripped on the bottom of the hoop and did a perfect face-plant on the CHS gym floor.

“It could’ve been much worse; Mr. Wise originally placed [Anthony] ‘Bumpy’ Scibelli’s shoulder pads on me. The Patron Saint of Perpetual Hazing must’ve changed his mind.

“Thinking back, the camaraderie of a locker room with ‘Bumpy’, Bob Buoniconti, Walt Jujuga, the Rogan brothers, Tim Sullivan, and the teasing of the upper class cheerleaders on bus trips around the district are pretty good memories. Well, most.

“Mr. Wise pulled one that worried me. Returning on the team bus from North Adams, I fell asleep next to Carolyn Vose. Mr. Wise took her lipstick and made a few dashes on my cheek. Unaware of what he’d done, as I departed the bus he made a scene about the lipstick on my cheek and wondered what would happen when Carolyn’s boyfriend heard about it. I think I skipped school for three days! Carolyn’s boyfriend (now husband) was Bumpy!”

Here’s the December 23, 1960 edition of the Chronicle

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Happy 4th!

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Bill McDonald

Happy July 4th. Hope the storms in the Northeast clear up for a nice weekend.

Remember how back in the day we often celebrated this holiday with family, neighbors, and friends with cookouts and fireworks in the backyard or at a lakeside cabin? You see a lot more sophisticated fireworks at the major events these days, but there is something especially memorable about even the small stuff going off close by. Personal pyrotechnics . . . in lots of places, a skill and thrill of the past.

November Chronicle freshman year
We got a little more mention in the Chronicle as we moved into the fall of freshman year. About time!

A bottom-page-4 article in then November 23, 1960, edition refers to us as “Eager Beavers” and cites scholastic activity of several members of the Class of ’64: Vincent Brown, David Rucinski, Maryellen Rooney, Diane Dillon, William Ligouri (sic), Thomas Roberts, Ellen St. Clair (sic), James Boucher, Paul Donahue, William Danoff, Mary Hurley, John Sheehan, Patricia Johnson, Mark Sullivan, Barbara Shean, Dennis Jacobi, Carol Organek, Alan Sponburgh, Gary Bushey, Patricia Canning, and Carol Forgemie.

Even the sports pages did not mention any members of the class, like, say, Gene Ryzewicz. That changed soon thereafter.

Here’s the November 23, 1960 Chronicle.

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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.

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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.

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‘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.

Here’s the Chronicle of June 10, 1964

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Stones/Beatles — Which side were you on?

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Bill McDonald

Today, in 1964, the first album of the Rolling Stones was released in the US. Eponymously titled, it carried the subtitle “England’s newest hit makers.”

Sure, there were groups like the Dave Clark Five, Freddie and the Dreamers, and Gerry and the Pacemakers, and more, but didn’t it come down pretty quickly to Beatles vs. Rolling Stones? Their management certainly fostered the idea that the Stones were the “bad boys” compared to the well-mannered and well-dressed Beatles.

Which did you prefer back then? Hard to imagine someone would have predicted in 1964 that the Beatles would pack it in by the end of the decade and that 50 years later the Rolling Stones would be still performing. Can’t get no satisfaction, indeed.

Here are the Stones, October 1964, on the Ed Sullivan Show.

I never saw the Beatles live, but had the pleasure of seeing the Rolling Stones live twice, most recently in fall 1965 (!), while visiting Jim Montanari for Cornell’s Homecoming. They were a secondary, afternoon act. Main attraction the same night on campus was Bob Dylan.

The Sixties on CNN
A 10-part television series on people and events of the Sixties has begun on CNN. One suspects there is a significant portion of people who consider the level of attention to this specific decade somewhat narcissistic and overdone. Let’s see how they feel about their time when they get 50 years out. Being part of a huge demographic bulge has its rewards.

Purple Panthers '64

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1964's graduation from Cathedral High School

Author Archives: Bill McDonald

We make the front page!

Slow news month for frosh

Face-plant for frosh

Happy 4th!

Sister James Martin, SSJ

Frosh Day, i.e., hazing

Another icon gone . . . no, saved

Back to the beginning

‘A time we’ll treasure through the years’

Stones/Beatles — Which side were you on?