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Michael McLeod

my son, who is a waiter, takes me to the store to do my grocery shopping.

only problem is he moves through the store at waiting-tables speed.

and i have to keep up.

I'll help out on reunion if there's anything an orlando, fla. correspondent can do.

David Mitchell

There is an incredible story worth telling that concludes this stuff about Fr. Foley. 

(and by the way - we heard all of our lives about how harsh Fr. Byrne at St. Michael's, and Fr. Crosser at I.C. were. But they really couldn't match Fr. Foley's anger and harshness).

He had been a semi-pro boxer as he worked his way through the seminary, and also suffered from elephantitis (spelling?) in one leg and arthritis in the other. When that leg gave him pain he would get all the more angry. He had specially made shoes for that foot that were huge oversized things. As he would hand out grade cards he gave a beating to anyone getting a "C" in conduct and he would yell about "don't pay any attention to these stupid nuns. They don't know anything. It's not what you know, it's who you know in life that matters". (I'm not making this up.)

In those days I think the Pastors had a higher level of control over parrish funds. And our Church was really only a "temporary" church - yeah, temporary for about 25 years! There was always suposed to be a permanent church when we had reached a certain goal for funding it. (It did eventually become a gymnasium for the school)

Before the new church was built, Father Foley died of a heart attack. Soon after his death it was learned that he had invested all of the church funds with his own brother, who was a stock broker in Boston. When the parishioners went to retreive the funds, they found that that brother had cleared out our acount (and several others) and moved to someplace in Latin America (maybe Costa Rica?). I seem to recall the OLP account was about half a million dollars. 

Our money was simply gone - all of it!

(I learned most of this from my dad, but I wish Charlie Kaps was on htis Forum. His dad was sort of the unofficial Attorney to our parrrish and he might know a lot more of the details.) 

John Maxwell

David Mitchell

Janie,

As I have said before, I am so grateful for your work providing our class this Forum. For those of us who use it a lot, it has provided me a link to the outside world that I count on every day - weather I am posting, or just reading from other classmates.

But evem more so for all the work you and Clare have done on our reunions. It's still hard to imagine a reunion without Clare. I hope to be able to attend a 60th, and cannot offer any on-site help, but I would be grateful for any kind of program and location you all decide on.

David Mitchell

Janie,

No. I do not keep a diary. But my long term memory is pretty good. Since my accident I am having some spotty short term memory.

Michael McLeod

Jocko you are a natural born storyteller. I'm not joshing you. If I were still teaching English composition and journalism classes I'd have you come in to show 'em how it's done fo' real.

David Mitchell

Hey, I've got a great idea!

Why don't we stage the reunion dinner in Washington D.C. 

I hear there is a fancy new ballroom that will hold about 900 of us.

And if we need some group transportation, I think there is a lady in D.C. that can lend us not one, but two nice new jets.

Michael Boulware

Theresa Zeyen (Kucsma)

John M -I wish I could agree with you that Fr Foley's reputation was a little overblown, but I think he deserved every bit of it. I witnessed, and my younger brother endured, his wrath on more than one occasion. I was very shy all through school, so I never said much and was also a good worker so he didn't pick on me. I think Dave's description of his physical condition was right on from what I remember, and I remember too, that his brother absconded with the funds for our new church. I was thinking it was more in the $750,000 range. That was a huge blow. Hopefully, somewhere inside he was a priestly man. It just didn't show very often. By the way, he could say a weekday mass in 12 minutes or less and usually did.

John Jackson

Late breaking news from the Borowitz Report:

Trump Orders ICE Agents to Pick Crops Unharvested by Deported Immigrants

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a desperate attempt to appease furious red-state farmers, on Thursday Donald J. Trump ordered ICE agents to pick crops left unharvested by deported immigrants.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” complained an exhausted ICE officer, struggling to breathe through his mask as he picked tomatoes. “I should be kicking some minority’s ass at Home Depot.”

According to sources, tensions have reached a boiling point at the White House amid reports that disgruntled ICE agents were fleeing U.S. farms and seeking sanctuary in Mexico.

In a sharp Oval Office exchange, Trump reportedly turned on JD Vance and barked, “Get out there and pick some #!%#?# lettuce, loser.”

Daniel Brown

In all my early years as a practicing Roman Catholic, with hundreds, if not thousands of encounters with multiple dozens of priests, how can I not remember this Foley mook? 

Janie, my memories of Fr Byrne weren't that bad except the time he caught me smoking outside the newly built St Michael church when I was sophomore at St. C. Why he did that I couldn't guess. I merely put the smoke out and told him that I'd never do that again, at least while he was anywhere near. 

James Hamilton, M. D.

Autumn Vista 

Captured this a few years ago off a dirt road somewhere in Teller County, Colorado. 

It was in a September at the height of the changing of the aspens.

I sure do miss not being able to do that kind of photography this year!

Jim

Michael McLeod

so.... reunion location?

Theresa Zeyen (Kucsma)

Maybe narrow down a time frame for the reunion then consider what classmates and venues are available?

Michael Boulware

Michael McLeod

wow. I can't imagine not wanting a reunion. But then I'm isolated, way down here in Orlando, and it's easy to get all sentimental and oblivious to all the work it takes to pull an event like this together -- not to mention the fact that we're a half century or so down the road from our high school days -- making it a perfect time to raise a toast to mister five-by-five - and well into our crinkly years.

I'd show up for it, though.

footnote: ("Mister five by five"is a reference to his holy stoutness, father crosser. I know because he told me so.)

Joseph D. McCarthy

Dear editor (Mike) in Orlando,

Please do a little research before you talk about "Mr. Five by Five."  "Mr. Five by Five" was a song from the, I think, Thirties.  The tune, to the best of my memory, went something like "He stood Five feet tall and was Five feet around....."  Growing up it was on an album my father had and we would occasionally play it on our record player for fun.  Check it out

.

Monica Haban (Brown)

Mike Boulware-

What is the time frame for a reunion at Watterson? Must leave by what time?

I checked out Clare's suggestion again this morning.  We'd need to leave by 10:00 on a weekday, and 8:00 on a Saturday/Sunday.  We'd need a time frame and date.  The fifth floor rooms and outdoor balcony are lovely, but Watterson would be nice too.
 

Want volunteers to meet for breakfast at MCL or First Watch some morning?  We could then walk to the UA Bob Crane community center, 5 steps away, and look at that option.  Thoughts?

OR  we could have our reunion  at Mike McLeod's.  He has a pool, and our class president, John Jackson, could lead us in a water aerobics class.  John???

Joseph D. McCarthy

Dear Mr. Mike,

I apologize.  I checked wikipedia for "Mr, Five by Five" and learned that it was a 1942 popular song by Don Raye and Gene DePaul, that describes a heavyset man who is "five feet tall and five feet wide".  The person highlighted by the song was Jimmy Rushing, the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.

Ella Mae Morse and Freddie Slack and his Orchestra had a hit recording with the song in 1942 (Capitol 115); it was number one on the Harlem Hit Parade for two Non-consecutive weeks,

It was performed by others including Harry James Orchestra and the Andrews Sisters.

And, . I found the original lyrics, but wont bore you, yet.

David Mitchell

I would love to come up for a reunion. I think early fall makes most sense for those flying in from distant locations - lower airfares. But summer may be better for some. I'm up for either. I will probably drive -  stoping to see friends in Atlanta, and my daughter in Cincinnati on the way.

A breakfast idea is lost on me. Sleep apnea and other complications are wreaking havoc with my mornings. 

I think we should keep having them as long as anyone can still get there.

(I have to admit, we probably won't get to have one in Barcelona. I was so excited about hitting golf balls off of Donna's balcony. But since my wreck I don't think I could still swing a club.)

Jeanine Eilers (Decker)

I'll be there for sure.  Can't help with the "before" stuff but will be glad to be on the cleanup committee.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Trick or Treat, Colorado Style

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

But don't feed the bears 🐻!

Jim

John Jackson

Monica, you give me too much credit – if memory serves, Mike Yarborough was our class president.  But I WAS editor of the Eagle View, that muckraking, hard-hitting journal that shined a relentless spotlight on anything and everything that teemed just below the seemingly calm surface of BWHS. 

And apologies - I’ve never gotten into water aerobics.  But I’d be happy to conduct a clinic on kick-boxing...

David Mitchell

After all this talk of Father Foley and OLP, I seem to recall not too long ago hearing that the parrish had closed. (feel free to comment if you know more of the details)

Then It was reopened and staffed by an order of nuns that I beieve were from Asia. So I Googled Our Lady of Peace and sure enough, it has an active website and apears to be staffed and run by a priest and nuns from Asia - the names are quite different - Fillipino or Indian????

The website gives a brief history and I was reminded that the first church was a house near high street (before my time) -and eventually a military Quansut hut (WW2 surplus barracks building) where my family first attended worship services. That old quansut hut brings back very long forgotten memories. It is where I first saw and became friends with one of my best life-long buddies, Tommy Litzinger. We were about 4 when we fitrst became familiar with one another. 

The website gave a detailed history of Father Foley. I had forgotten he was first involved somehow with a reformitory, and later,  the Columbus police and fire dept. His dad had been a cop in Massachusets

And his brother - the thief - lived in Florida (not Boston as I suggested earlier) before absconding with the parish funds to, I think, the Bahamas.

I recall an interesting situation that existed for the original school yard. The DeSantis florist family (located on old Henderson Road) also owned some large greenhouses that sat along the playground yard for about 100 yards. Over the years, I think there were quite a few baseballs that punctured the glass of that large greenhouse.

The new modern (and ugly) church was capped off by a narrow structure with three or four bells in ascending order of size. If I am not mistaken, my dad paid for those bells. Our family joke was that Dad was embarassed by the bells, which had a notably unpleasent ring tone.

Janie Albright (Blank)

St. Michael's also started with a Quonset hut. My brother graduated in the new church in 1964. We started in the new grade school in 1954. Prior to that there were classrooms in the back of the hut. Maybe it became a gym after that?? We were off th high school by then. Dan when did you leave St. Charles and come to Watterson?